RULE CF SOVIET

Hokitika Guardian, 27 May 1933, Page 6

RULE CF SOVIET

CONDITIONS IN RUSSIA POLICY OF TERRORISM SYDNEY, May 11. A remarkable interview on Russia as it is to-day was given by Miss Natalie Grushenkova, a Russian missonary and formerly a lecturer at the University of Leningrad, on her arrival is Sydney this week. Of approximately 105,000,000 people in tiie United States of Soviet Russia, she said, only 10,000,000 belong to the Communist Party. Many members of the Communist Party had pierely enlisted for reasons of political expediency. The rest of the population belonged t<> what was officially known as ‘No Party”. «

“If Russia has n war with another country,” said Miss Grushenkova, “it will be tlie end of the present regime. The Government is merely ruling by terror, and.although the people are dissatisfied, they are without leaders, because all tlie best men have , been kTdl, exiled, or forced to become refugees, in other countries. A war would create,the. opportunity for the rise of a leader, -and . hundreds of emigrants 'would return to Russia, and assist a counter -revolution. Without a war, I am afraid the existing regime will continue for very long time.”

FLIGHT AFTER REVOLUTION -1 With her parents, Miss Grushenkova fled from Petrograd after the outbreak of -the revolution of. October, 1917. It had; taken three years, for the revolutionary,. wave to reach the outlying parts.of.Russia but she did not wish to recall the; -horror or. those three years. She had later studied at the University of- Leningrad, eventually being appointed a lecturer. Six years ago she left under special permit to undertake a post-graduate course at the University of London, after giving an undertaking to return to. Russia. Then only a normal Christian, she explained, she became converted to real Christianity in London and commenced studies accordingly. . - Later Miss Grushenkova joined tlie Russian Missionary Society and wished to return to Russia as a missionary. The Russian authorities, she said, made this impossible, and, as -she'-rufii'sed to return in any .other capacity, she took the only ether course available, 'and commenced missionary work among Russians in the border State of Latvia Then followed a period of work among the Russian' refugees in France. For the last 18 months Miss . Grushenkova has been engaged in deputation work in Holland and other countries with iasf’.view of interesting Christians in the plight of millions of Russians who are suffering for their religious beliefs,. Her work in this connection has brought her to Australia, and she will later visit New Zealand.

PERSECUTION OF MISSIONARIES No Christian missionaries were allowed to enter Russia,., said, -Miss Grushenkova. There were still many missionaries there, but they were persecuted, and led a very hard life. She was pleased to be able to say that since the holding of protest meetings in England and elsewhere, the Russian authorities had somewhat relaxed the stern measures formerly exercised. From reports the. Russian Missionary Society had had from Russia, however,, anyone who openly confessed belief in God was deprived of his food ticket and ejected, from his home, on trumped-up charges of anti-Soviet propaganda: She had not heard from her famiJy*for three years, as correspondence with persons outside Russia was likely to invite the attention of the secret police. Miss Grushenkova said she know of a case of a missionary whose only real offence had been preaching the Gospel, but who, on the pretext that his teachings were against the Government, was sent into exile in Siberia for two years. When he had been there a year, his home was searched and the discovery of a perfectly harmless postcard , from - a foreign country led to a further sentence of three years with hard labour. The searchers admitted that the written message on the postcard was seemingly innocuous, but hinted at a secret code. In any ease, it was enough that the man had associations with a “capitalistic- f country.

ACTIVITIES OF SECRET POLICE Numerous cases of persecution by the secret police came to Miss Grushenlcova’s knowledge while she was at the Uni versify of Leningrad. Students, she said, were afraid to express any oninions to their fellows in case they were everheard by, spies, or even that those to whom they were, speaking were themselves spies. Students, innocent of any views contrary to the Soviet, were often enticed into the expression of rash opinions. They were then dragged away to prison and were never seen again. On the'other hand, there wore, of course, numerous plots among the students.

One of the most important tasks -undertaken by the Russian Missionary 'Society was the dispatch of food relief packages to Russia, particularly to the prisoners’ concentration camps in the iev north, where conditions were very bad. Not only were the contents of the packages eagerly sought after, said Miss Grushenkova, hut the very material used as packing was prized,i being made into clothing. According to reports received by the society, , there were always long queues outside the food and clothing shops in all the cities, and everything was very expensive, even necessities. The great majority of the people were suffering both materially and spiritually, but they hrM lost their faith in God*