Untitled

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 715, 27 March 1953, Page 5

Sir,-Your correspondent "A.W." is correct in surmising that I did not know such facts as the statistics of land acreage, etc,, held by the peasants under the Tsars. There are other facts, however, which speak for. themselves, such as:

(1) The huge percentage of illiteracy-~ over 90 per cent. under the Tsarist regime, contrasting astonishingly with the present set-up, when education is compulsory between the ages of seven and 14, with ample opportunities for voluntary education before and after those ages. (2) The extraordinary dif-_ ference in the morale of the Russia troops in the first and second World Wars. In 1917 the so-called "Russian steam-roller" cracked up, simply because the individual soldier had nothing to defend. Compare with this the magnificent stand made at Stalingrad during the recent war, which was just one of thousands of such incidents, proving that the people considered their countty worth fighting to preserve. I hold no brief for Russian Communism and should dislike equally to have to live either in Russia or America, because in neither country could I enjoy the privilege of freedom of speech or thought. But this form of police state is based on fear, and our fears are unfortunately fostered by the attitude of the press, which almost invariably headlines anything derogatory to Russia and her allies. It could be alleviated considerably if we were given a more balanced account of life in the "Eastern bloc" countries. We of the West might feel very humble were we allowed to know how much the Soviet is spehding on its education services, and its marvellous books and films produced solely for children, the latter reputedly being unsurpassed by any other country. And as the same attitude apparently prevails in Russia, it follows that their fears are engendered by lack of understanding of our actions, aims and intentions, and ignorance of our way of life. All this, to me, adds up to proof of the folly and futility of the blind selfrighteousness so apparent in our dealings with each other since 1945,

C.R.

S.

(Roxburgh) .