SOVIET STUDENTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 December 1942, Page 4

SOVIET STUDENTS

MANY SERVING IN RED ARMY OTHERS DOING IMPORTANT WAR WORK. PROFESSOR'S INTERESTING SURVEY. Professor A. V. Yefimov, Dean of the History Department of Moscow State University, received us in the main’ library of the university, writes a correspondent in “Soviet War News.” Named after Maxim Gorky, this library has over 1,250,000 volumes. Looking down at us from the walls were portraits of champions of Russian progress and democracy—Radishchev, Belinsky and Herzen, and of great men of letters who had been educated at the university—Lermontov, Turgenev and Chekhov. We were eager to know what changes the war had imposed on the university, Imd how the students helped the front and industry. Here is Professor Yefimov’s reply: “Moscow State University is the biggest educational institution in the country. It has ten scientific research institutes, including institutes of mathematics, astronomy and physics. It maintains observatories, botanical gardens, anthropological and zoological museums, numerous research and scientific laboratories and its own publishing house.

STUDENT-COMMANDERS. “Before the war we had 6,870 students, not counting some 10,000 correspondence students, and a staff of 1,720 instructors, including 220 professors. More than 2,000 students and teachers have joined the Red Army, and 40 of them have been awarded decorations. “Some have been, killed at the front. One of them, Fedorov, a chemistry student, became commander of a special trench-mortar battalion on the Leningrad front, and died defending to the last the position held by his unit. Feofan Chulkov, another of our students, has been awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. A. L. Sidorov, Professor of History, chemistry student Shvetsov, history student Ponomarey and others have been decorated with the Order of the Red Star. “When the Germans launched their drive on Moscow hundreds of our students left their studies, took up arms and helped to rout the Panzers. WAR INVENTIONS. “On the industrial front our professors and scientific workers, as well as students from the physics, chemistry, biologv, engineering, mathematics, history and other departments are doing important defence work. These activities are directed by the chemist Rodionov, Doctor Lepin, Professors Ilyin, Leontovich, llushin, Christianovich and others. . Kudryashev ,our professor of biology, has invented an apparatus for stopping haeiporrhage which vastly increases the prospect of success in operations necessitated by serious skull wounds. 1 ■ , 4. “Our historians are preparing treatises exposing the Nazis’ misanthropic falsification of history. Our students lecture to army units, to the wounded in hospitals and to civilians. They deal with scientific and political subjects as well as A.R.P. . “Many of the girls are working as Red Cross nurses in hospitals and at the front. In addition, 225 students are helping a hospital in which the university takes a special interest. Many of our students are blood-don-ors. , r. “The universify A.R.P. and firefighting service is well organised. When the alert sounds both students and professors take up their posts as fire-fighters, messengers or first aid workers. If it turns out to be merely a reconnaissance, we continue our studies even when the guns open fire, stopping only when danger is immineil“During one raid a bomb dropped at the foot of the Lomonosov monument in front of the University building. The base was destroyed, but Lomonosov’s bust was undamaged. A few days later it was installed on a new pedestal. The slight damage done to the building will be fully restored this year. It is now some months since We had our last alert.

WORK IN WOODS AND FIELDS. “Last summer 1,200 of our students helped with the harvest. Many went to build fortifications near Moscojl This summer hundreds of oui men and women are m the; woods cutting firewood or in the fields helping the farmers Others are. in fadories getting practical experience at the be, ‘Students are at work in manydistricts, particularly in the ITlais,P npctina natural resources. Certain xe suits of their work havee steady been embodied in a number of these pun Sed by our geology “d seogophy denartments. Other publications ie eX issued by Moscow include naoers by chemistry students, two volumes by biology den l s / n ou r peridical containing works by ou has a greater proportion of girl students. A number P of men who left universiv join the Red Army being and were invalided out after bemg wounded, are now back at tu ition ies. They are exempt from tuition fees and receive grants.

families assisted. war service receive Jze and ing in accordance with the size composition of the farmuniMost of the udent l at JJ°thme are collective farmers, the + n nl- our the intelligentsia. As we too leave Professor Yefimov said. ~ “The war demands unity of a , Ol'S Xe'SSLX S STXX 'JS T 1? ’S*