PRESENT-DAY RUSSIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21114, 23 February 1932, Page 11

PRESENT-DAY RUSSIA.

PROFESSOR'S IMPRESSIONS

CHURCHES STILL OPEN. FEAR OF OUTSIDE WORLD. "There is no doubt that the Church in Russia is functioning, in spite of the nnti-religion movement," said Professor A. (t. B. Fisher, of Otago University, in the course of an address on "Russia," delivered before members of the council of the Auckland branch of the Australian and New Zealand Economic Society yesterday afternoon. Dr. Fisher, who has Jtast returned from an extended tour abroad, said that while in Russia he had made a point of investigating the position of the Church in view of tho reported Soviet activities against religion. One Sunday morning he went, t© a small church and, although there was no service in progress at the time, there were people in the building. In the Russian Church services were held at 2 a.m. and other seemingly odd hours. The next day, the speaker said, he attended a special celebration at another church in honour of a Saint's Day. During the quarter of an hour he was there, many people came and went. The worshippers were mostly middle-aged and elderly, the young being absent. "There is no doubt that the Church is functioning, but I should imagine that if you were a regular attendant you would not get promoted very far in the Government service." he added. "Not All Communists." Dr. Fisher said it was possible for a visitor to Russia to meet people of totally different types. They were not all Communists and pro-Bolsheviks, and some of the Moscow residents with whom he came into contact were decidedly hostile to the Soviet regime. The majority of Russians believed in the Soviet rule, however, and regarded their country as a going concern which was bound to move forward. Although he had no direct knowledge of the Russia of, say, 20 years ago, Dr. Fisher felt that the satisfaction displayed by the Russian people was to a very large extent justified. It was not altogether a fair thing to compare conditions which existed under the Soviet with the conditions in other countries. For one thing, the average Russian had never been so well-to-do as the foreign visitor and allowance must bo made for that fact. Soviet propaganda was extremely intense and in all the towns there were numerous posters and streamers bearing "sacred" texts from Marx and Lenin and slogans of Soviet activities. These posters, the wording of which was constantly being changed, were always before the people and it was inevitable that they should have 6ome effect. Predominance of Red. "I asked a lady if she did not tire of seeing the red colour on all the posters and streamers," said the professor. "She replied that one got used to the red and noticed only the white letters." The newspapers in Russia published a great deal of foreign news, said Dr. Fisher, the deliberations of the League of Nations being featured. They also emphasised strikes and industrial troubles in other lands, presumably to lead the people to believe that all was not well outside Russia. "Soviet Russia does not conceal its activities in regard to military development and a visitor to Russia sees many soldiers about," said the speaker. "I am convinced that for the present, and for quite a long time, Russia does not want war with any other nation. She wants first to carry out her plans for internal reorganisation without disturbance. Russians have a very real, and, I think, exaggerated idea of interference from outside. The claim of the Russian people is that their military preparations are purely defensive. Kindness to Visitors.

"I personally met with a great deal of kindness and I think the reason was that I came from New Zealand. It was not because they knew anything of New Zealand, but because they were astonished that anyone should come from so far away to visit them. One man to whom I talked expressed surprise that New Zealand was not oppressed by the British Government. Another Russian was very surprised that I did not belong to a trade union. I explained to him the particular work I was doing, but he was by no means convinced, and did not think it was at all respectable for me not to belong to a trade union." Dr. Fisher said the Russians seemed to be proud of their suffering and it was possible that when international contact with Russia increased, a good deal of the suspicion attaching to that country would die down.