The Waikato Times With which is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1926. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION.

Waikato Times, Volume 101, Issue 16873, 12 August 1926, Page 4

The Waikato Times With which is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1926. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION.

Once more Russia is in red revolution. Like everything that happens in Russia the origin of the outbreak is very much of a mystery, and we can but surmise what the trouble is about. Zinovicl'f has been the man in power for some time past. lie is ultra-Bol-shevik and is credited with being the prime mover in Ihe propaganda wrticli has given so much offence. Towards the end of his life Lenin perceived that .Marxism, which is at the root of the Bolsheviks’ economic ideas, was not a method which could be introduced at Ihe present time. Lenin seems to have been a singularly clear-minded man. lie always maintained that Communism could not flourish in one country if oilier countries refused to adopt it. He hoped at firsL that other countries in Europe would take to Communism, but when they did not do so he abandoned the attempt to insist on it for Russia and was preparing the way for a relurn lo private enterprise. On his death, however, Ihe hands of Ihe clock were put Lack. The men who believed in Hie extremesL tends of Bolshevism came into power and have held if since. II is easy lo believe lhal Ihere is ..much discontent. The leading classes resent Ihe constant interference of Government, and the

system of voting which enables the workman to vote but not the master. The peasants have never adopted Bolshevism. To them the land is everything and they supported a revolution which enabled them to seize the land of the larger proprietors, but they were not willing to send grain to market to sell at prices fixed by the Government, particularly as the prices of what the towns could supply was also fixed and fixed very high, for there, is little industrial efficiency in Russia. The materials for discontent were there in plenty, but in such a position everything depended on the line the army would lake. Apparently iho opposition of Zinovieff arose from a desire to bring their methods nearer to those in vogue in other countries, and when Zinovieff would not agree he was turned out. Unfortunately for the Opposition they quarrelled with Trotsky some lime sine:. lie could not be expelled for his influence with the army is too great, but he was removed from the inner circle of government. Zinovieff has appealed to him, and he is lending the weight of the army to Zinovieff’s support. At present it seems as if the fleet had mutinied against the Soviets but that the army is supporting them. There is just now civil war, but it is not difficult to say what tho end will be. A navy is not a force which can be very useful in a civil war. If there should be any geucral movement among the peasants a change of government might ensue, but although wc aro told of fighting in the Ukraine we do not hear of it elsowherc. There has always beep, more life and energy in the Ukraine than in Russia proper; indeed it is one of the remarkable features both of Bolshevism and of this revolt against Bolshevism that the peasants who form 1 nine-tenths of the population take no active part. Some of the newspaper correspondents have been writing of the movement as the end of Bolshevism. So far from this being true the indications are that Zinovieff will come back to power and hum out the more moderate minded rnen who would have altered the policy. No doubt Bolshevism will cease some clay, but it is hard to believe that this outbreak is to sound its death knell. Trotsky’s own beliefs have been generally supposed to lie in the .direction of a more reasonable attitude towards private enterprise and towards foreign countries. If this really be his views he may quarrel with Zinovieff and bring about a change, but this will not happen at once, and it is to be feared that the revolt will be suppressed and that large numbers of victims will suffer. The position in Russia is unprecedented foY a European country, it has always been said that Russia is half Asiatic, and that half of her is the one that shows at .present. Nine out of every ten of the population arc apathetic. The remaining tenth are fighting fiercely among themselves for the right to rule the large number, although the amount of government given is small. When an outbreak of this kind takes place it becomes apparent that the maintenance of Bolshevism depends upon the army. In normal times the Soviets rule, and if we may judge from the reporls, the Soviets are trade unions. They elect the representatives and manage the businesses. The unfortunate owner Is denied political rights, and would probably bo deprived of the profits if there were any. As there is so large a population there Is, of course, an opportunity for trade, particularly as Russia has not been able to make business arrangements with the chief manufacturing countries. ' Italy has made such an arrangement, but has not so far done much business. The idea was that wheat would be shipped through the Black Sea, but tho quantity that came forward was small, and when it came to selling, the Russians wanted longer credit than the Italians could give. Credit is the crux of the business. With the peculiar ideas held by the Bolsheviks no one would feel justified in giving much credit in Russia, yet the country is so poor that trade cannot be done without it. When the history of the present outbreak is made public wo shall probably find that one party wished to abandon the attitude of Government interference that made all credit dangerous, while Zinovieff preferred that the country should remain poor rather than adopt the humdrum methods of normal trading.