RED RUSSIA

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20422, 12 February 1938, Page 13 (Supplement)

RED RUSSIA

Lieut.-Colonel G. A. Drew (abridged from Maclean’s Journal).

JOSEPH VISSARIONOVTTCH DZUGASHVILI alias Koba, alias David, alias Chichikov, now known as Stalin, rules the largest and potentially wealthiest nation in the world. No one man has ever exercised absolute authority over so many people in the history of the world. His qualifications for this great task include murder, bank robbery, several terms of imprisonment, and constant and violent opposition to all those in authority from the time he was eighteen until he himself assumed a share of authority in 1917. The mere fact that such a man is the dictator of a mighty nation in this century of social and cultural achievement, is one of those paradoxes which make it extremely difficult to interpret Russia in terms that can be understood in any other country. It would not be fair to portray Russia on the basis of direct comparison with Canada, the United States or England, because at the time of the Revolution in 1917 most of the Russian people were living according to a standard far below that of the Anglo-Saxon countries. On the other hand, an equally false impression is given by those who seem to be pleasantly surprised that Russians are living in any way like human beings. The critics who adopt the first basis and the enthusiastic supporters who adopt the secqpd have succeeded in conveying an equally inaccurate picture of what Russia is really like to-day . . . There is Luxury in the Larger Cities. Those whom fortune has favoured politically, occupy some of the beautiful homes built in the days of the Czars—attractive villas in the country—while space is so crowded for the ordinary workers that four or six are usually allocated to a single bedroom. It is because of these startling contrasts that it is so difficult to convey an accurate impression of Russia as it really is. On the one hand is extravagance and luxury. On the other is poverty, filth and destitution such as I had not thought existed anywhere in the world. Village after village presents a uniformly desolate appearance. The roads are nothing but winding dirt tracks. The unpainted wooden houses, thatched with straw, were obviously built years ago. The majority of the peasants are in bare feet and their clothes are literally rags. I saw whole groups of people whose faces showed only too clearly that they were undernourished, and in some cases on the verge of starvation. It was a pitiful sight. I have seen the blacks in the cotton areas of the Southern States; I have seen the Eskimos in the Arctic, and the Indians of the Far North. These are usually supposed to represent an extremely low point of civilisation, but they looked happy and contented compared to the unfortunate peasants in Western Russia. I know that statements are now being issued from the Kremlin claiming that the crop this year will be the greatest in Russia’s history. But it is impossible to say whether these statements have any foundation in fact. I do know that in old “ White Russia” a large part of the crops are being cut by hand, and in scores of villages which I saw' there was no evidence of the boasted agricultural mechanisation. . . . In spite of these conditions, which many visitors to Russia refuse to see, there are developments in some of the larger cities which can be used as evidence of the progress which is being made unless one goes below the surface. In Moscow, which has grown from a million and a-half in 1917 to nearly three times that size to-day, largely because the enormous governmental bureaucracy is centred there, some attempt has been made to show the millions of Russians who visit the capital every year, and the visitors from outside who practically all find their way there eventually, that the Soviet system is a success. But nothing more clearly emphasises the atmosphere of unreality in which everything is being done in Russia to-day, than those things to which they point with the greatest pride. No one can be in Moscow very long before someone insists on a trip on the new subway system which was finally finished last year. The visitor is told that there is nothing like it in the world. That is true. The one line which has been finished is about six miles long, and every station is finished like the ballroom in a royal palace. Each is finished entirely with marble, and each one of them has a different architectural design and a different colour of marble. These stations are really beautiful. Even the perfectly carved shades for the indirect lighting are of marble and alabaster. I was Greatly Impressed, But Not By Efficiency.

In the first place, the subway follow's one of the widest streets in a city of extremely wide streets. There is no traffic congestion on these streets, and in a city in which money is needed so badly for other purposes it would have seemed more reasonable to have taken care of the passenger demand by buses at an extremely small fraction of the cost. The figure I got from the Department of Transport as the cost of the six miles now completed was 800,000,000 rubles. It does seem cynically incongruous that the Government would spend £32,000,000 on twelve underground palaces when they cannot find ways or means to provide even the cheapest leather boots for the vast majority of their impoverished peasants. But this taste for marble is not confined to the subway system. A stamp has just been struck showing the Moscow Hotel, which has been built not far from the Kremlin. The front is entirely of polished marble. It is about ten stories high, was commenced ten years ago and is not yet finished. It is clean and reasonably comfortable. . . . Nowhere have I seen the social contrast greater than at this very hotel. At breakfast in the morning, hungry-looking waifs put their arms through the ivy which separates the open-air cafe from the street, begging bread. When they get it they swallow like little wolves until they are driven away by the ever-present police. I saw men and women standing on the street looking with longing eyes at the good but comparatively simple food on the breakfast table. There was something more than longing in their eyes. It was the look one sees in many places in Russia to-day. It is a look which can bring no comfort to Stalin and his skilled assassins. It is a look which tells clearer than words that the October Revolution of 1917 was not the last Russian revolution. One of the strongest contributing factors to the revolutions of the past was the fact that men and women were imprisoned, and in some cases executed, because of their political opinions. It does not seem to be generally realised yet that Far More People Have Been Executed and far more exiled to Siberia and the Arctic wastes under Stalin than in any corresponding period of Russian history. , „ , I was in Moscow at the time of the formal opening of the new canal which joins the Volga River to the Moscow River. It was hailed as another great triumph of the efficiency of the “ Dictatorship of the Proletariat.” I attended a meeting that night at which several of the political leaders paid tributes to this great event. Around the “ Green Theatre,” where the meeting was held in the open air, were pictures of those who had received that day the Order of Lenin and other decorations for their work on this project. There was great enthusiasm. As the chairman opened the meeting, there were loud cheers as soon as Lenin’s name was heard. Promptly the band at one side of the platform played “The Internationale.” Then a few sentences later one heard the name of Stalin. There were more cheers and again the band played “ The Internationale.” Soon the word Communism came into his remarks. This was followed by more cheers and again “ The Internationale.” By the time the first speaker was introduced, “ The Internationale ” had been played at least a dozen times. It pays to be enthusiastic to-day when senior members of The Party are present.

Corruption : Squalor : Inefficiency : Terrorism

Russians haven’t much confidence in the democratic constitution about which so much is said outside. 'J'oo many of their friends have gone “on vacation,” as the saying is. The courts are not for those who say or do anything which might be interpreted as Trotskyism. The courts are reserved for minor offences like murder. For those guilty of the supreme offence of political insubordination, there is a quick drunfhead court-martial and the firing squad. It was, therefore, an Extremely Enthusiastic Meeting. I was amazed at the official announcement, a few days later, that 50,009 prisoners who had worked on this project had received their freedom. I had previously seen it denied officially in London that this canal was being constructed by prison labour. 1 then made enquiries, and learned from a man who is closely in touch with the situation that 500,000 prisoners had, at different times, been used on this work. Bad though the picture is, it is not all black. Like the other dictatorships, Russia is devoting considerable attention to the physical condition of its youth. I saw an athletic demonstration at the great Moscow sports field, seating 90,000 people, which was really an extremely inspiring sight. There are cheerful-looking people to be seen on the streets and elsewhere. Laughter dies hard when one is young. But everyone who served during the Great War knows that cheerfulness is not in itself evidence that those who are going through such an experience really enjoy it. One of the most interesting phases of the Russian Communist experiment has a considerable bearing on the callous cruelty which lies behind the present reign of terror. It is perhaps the first time in history that an organised attempt has been made to break down every moral standard of a whole nation. Practically no Russian under the age of 25 has ever been in church. I questioned a number of young Russians about the extent to which religion still survives. In every case they proudly boasted that they had. never been inside a church, and spoke scornfully of that small percentage of the older generation which still has the courage to preserve the old faiths. Materialism is the only god. Marriage has no sanctity, and there is little respect for home life. It is true that some restraint has been placed on the freedom of divorces and on abortion. But this is purely economic and has no regard to the moral factors involved. The number of divorces reached such fantastic heights, and the number of times that individuals would be divorced became so ridiculous, that it was decided to exercise some control. Divorces in many cases were so frequent that questions of parentage became a little too involved for the Soviet officials to untangle. They have therefore employed the economic brake. It costs three rubles to be married. The first divorce cost 50 rubles, the second 150 rubles, and the third 300. Theoretically, at least, there is at present no fourth divorce permitted. But the limitation is only the expense. Either party may obtain the divorce, and the only ground necessary is that they do not wish to continue as man and wife. It is a topsy-turvy world everywhere one turns. One of the main attractions in Moscow, for instance, is the Museum of the Revolution, which is in the fine building on Gorky Street which was the English Club before 1917. There one sees succeeding Russian Revolutions Portrayed as Glorious. Events. In each room are figures, and pictures of Stalin and Lenin. It is an amazing collection. One exhibit shows a picture of as villainous a thug as I have ever seen, and below it, in a glass case, are shown some handmade bombs which were his contribution to the improvement of civilisation. In room after room murder and destruction are glorified as the means by which freedom was obtained. It seemed to me that there was a rather ominous suggestion in this museum for those who are not yet convinced that freedom has been obtained—and they number millions. It must be remembered that, although no one can occupy an official position who is not a Communist, less than two per cent, of the Russian population today belong to the Communist Party. Three rooms in the museum are devoted to the Spanish Civil War. On the walls of these rooms are some of the most gruesome photographs I have ever seen. They show appallingly mutilated children killed by shell fire and aerial bombs. They do bring home the real horror of the civil war. But one is left with the impression that the Russian bombers, flown by Russian pilots, which bomb the cities and towns under Nationalist control in Spain, are able in some remarkable way to avoid doing exactly the same thing. There are letters in glass cases with photographs of the writers, received from Russians in Spain. There is no more pretence in Moscow about the Russians who are serving in Spain than there is in Italy about Italians who are serving on the opposite side. They are acclaimed as heroes of the anti-Fascist War just as their opponents are acclaimed in Italy as heroes of the anti-Communist War. There is ample evidence in Moscow and in Rome of the extent to which the fight in Spain has become a fight between these # Conflicting Forms of Dictatorship. Propaganda is certainly carried to extremes in both Italy and Germany, but those extremes are multiplied on every side in Russia. For every picture of Hitler or Mussolini, there are 10 of Stalin and and Lenin. In every store, in every hotel, in every railway station, are pictures ana .statues of tne two dictators who have ruled Russia. There is a new picture of Stalin which one sees on walls, in the amusement parks, and over the motion picture theatres. It shows Stalin with a pretty child in his arms holding a bouquet of flowers. This, I suppose, is to convey the impression that, although he has been responsible for the shooting of many of his immediate political associates, eight of his generals, thousands of his engineers and factory directors, and has sent hundreds of thousands of others into bitter exile without trial of any kind, he is really a kind-hearted man with a great love of children who is properly called “ The Father of his People.” Something is undoubtedly going to work out of this appalling chaos before very long. Many of the 169 distinct nationalities which make up Russia are kindly and loving people. They are also as brave as lions. They are not going to tolerate indefinitely the reign of terror imposed by this Oriental despot. No one knows whose turn will be next. The Ogpu works quickly and gives no reason. I think a feeling of helplessness and despair accounts to a considerable extent for the fact that there is more drunkenness and street fighting in Moscow than in all the other European capitals combined. Drunks lie sprawled in the gutter and across the street. Fighting in the streets and in the cheaper restaurants is frequent. Those who have money want to forget. They are literally following the ancient axiom—eat, drink and be merry for to-morrow we die. The proclaimed freedom of the masses in Russia is a cruel joke. There has never been a More Heartless Form of Despotism. than there is in Russia to-day. There is not a single thing in Russia which conveys even the hint of any suggestion for the improvement of the conditions of the people of Canada. There are, on the other hand, thousands of warnings that Communism is the worst expedient that has been tried anywhere to improve social conditions. Bearing clearly in mind that Russia is not Canada and that Russians are not Canadians, making full allowance for all the difficulties Russians have to overcome, Russia has clearly demonstrated for all who care to see, that Communism is a ghastly failure, and, instead of giving the freedom which was its purpose, can only in the end create a new form of despotism with all personal liberty destroyed.