RED RUSSIA.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 August 1922, Page 4

RED RUSSIA.

Before tho war Sir Paul Dukes, or Mr Paul Dukes as lie then was, had spent many years in Russia, aifil had studied in a Russian University. Dilfing the earlier part of the war lie wits in the service of the British foreign

Office Hi IttfSSttt, rtltd was a member of the Anglo-Russian Commission. After the Revolution this body was broken up, and Sir Paul Dukes attached himself to the American Y.M.C.A. in Russia. The BoMievik authorities disapproved of the activities ol this organisation, ail'd lid wVtfld in any «i#@ have had to leave the country. Bht liis departure was hastened by ah urgent summons to headquarters in London. Here, amidst great circumstance of secrecy and mystery, lie interviewed the elusive “chief,” and was entrusted with a delicate and highly dangerous mission. He whs to fgtttfti to Ru&sifk

and report on the general situation, the progress of Bolshevism, the development in its policy, the pittt that Gcrmdnjr whs playing h'nd the prospects of a couutef-rcfolution. How he was to get to Russia, how lie VvhS to live there, and how lib wis to semi oilt his reports, here details which the Intelligence Officii i'cft to hi hi! However, Sir Paul Dukei is oloarlly a person of nil'usual resource, and his knowledge of the country and the latiguii&l stocul him iti good stead. His experiences on this difficult mission arc described in “Red Dusk and flic Morrow,’’ a nlbfit interesting book, which cbnfiVifis the saving that truth is often stranger than fiction, and gives a v®ry vivid picture of Revolutionary. Rilssia. Sir Paul Dukes at first hoped to Teach Petrograd by way of Archangel, which was then occupied by.the joint ■expedition of the Allies. However, when he arrived there he realised that this plan was impracticable. He heard that in Finland the smuggling or travellers jmcl foodstuffs across the border lift'd become a regular business, and the forging of passports had been reduced to a fine art. To f inland accordingly he went, made the acquaintance df tli'e most Enterprising ail'd sue, cessful “freetraders,” and in the fulness of time, after some exciting adventures and some anxious halfhours, found himself in Russian territory. He was, of course, disguised, and, on the theory that one might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb, ' lie assunfed the role of n clerk in the Extraordinary Commission. lii

any e'fl'Se detection would have been followed by death, and lie thought that the pro tehee that lie belonged to the inner circles of Bolshevism might conceivably sn'V’e hint trouble, as indeed it did. In Petrograd he got into touch with a curious group of “Att'tis,” whose chief occupation was helping refugees to e Sell Re. Tlid'y indtnled il British merchant, an ex-officer from the Russian Navy, a detective who had formerly belonged to the secret police ol the tzar lint was now in >b(- confidence of the Bolsheviks, ami the bus hand of n popular dancer, a queer inscrutable individual who was in receipt rtf an allowance from the Bolsheviks, and whom tile author never quite trusted, but who nevertheless seems to have dealt faithfully with Ids associates. Together these managed to contrive sttWie refteites which, in point of ingenuity and thrill, rival anything that an imagillfttive OTv-eliSt could invent. But how came it that prison doors could open and places of concealment could he found for the fugitives until the smugglers t'obk them in "handy The explanation lay in the corruption that wiis rampant- everywhere. Many of the officials in the Bolshevik Service had no partieulat enthusiasm for the Bolshevik cause. They were quite willing to supplement their income by betraying their employers. The hated and feared secret police, who had lost their jobs after the first revolution, had hoeit re-enlist-ed as specialists by the Soviet Government, and pursued their congenial task of spying, eavesdropping, and acting as “agents provociiti?UrS.” Bht the iaeilitv"with which they had transferred their alle'giiUiW did" hot speak hell for their' tritstWoHßinCss, and the author found that all with whom he had dealings were to Ik? bought. Officials whose duty it wits to interrogate prisoners would, for a consideration, Utitke a favourable report. Bolshevism, despite its high-soundiiig professions, was unable to command faithful service. Venality, fortunately Mr those who had fallen under the displeasure of the Bolsheviks, was universal. The author giveft it g'rftphtc account of conditions both in the cities anil in the couhtfy. Spate dobs Writ permit to

mbntibtt <if liis iVirtiVv ddvehtures, Itis shifts, hairbreadth escapes-, arid various disguises. At first hd flayS lib was in a: eohtiniiill state of Apprehension,

but gradually his nervoustVeSs evaporated, and he began to find sorrtethiilg exhilarating in fils adventurous life. Froni liis rtllservatibns lib' is convinced that many of those \Vl\d ostensibly lielong tft the Cbth'nihni'st party are actually 1 tfKe-war or indifferent. Bolshevism retains its position because it controls the machinery of government, and because it is the oiie Active force in a nVfiss of inertia and lethargy. He had a young fribnd' who belonged to the Beil artillery. But his regiment never saw n gun, and never attended a

drill, fts members simply drew rations. That was why many of them had volunteered. This, of course, was

in Mid earlier days of the revolution. Bator Trotsky inaugurated a hi orb strenuous regime. Conscription was enforced, although the peasants niiihngetl trt ; evade ft: The Red armies are in the main officered by Czarist officers. In many cases the wives anrl children of the latter are held as hostages, and their release is the reward of meritorious sfervibe. The townsmen accept the situation simply because they have not the initiative to do otherwise. But the Bolsheviks have made little or no headway ill the country. “The class of ‘middle’ peasants—that is, those who were half-way to prosperity—-incited by agitators, sided at first with the poor in despoiling the rich, until it was their turn to be despoiled, When they not unnaturally became enemies of the Bolshevist system. The imposition of

a war tax, however, finally alienated (.lie synipntliies df tile entire* peasantry, for the enriched ‘poor’ would nbt pay, because they were technically poor, while the impoverished ‘rich’ could hot

pay because they had nothing left. This was the end df Obmnnmism { throughout pine-tenths rif the Russian

provinces, and it occurred when the Bolsheviks had ruled for only a year;” If, then, the bulk of the population is indifferent to or actively hostile to Bolshevism, how is it the attempts of tho “Whites” hrtve fiiet with so little successP Sir Paul Dhkes explains a pheiltmWfion whicli has puzzled many outsiders. “The eofiiplete absence of an acceptable programme alternative to Bolshevism, the audibly whispered threats of landlords that in the event of a White victory the land seized by the peasants would he restored to its former owners, and the' lamentable failure to understand that in the AntiBolshevist war politics and not military strategy must play the dominant ,-ole were the chief causes of the White, defeats.” The'Course followed by the varibiiS White adventures Was broadly the sahib. First an advance, find until the character of their rule was recognised the Whites were hailed as de■tlver'ers ffd’rtf the Red yoke. There was little real fighting. The Reds ile•serted by hordes. Then came a bait, due to meipiehfc disaffection in the rear. Requisitioning, mobilisation, internecine strife; and corruption among officials differing but little .from the regime of tho Reds, gradually antagonised the peasantry, who revolted against the Whites as they hail against the Reds; anil made tho position of the White armies untenable. “Tli'O gulf that yawns between the White leaders and the peasantry is as wide as that between tile Communist party and the Russian people.” The filial" result of the op'eiAtlbitS of the White armies has been to inspire tho peasantry with the determination to Il'ofil their riWii against Red and White alike. What of the future? Sir Paul Dukes tides not attempt to assume tho mantle of the prophet, lint-, nevertheless, he believes that the future of Russia lies with the peasant who constitutes the real Russian,.....

U 66. Tyrwhitt Kept after the Germans fill tlie fifteriiooif, and remained in touch, but could not do. more unsupported. His orders from Jellieoe to make a night attack could not be carried out because of had weather,, and Scheer returned seathless except for the damaged Westfalen. Nothing has ever been told the British public about this unfought Jutland, though communiques were issued - announcing tho loss of the two cruisers sunk.”