DIVORCE EASY IN RUSSIA

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1931, Page 5

DIVORCE EASY IN RUSSIA

, FIVE MINUTES IN OFFICE RE-MARRIAGE AT SAME TIME EACH CEREMONY COSTS 4/SELDOM TRACE OF TRAGEDY By Teloftraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. London, Jan. 27. Describing marriage and divorce in Russia Mr. C. J. Ketchum, the special representative of the Daily Express, says:— “I sat in the registry office of births, deaths, marriages and divorce. An 18-year-old golden-haired girl, cosily clad in a sealskin coat, entered, accompanied by two men, one about 35, the other 21. The girl approached the clerk, said ‘divorce,’ casting her eye in the direction of the elder of her companions. In less than five minutes their names and addresses had been entered in the book and a certificate of a dozen words handed over, testifying that the marriage had been terminated. The cost was four shillings. The elder maii shook hands all round and departed on the i jst friendly terms. The girl and the younger man then approached another desk, and within another five minutes, and after the payment of another four shillings, they eniergbd man And wife. “A steady stream of women and men came and sought and obtained divorce without a question asked. Strangely, there was seldom a trace of tragedy, even of emotion, on the pretty faces of girls still in their teens. There is no law against desertion. A man desirous of divorce need not consult his wife. “In the event of there being children there is usually a settlement. If it is not arranged a decree is promptly issued fixing the deduction from the husband’s wages. In the event of a wife being workless she can deniahd support for two months, no longer. In the eyes of the Soviet that is plenty of time in which to find work oi‘ a working husband.

“Illegitimacy fe no longer a word in the Russian vocabulary. Every child born in anv circumstances is a fullyfledged citizen ofc the State.”