RUSSIA IN BERLIN.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 3 January 1924, Page 5

RUSSIA IN BERLIN.

FLOURISHING COLONY

One of the most striking facts of present-day life in Berlin is the number of Russians to be found in all parts of the city. Russian is spoken everywhere, says Mr George Soloveytchik in the Nineteenth Century, and in parts of the city one hears rather more Russian than German. It is impossible to calculate their number. In the popular estimate it varies from 250,000 to 500,000. Estimates cannot be checked by passport statistics, for, owing to boundary changes and the creatiori of "new" countries, many Russians would now appear as Esthonia, Polish, Finnish, Roumanian, Latvian, or Lithuanian. But, whatever the actual number, it must be colossal. The presence of the Russians and the share they take in the life of the capital are recognised by the Germans as" important.

The colony is heterogeneous, both politically and socially. There are members of all political parties; and people of all shades of opinion. Berlin has a very strong Russian contingent of Bolsheviks and semi-Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks have a consulate and an embassy, each with a very large staff, and endless trade agencies, commissions, delegations, etc. From Berlin they can with greater ease conduct their European machinations and transactions. And life in Germany , is more pleasant than life in Russia, even to the Bolsheviks. Then there! are Russian Monarchists, seeking support from Germans of similar views. Another section represents the Russian bourgeoisie, which found that, owing to the economic situation of Germany, there was a considerable opening for people with initiative aand a little foreign money. A.nd yet another section, «ays Mr Soloveytchik, includes some of the finest scholars, writers, artists, and professional men living. In Berlin there are 75 Russian booksellers and publishers, some with great businesses; there are 35 large Russian restaurants and innumerable smaller ones, as well as many teashops and cafesu IRussians have bought a number of the best-known cabarets and dancing tails. There are more than 20 of their banking establishments, some of them quite considerable. All kinds of businesses and professions are carried on, there are large publications of newspapers and magazines, and there are many c'ltrbs and professional associations. There are also a Russian Conservatory .of Music and a .Russian University.. Russians, who give the largest tips, are found in all the most expensive restaurants. Smartly dressed Russian women ar«> covered with jewels, and the German in the street believes that the Russians do nothing but throw money about. Perhaps such people are a comparatively small proporison of the whole Russian population in" Berlin, but they are -always about, and they are aggressively noisy. Thousands of others have to work very hard, find in some cases to starve, but they ate seldom seen. The scum of the' colony is mistaken by m&r?v Germans for ihe substance.