THE KRONSTADT COMMUNISTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 26 October 1917, Page 7

THE KRONSTADT COMMUNISTS

PAY OUT THE -OLD. REGIME. / (By M. P. Price, in The Manchester Guardian.) l-.at.ely Petrograd began to fjet alarmed about the state of affairs in Kronstadt. Rumours circulated that this important island fortress guarding the sua approaches to the capital was in the hands of the most dangerous type oi' Anarchist* 5 , who had destroyed the fortifications, were selling _ secrets to Germany, and were preparing to spread terror and destruction all over Russia. Knowing there are people in Petrograd who spread rumours for sinister purposes. I decided to go down to Kro.v stadt and investigate for myseif. After an hour and a-half's ride from the mouth of the Neva across the blue waters of the gulf the steamer pulled up alongside the quav of a long, flat island. I got out and walked along the little streets of an old town. Life was goinir on just as usual, and I saw no outward signs of disorder. In a large house in one of the main streets I found the headquarters of the Kroi.stadt Council of Workers and So idlers Delegates, which controls the f'.rtrrao. , With some little misgiving I passed bv the sentries and asked to see the president of the Council. I was taken into a room, where I saw a young student with a red badge on his coat looking through some papers. This was the president of the Council, elected by the revolutionary soldiers and sailors and Workers of' Kronstadt. His hair was long, and his face bore that expression of mingled sympathy and; mystery which is so often seen in the Russian student. , "Well," he said, "they seem 10 be very frightened of us in Petrograd, Kit we'are doing nothing more than putting our house in order, after the.:baos and terror of the Tsar's regime." ' I asked him if the Council recognned the Provisional Government of 'uisia. and he replied: "Of course %ve do 1. the rest of Russia does; but thit dees not prevent us from having our own opinions as to what the Government oucrht to be. We would like to see the whole of the government -n ike Lanus of the All-Russia Council oi Workers and Soldiers' Delegates."

IN THE PRISONS. I was taken to see the prisons where the agents of the Czar's tyranny were sitting. In the first prison I found about 100 gendarmes and secret police agents. The nuarters were very bad, and manv of the cells had no windows a+ all Great hulking men with coarse animal features were lounging about dark and narrow corridors. borne oi them still had on .the -uniform ot their former profession. "I am afraid vou must be -very uncomfortable here, I said to one of them. "H gb \ ! -runted. "If only they would let us go to the front and fight or work, and do something." , , „,, In the next prison I found a numbei of admirals, generals, and naval and military officers of all ranks They told me stories of how they had been ari rested as soon as the news of the events in Petrograd had become known to «he revolutionaries in Kronstadt. lhey Hi complained that they had been kept foi three months without anv trial or examination of their cases. But the voyng sailor who accompanied me chimed in • "I sat in this very prison, not for three months, but for three years for navmCT been found with, a Socialist pamphlet in mv possession., All that time I never had a trial of any kind whatever" I Pointed out to the sailor that the prison accomodation was unM for a human being. He answered: "Well I sat here all that time because of these gentlemen, and I think that if they had known they were going to sit here they would have made better prisons '" This attitude of the revolutionary Kronstadt sailors, if not justifiable, is explicable. These officers are now being tried by a Commission sent from .Petrograd. ~ ~.. ,„ . ~ , '..Revolutionary ideas hay* a I -i.-.■>. 3-en , strong in the; Russian, and the great naval'fortress m the Baltic h£. been the centre of'the force, -which-.th e Czar's Government created to ,ejus v them out. Almost every sailoi in Kronstadt has at one time or another been in these Government prison* and. Seen lashed with the knout. Several of tbem that.l met that afternoon told me how they had been sent to Siberia toi fixe, an/'had'escaped from there in order to come hack to Kronstadt, in spite of the terrors of the pla°e, ™d carry on revolutionary propaganda there They were always treated like dogs They were jnot allowed to walk in g the boulevards or go into any pubUc places of amusement, and for the, sma.ll est offence they were beaten On the first davs of the revolution they went fo the y admiral's House dragged him nut shot him, and tried to burn the body. It was a law of blood and iron that ruled' in Kronstadt, and I fear first days of the revolution tS sailors, gave, back .what had been givep to them.. ANARCHISTS IN POSSESSION. That evening. T was taken house of Admiral.\eren murdered as I described. I found the, anarchists-in possession. In he sump 'tuous: halls where once councils ot war We held by medalled officers I now saw unkempt, long-haired, revolutionary stu dents and- sailors. I "was introduced to their leader, a veteran fighter who had Sen a prominent part in the mutiny of the Fotemkin on the Black Sea iv 1906. I expected to find the most desperate characters among this lot, but , x confess that, they turned out veryhaimless Their revolutionary ideas .did not. go beyond the speedy application of Marxism and class war, whi^the. anarchists I found to be peaceful Tol*> ; toyans, who would refuse to shed blood on principle. As it was already lata they invited me to supper and to sleep, the night.

"COMRADESHIP" AMONG THE . fleet. Kext day I was taken 4o visit the battleships and training ships in ttio harbour. I first -went to the_na\al staif. The commander of the fleet I found ~v\ as mow a* young lieutenant . He me very cordially, called me Comrade and took me to his cabin to lunch, which consisted of the same food as that eaten by the sailors. He wore no cprm-. lets on 'his uniform, he was not saluted by the sailors, and when they spoke to him they called him "Comrade, All the officer's of the fleet m Krpnstadt ai* now elected by the crews of the sm.,» on which they serve, and the (>o.m ll ot Bailors' Delegates' elect .the o.fieii tor. - manding the fleet. My nrst cr.;tua was how did this new pnnn.ile ot ekof. ing officers affect . the -wonc. and tffic-.-

ency. of the fleet. The chief of i.taff I although himself an old sailor and not accumtomed to this new way of doing things, said that on the whole he thought it worked well. At first there was some difficulty. The sailors elected officers just because they liked them, and not because they knew tnoir >ob. But after a while ,he added, the men got to know who were efficient. *s well as those who were nice to their n-.'-n. EXPERIMENTING IN INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION. On the following day I was token to see some of the factories where war material is made and ships are repaired. I found all* the men working _ busily, and the rumours of disorganisation prevalent in Petrograd. quite unfounded. All the private works and shops are put under the control of the council, and the .profit* divided with the »orker». Most of the private owners, however, left after tfoe revolution, so that now the works are run by .the committee? of the men. An. eight-hour day is compulsory throughout the island, ; with three 'hours' overtime for special' and urgent work. Trade unions are being formed' anion?- the different grades of artisans. 1 came across a. meeting being 'held by the Union of Strikers- in the ship-repairing yards. The men were discussing a plan of mutual insurance against unemployment and sickness.