RUSSIAN AFFAIRS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17859, 3 August 1918, Page 9

RUSSIAN AFFAIRS.

VON EICHORN'S DEATH. ATTENTION FORCED ON THE EAST. LONDON, Auugst 1. The murder of von Eichorn, which caused consternation in official circles i in Germany has focussed public atten- | tion upon the eastern problem. "The Times" Service. AMSTERDAM, August 1. Germany is taking vigorous steps to l stamp out the Ukrainian risings, and ■ there are numerous arrests daily. A j great congress, held secretly at kiev, j with the object of restoring- the Rus- ; sinn Empire, resolved to organise an agitation in all Ukrainian centres and to enter into negotiations with the Grand Duke Nichloas. . A WIDESPREAD PLOT. LONDON. August 1. Yon Eichorn was murdered on July 28, which is Ukraine's National Day. There was a widespread plot, and it wa s intended to murder five other leading Germans, also General Skoropadsky. Many members of the Ukrainian revolutionary organisation have been arrested. TROOPS MUST BE SENT. AMSTERDAM, August 1. Berlin papers demand that troops should immediately be sent to Russia, declaring that if Germans cannot be spared Austrians must be sent under German commanders. (Received August 2, 11.15 p.m.) AMSTERDAM, August 1. Germany is contemplating recalling von Munn and handing passports to the Ukrainian Ambassador at Berlin until the situation at Kiev is cleared up. Von Hintze, in a lengthy interview with the Ukrainian and Austrian Ambassadors on Wednesday, said that probably von Ealkenhausen would succeed Eiohorn. ' . The Kaiser urgently telephoned summoning yon Ealkenhausen, despite the latter's illness.

j SOVIET APPEAL.

FEAR OF FAMINE. AMSTERDAM, August 1. The official Soviet organ reports that the Checho-Slovaks have captured Ekaterinburg. I The Soviet authorities have again ap- ! pealed to the provincial authorities to j preserve the capital from famine. Moscow and Petrograd have already been without bread for four days-

COUNTER -REVOLUTION.

BOLSHEVIKS URGE REIGN OF TERROR. Reuter's Tolegrams. AMSTERDAM, August 1. The Bolsheviks at Moscow havo resolved tbat the Socialist Fatherland is endangered, and that the chief tasks at present are the repulse of the Czechoslovaks and to obtain grain. The working classes must bo roused and armed, and wholesale terrorism must be practised against tho burgeoisie. ALLIES LAND TROOPS. WASHINGTON, August 1. America, Japan and Britain have already sent troops to Vladivostok to protect the Alliod mission to Russia.

THE VEIL LIFTING.

1 GENERAL MAURICE'S VIEWS. LONDON, August 1. Major-Genera] Maurice says:—The veil which has long shrouded the East is gradually lifting, and what' we are allowed to see is full of encouragement. The dramatic operations of the Czechoslovaks in Siberia and the southeastern corner of European Russia, the appearance of Allied troops on the Murman coast, and tho resistance of the Armenians at Baku, coupled with tho decline of tho Bolsheviks and the troubles in which the Germans are involved in the Ukraine, show that the Treaty of Brest Litovsk is likely t 0 become quickly valueless. It is improbable that the Germans hope for territorial aggrandisement in the west, except tho rectification of the frontier, gaining the Briey mineral fields. Germany looked eastward for expansion. Germany'drew Turkey into the war as a catspaw, with a view to snatching from Britain her position as the dominant power in tho East, and transferring power to Germany, Our success in Mesopotamia and Palestine forced Ger-'

many to seek a way round. Russia s collapse opened a way, and Germany entered the Ukraine, and pressed to Odessa and Sebastopol, not merelv for tho purpose ol gaining 'corn, and is now trying to take tho whole valley of the Don, and thereby obtain corn from the Black Sea and establish a base controlling the lower waters of the Volga, also giving access to the northern shbres of the Caspian. Simultaneously Germany urged the Turks forward on the south coast of the Black Sea with a view to dominating Persia. The Germans, next year, <vill probably avoid a battle on the West front, "gradually falling back, devastating the country. Then Germany will cunningly begin bargaining and ask Franco how long she will permit the north of Franco to be laid waste in support of Britain's eastern ambition. If Germany is allowed to realise her Eastern' programme she will emerge from the war relatively stronger than when she entered, and remain as great a menace as ever. That is ono of the main reasons why we Cannot afford a patched-up peace- Wo must convince our Allies that it is essential to raise a barrier to Germany's eastern progress. We must act in the East where tbo miraculous creation of a Czecho-Slovak army provides our opportunity.