RUSSIAN ARMIES

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1938, Page 19 (Supplement)

RUSSIAN ARMIES

ANALYSIS OF STRENGTH STABILITY OF REGIME London, Nov. 18. . Analysing the Russian Army, the Moscow correspondent of the Manchester Guardian says that during the last 20 years Russia has accumulated an excellent trained reserve of men between 18 and 35, because, in addition to the peoples of European Russia, those of Central Asia, the Caucasus and Siberia, exempt during the Tsarist regime, have been subjected to compulsory military service. There is no doubt that the Far East army is silf-supporting, and that Russia could carry on a war on twc frorits. The Army is well trained, but its striking power depends on whether the dictatorship could withstand the shock of war. It is probable that bureaucracy s brittle crust, ceinenting the regime, would crumfcle beneath national discontent if the fartune of war went against Russia. The Kremlin seems to realise this, and is doing 's best to insist that any war involving Russia be fought on foreign soil. Consequently, if the battle front were pushed into Russia, the loss of prestige would destroy the Stalin regime,