RUSSIAN PEASANTS

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 460, 30 June 1937, Page 3

RUSSIAN PEASANTS

Abuses Aired In Court A “demonstration” trial has been held in Pepel, White Russia, on the Soviet-Polish border, and widely reported in the Soviet press, in order to Eh'ow peasants that they need not submit permanenly to -abuses by arbitrary and inefficient local Communist Party and Government officials. The trial resulted in conviction of several leading district officials, who received prison sentences- of from six months to two years. The officials were convicted of “terrorising” both individual and collective peasants. The case was regarded as. particularly important because it resulted in disaffection of peasants so close to a foreign border. The chief difficulty appears to have arisen from the state’s decision to grow flax in this* district, where conditions were not. suitable. The peasants were unable to harvest crops sufficient to pay the taies in kind 1 fixed in advance of the Local officials, under compulsion to complete State deliveries., thereupon organised searchesjj” of peasant huts, confiscating clothing and food in lieu of taxes. Tried Flax Again.

According to the published testimony, the Commissariat of Agric\l ture finally decided in 1936 not to grow flax in this district, but for some unexplained' reason local officials ordered peasants to make another attempt. The harvest was a failure, and most of the peasants failed io pay taxes in kind. In December, IJT36, district officials visited one village in the group, and

began to search peasant huts. From j one woman who owed 100 roubles in j taxes they took all her clothing and i food, including bedding and mattress- ! es. They valued four mattresses at ! 50 kopecks each. The most valuable item they took was an overcoat which they valued at four roubles. The Government newspaper Izvestia commented: “This unlawful act carried out by the chief leaders of the district, influenced local chairmen to follow their example.” Clothes and food were taken from one individual peasant to cover delinquent taxes of roubles. From another a cow was taken because he owed 30 pounds of meat in- taxes. Firfes for Slight Offences. Fines' were imposed on peasant# for trifling infractions of regulations. Sortie were fined because they failed to attend meetings; others because they failed to deliver packages promptly. The prosecutor pointed out that these officials had violated Soviet laws; he> emphasised that peasants need not submit to such treatnient. But the testimony revealeai that hundreds of complaints had been made for years to higher commitfees, and had been ignored. Now that Soviet peasants have become cogs in one vast state-controll-ed agricultural machine, directed from the centre, it is apparent from published reports that their welfare depends more and more upon local officials.