RUSSIA TO-DAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 8, 26 January 1942, Page 6

RUSSIA TO-DAY

A NATION RE-BORN

UP-ROOTfNG THE FIFTH COLUMN

(By Tliales)

No. 11. It will be remembered that in the last article I had intended to deal with, the murder of Maxim Gorki, (the great Russian writer) by the German inspired group of Soviet fifth columnists, but, as it had been written in November since when Japan has become a belligerent, it would be more topical and interesting to explore firstly those remarkable journals containing the verbatim report of the Moscow treason trials, held in 1937-38 for some indication of Russian attitude to Japan. Its a sad commentary on our own political short-sightedness to reflect that anyone courageous and sensible enough in New Zealand to suggest a Pacific Alliance, which included Russia was immediately frozen into immobility by the scorn which showed on the otherwise bleak faces of our politicians. Yet a glance at a map of the Pacific should convince anyone that the south a vest Pacific and Singapore, about which we have been "maginot minded" is a defensive area only and that the onlj r spot which threatens Japan is Vladivostock. Japan knows this. Even while her troops seep through the jungles of Malaya and hammer at our very gates their shouts of victory are chilled by the thought of that knife which may at any moment be plunged into the heart of lapan. She. too like Germany is faced by that insoluble of all military problems—the war on two fronts. Its her constant fear and it has forced her to do two. very foolish things since 1937—0ne was to intrigue .with Germany in the formation of a Russian fifth column ♦md when this was so easily exposed by Stalin she made a second blunder by attacking the Soviet far eastern armj' in what is now known as the Battle of Possiet Bay. This battle which was designed to give Japan jumping- off place for an attack on Vladivostock, is remarkable for two things—first, that the flower of the Japanese army was utterly routed, and secondly, that it occupied very little space in our newspapers which were then too busy reporting the good news that the Russians were too ignorant to be given a seat at the Munich conference. This deliberate lack of reporting was so confusing that most people looked upon the battle as being merely another of those "border incidents" which have been so frequent between Russia and Japan. Nevertheless. enough has been made known to show that this was really a desperate attempt by Japan to secure a footing for the eventual taking over of the Soviet maritime provinces. This was a necessary preliminary for Japan's southward drive. Without its realisation all her Pacific successes would be dead sea fruit. The position could only be retrieved If Hitler with the help of Finland, Rumania, Hungary, Spain and Italy could succeed in smashing that portion of the Red Army which was stationed on Russia's western front.

Don't blame Japan for thinking that Moscow 7 would fall —they also have an oriental version of "the old school tie" which has one good feature that ours unfortunately doesn't possess. When its charm fails to function, they commit Hari Kari. rts worth noting here that the great Russian counter attack initiated by the modern military genius Timoshenko only became apparent immediately after Japan attacked in the Pacific. Of course this may only be coincidence. But every front in the world dovetails. To this extent the Americans are more realistic than we are and according to Max Werner in his brilliant book "The Military Strength of the Powers" have not only had an understanding with Russia over Vladivostock and Petropavlovsk but have also held all their naval manoeuvres in the last ten years in the North Pacific in an area bounded by I'ctropavlovsk on the one hand and tin* Aleutian Islands and Dutch harbour on tin- other hand. .\ia>ka and the Soviet Maritime I'r nincc- comprise the decisive theatre 01. war i . the Pacific according o Werner. Me in the v. filers < pin on i.> ohvi :i;-iy a Russian military expert so a- t vou 7m>bably say ue '. ill q'aote ir the J r; asoji Trial.-, e. Ideaee ol Japan's need to neutralise the Marit ; me Provinces. From the Journal da ted Feb' i.ary. <937, Radek one of the leading accused admitted that the tasks of the fJussian fifth column were contained in a certain letter which apparently had he: n i p.ten-, pled. It contained

the following: "It will be inevitable to make territorial concessions. We will have to yield the Maritime and the Amur regions to Japan and the Ukraine to Germany. Germany needs raw materials, foodstuffs and markets for her goods. We shall have to permit her to particiipate fn the exploitation of ore, undertake to supply her for a definite period with foodstuffs and fats at prices below the world market price. We shall have toi yield the Sakhalin oil to Japan and guarantee her the supply of oil in the case of a war with America. We shall also have to permit her to exploit gold. We shall have to consent to Germany's demand not to ojDpose her in her seizure of the Danube countries and the Balkans and not to hinder Japan in her seizure of China."

It should be born in mind that the above ay as testified to by a man who Avas, according to the world press, suffering from the effects of some sinister dope—it must have been a very potent drug, fo;r some of the evidence is almost prophetic. Again and again throughout the trial mention is made of the ceding to Japan of the Maritime provinces in the Far East. So important are they to the Axis that even Rudolf Hess in his negotiations Avith the conspirators makes special mention of them in relation to Japan.

The accused Russians who knew the value of these provinces used them as bargaining factors in their negotiations with both Japan and Germany although eventually, as the sentences show, the only things they gave away were their own heads.

Stalin and his Government ignoring entirely the protests and raised ej'ebrows of the outside world thereby saved Russia the fate of Franco and Avon the Battle of Europe, Avliile at the same time the key to the Pacific Avas held.

iNTo! I don't think tlic Russians will Avait till Whakatnne is being, invested by Japs and then come in and save us because they have suddenly become good fellows. They probably hope to be able to keep out of it and sec America and Britain do the job. That is probably why they "were so annoyed that America declared Manila an open city.

Its not on record yet, what they think of Malaya or Borneo but knowing that they consider eastern potentates, both black and white, to be nothing more nor less than anthropoid apes dressed up in finery they may wish that Britain had aeroplanes there in equal proportion to the number of her Rajahs. The worse the situation in the South Pacific, the mere certain that the Soviet far eastern armj* will be in the fight and with it the American army and air force based on Siberia. It has not been the writer's intention to draw any political conclusions from these articles. It must be obvious to all that everything is in the melting pot to-day. This is equally true for the Soviet Union. One thing is certain—that this great nation until recently ,the pariah of civilisation was the only one fitted historically, Socially and geographically to smash Hitlerism and all it stood for.

To tlie average decent human being it can only be a matter for sorrow that in the process, everything that Russia has built—her factories, farms and institutions, and her people, are suffering. My tribute 1 is partly paid in recording her vision in cleaning out the fifth column.