Anti-Religion Museum Is Russian Show Place

Chronicle (Levin), 21 October 1949, Page 4

Anti-Religion Museum Is Russian Show Place

An anti-religion museum where Christian ideals were being deliberately distorted was considered by the Russians as the show place of Leningrad, Miss Neke Scanlon, noteci New Zealand authoress, told this to over 300 women in Levin when she was present as guest speaker at the Southern Wellington Federation of Women's Institutes' half-yearjy meeting cn Wednesday. The children of. Russia y^ere tqught to regard Christianity as impeding the progress of' the country's "development and to Jl:ustrate this one of the exhibitions in the museum depicted a painfipg of ii young' man driving a tractor ^ith crops stacked in the background. Beside the tractp.r were q group of people represeiiting the ^Cing of pigland, the.Pope,, qnd high ministers of the churqh, pulling back the tractor's wheels with hooks, said' Miss Scanlpn. "They were depicted with the most evil and fiendish faces it is pqssible to imagine on a human b(eing." The museum had previousiy been a magnificent church and'in this setting of beautiful marble pillars an-d carved arches were the most dreadful and blasphemhus oictures she had ever seen. Guides conducted groups of children and students throu'gh the buildiiig ''and you could tell by their sniggering what was heing said." ' She had been amazed at the number of women working in gangs in the streets and on the wharves, said Miss Scanlon. She had asked once if domestic science wias taught in Russian schopls. The reply had bperi "certainly not." In' the new Russia there were communal kitchens and communal nurseries for children so that the women could be free from domestic chores — free to sweep the streets, Miss Scanlon added. It came as a sur'prise and delight to see, after leaving Russian terr-i-tory, women earrying umbrellas and handbags. She had never seen that in her travels in the land of 'the iron curtain.