WOMEN IN PETROGRAD.

Northern Advocate, 20 December 1919, Page 4

WOMEN IN PETROGRAD.

A HARD LIFE

RUSSIAN OFFICER'S VIEWS,

A Russian officer who escaped from Petrograd recently writes in "The Times" regarding the position of women there. The most striking difference between Petrograd and London to-day is, he states, that two-thirds of the inhabitants of Petrograd are women; and, what is more, every woman is compelled in one way or another to and the work of the Soviets. The life of a woman in Petrograd—as may be well imagined—is very hard indeed. Of course, there is no such thing as-a servant Ihese days, and the women, before they go to the Soviet offices or factories, have to clean their apartments the best way they can. This is by no means an easy matter owing to the lack of soap and other washing material. After cleaning the house the average woman locks up her rooms, and, taking her children with her, goes off to work.

Quite the most trying part of woman's life in Petrograd is tho effort to keep herself and her children sufficiently clad to preserve a semblance of decency. As I have already explained, all shops are closed, and it is only possible to procure wearing apparel, etc., from the Soviet stores. And this is anything but an easy matter.

POVERTY COMMITTEE. ..

The Poverty Committee in charge of each house is furnished with a given number of permits for clothing, the proportion being 10 for men, 10 for women, and n for children. As two-thirds of the inhabitants are women, this in itself makes the allocation of permits for women very difficult. ; The womenfolk have shown amazing ingenuity and adaptability in converting almost any material into a semblance of a dress, but their real difficulty is in contriving to make such things as stockings and underwear last.

I have heard, by the way, that certain pro-Bolsheviks in this country claimed as one of the virtues of Bolshevism that loose women are no longer to be found on the Petrograd streets. This is only partly true, for what has really happened is that these women have been, as it were, promoted into high places in Soviet offices. A common sight is chauffeurs, soldiers, and sailors wearing very expensive and heavy fur coats. Loose women, too, will be seen wearing an extraordinary mixture of shabby clothing, a rakish hat/ and priceless sables and ermine. These furs are, of course, the proceeds of thefts. The Commissaries and the Red' soldiers and sailors all show a weakness for jewels. I have seen a Commissary whose fingers were an absolute blaze of fire, and so pleased was he with himself that while he talked he was incessantly stroking his beard and moustache, in order to make the jewels sparkle the more.-