A CONVICT REPUBLIC

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 317, 31 May 1913, Page 10

A CONVICT REPUBLIC

\ j AMAZING STORY FROM SIBERIA. / COMMUNITY THAT EXISTED UNKNOWN i'Ui; YEA US, St. Petersburg, April 14. One of the most troublesome'tasks of Privy Councillor, X. A. Maglakßll', who has just been brought from governing Tchernigoff to the Ministry of the Interior, is to decide what should lie done with the Imansk Republic, the mysterious commonwealth, whose deeds and terrors have astonished Russia, during the past six mouths. For 20 years'" this Imansk Republic has existed in the Czar's dominions with its own constitution, laws, punishments, printing press and police, yet its discovery is only recent. The Imansk Republic was found last year by the traveller, Kasimir Veliki, who had mads a tour up to the Ussuri and up part of the Inman river to look for sables. It lies 300 miles from Vladivostok in an unexpired part of Primorsk province, in the valley of a tributary of the Ussuri. It is entirely within the Russian empire; and all other villages and settlements in the neighborhood are officially known, and are subject to the jurisdiction of the Czar's - government. Veliki hit upon it acci- ' dentally, and with peril to himself. When i crossing country which in the map is marked blank, he came upon some isolated farms, and, further on, a town of about 1000 houses. Imagining himself to be near an unknown Chinese settlement, he went- on and came across Mongolian-looking infants, who, to his surprise, cried out to him in a mongrel Russian dialect. A moment later he was challenged by an armed man, and seized. He found himself in a big village with houses and church mainly in Russion style, but showing stroii" Chinese influences; and he learned that he was in a Russo Chinese community whfch called itself "Imanskaya Resp'ublika," and claimed to be independent both of the _ Czar and of the government of Pekin. Over a dirty inn floated a flag which resembled the Russian tri-color, but was embroidered with a bad copy p f the Chinese dragon. By a stroke, of luck, and after surprising adventures, \eliki escaped before he could find out moie about this unknown Republic. At Vladivostok Veliki's story was at hrst not believed. Afterwards a commission occupied the t»wn bv surprise and returned to Vladivostok with a complete report. It discovered that the Republic had first bean started as a liolv retreat for ascetics, and that it afterwards fell into the hands of Russian and liinese convicts and prospered amazingly. The founder was the millionaire ascetic Innokenti Sibiriakoff, who inherited a fortune of £5,000,000; fell under the influence of mystical persons, and r, ,ly , fia : e " P } IIS P ro P ert y. and wandeied about Siberia and Russia as a "bes- 1 serebreMik»-a beggar. When lrftV(l ,. ; '" \ n l East . A . s,a he was struck by the secluded position of the Iman Valley. ,/r* 000 to three holy men to build log houses and a log church. The good men, and twenty other uersons prayed there for three years. In the a° Wi ' V Tv t ! 6r ? descende<l upon them deroi ti, convicts, who murdeicd the whole 23 persons. These inaders started the Imansk Republic which was at first ti mere robbers' den' and for two years kept pirate boats on M E "p ublic develop e bandits and convicts came ought murdered, and drank. Next' came Chmese with their wives. The bandits murdered the Chinese, and stole then wives. The settlement grew; made It. -n const, I tutlon and laws; and in uoL-lv 500V an a lh° Unt /' y arol,ml eonnted cany 0000 adherents at the time it "as discovered by Veliki. what will become of the Imansk Re public M „ot yet settled. It s s ti l jfif "itve revolvers and knives in plentv nit no n y y Ol o anif >ation or rifle's' and could not resist the attack- 7 pany of soldiers. M C ° m " »!»»..,..c Sir'rtn «»hing and forest work, and are sHIIS trappers and hunters. ,Ed