REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA.

Otago Witness, Issue 3495, 1 March 1921, Page 19

REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA.

DIFFICULTIES OF FINANCE. COPENHAGEN, February 20. The Soviet has decreed the seizure of Valuables in the museums throughout Ru 3 sia in order to provide money to pay for imparts. NAVAL MUTINY AT PETROVSK. HELSINFORS, February 20. Advices from Batum report a naval mutiny at Petrovsk (on the Caspian Sea), owing to the Soviet’s decree to pay the sailors and workmen in kind insteaU of in money. Several hundred were deported. The refusal of a dergand for their release led alPthe crews on the warships to mutiny. The-' local Soviet was seized, and the President and two members murdered. The mutineers blew up most of the vessels in port, and put to sea aboard the remaining craft. POLAND AGAIN THREATENED. PARIS, i' ebruary 22. Count Tolstoy, writing in the Journal, says that undoubtedly the Bolshevists are preparing for a great spring offensive. Seven hundred thousand troops are massed, mostly on the Polish frontier. They are expected shortly to invade Poland and possibly Rumania. The Soviet would be compelled to take the offensive, as it could not live much longer without war. POPULATION OF PETROGRAD. BERLIN, February 24. The preliminary results of the census show that Petrograd has 705,000 inhabitants, as compared with' 2,440,000 before the war. Moscow lost 8000 of its inhabitants. EASTERN SIBERIA. HARBIN, February 23. Concentrations of Soviet troops in Eastern Siberia are believed to foreshadow military operations against the Japanese. It is reported that the Bolshevists are mobilising the population in the Russian Far East, including the former soldiers of General Kolchak and General Semenov’s armies. <a> SOVIET NEWSPAPER SUSPENDED. MOSCOW, February 23. The Kommuna has been suspended for a month for declaring that Lenin was suffering from religious' mania, and stating that he was negotiating for the restoration of the Greek Church’s privilege, and the replacing of the Jewish and Agnostic secretaries by Orthodox enthusiasts; also that he had paid pilgrimages to a monastery, and had locked himself up for days afterwards and refused to discuss politics. REVOLT AGAINST SOVIET. HELSINGEORS, February 26. The workers, who are revolting against the Central Soviet, occupied all the public buildijigs in Petrograd, which the Red Army has now encircled. The crews of six warships at Kronstadt mutinied and murdered several commiseioners. The Soviet troops are unable to cope with the mutineers, and the Government is seeking a peaceful settlenjpnt with them. LONDON, Feb. 27. The Riga correspondent of the Sunday Express states that mutinous Red Troops are joining the insurgent workers at Moscow, where fierce street fighting continues. REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA. LONDON, February 20. It appears that the Soviet Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan have combined to crush the Republic of Georgiy, whUh hitherto has resented attempts to Boi shevise it. Constantinople reports state that an Armenian attack on Georgia in the soutli was followed by an Azerbaijan attack in the east. Several divisions, with cavalry, are advancing on Tiflis. The Georgian Government has ordered the evacuation of the city. The AngloFrench missions and the foreign communities have already departed. February 22. Advices from Constantinople state that news from Georgia is scanty, but it is known that Soviet troops are within eight miles of Tiflis, with which telegraphic communication is interrupted. The Georgian Legation denies the report of the fall of the town. The first boatload of Georgian refugees arrived on board the British cruiser Cardiff. Rear-admiral Tyrwhitt .s standing by at Batum. CONSTANTINOPLE, February 22. The Bolshevist attack on Georgie is most serious. In addition to three divisions of the Eleventh Bolshevist Army, the Armenian army and a body of Azerbaijan Tartars are available. The Government has ordered a mass levy. Thousands of refugees and the members of the National Assembly have fled to Kutais. HELSINGFORS, February 23. Following upon the successful Russian invasion of Georgia and the departure of the Anglo-French Missions a Soviet Republic ha 3 been declared. LONDON, February 24. A Georgian official telegram claims that the Bolshevist attack on February 20 was repulsed. Two thousand prisoners and a large amount of booty were captured. Tiflis is claimed to be entirely out of danger. CONSTANTINOPLE, February 26. A Georgian wireless message states that the entire Soviet forces in the Caucasus and in Russian Azerbaijan and Armenia are attacking Georgia, whose troops are fighting bravely, but are being compelled to retire. COSSACKS CAPTURE TEHERAN. DELHI, February 22. Three thousand Cossacks from Kazan, With two batteries of guns, and com tnanded by Riza Khan, captured Teheran •t midnight on February 20 without seri-

ous resistance. The Coss&cks wefe met it Mehrahad, near Teheran, by Persian and British officials. Riza Khan announced his intention of establishing a military Government, with a view to defending the Persians against the Bolshevists. After the withdrawal of the British troops there were a few casualties in street fighting. The Cossacks are policing the streets and guarding the foreign legations. The town is quiet, and the bazaars are closed. February 23. The Cossacks are maintaining excellent order in Teheran. The bazaars have been reopened, and the town is normal. The Shah received the leaders of the movement —Aiza Khan, Major Sahed Khan, and Saijedzia, editor of the newspaper Rouz. The Cossacks arrested eight prominent notables. February 26. The Shah of Persia has issued a proclamation approving of the Cossack coup and appointing Saiy ed Ziuddin Premier. A commission has been appointed consisting of one Persian and two Europeans to investigate the possibility of economy in connection with the Ministry of Finance, and probably also other departments. LONDON, February 26. The Teheran correspondent of The Times telegraphs under yesterday’s date that the Shah accepted a Cossack regime after conferring with Riza Khan and other leaders to whom the control of the gendarmerie had been transferred. The town is quiet and business has been resumed. The political arrests’ continue. ANGLO-PERSIAN AGREEMENT ENDANGERED. DELHI, February 26. Riza Khan refuses to accept the AngloPersian Agreement in its present form. He intends to create a new army, retaining the Cossacks as a special guard. The new Cabinet- has held its first meeting. REVOLT IN ARMENIA. LONDON, February 26. The Georgian delegation reports that a revolt in Armenia has overthrown the Soviet Government.