Decennial

All week long, not only in Russia but in many countries throughout the world, the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Bolshevist regime was celebrated.

Moscow, festooned in red, was the centre of proletarian manifestations. Here 30,000 field-grey soldiers marched past Mikhail Ivanovitch Kalinin, so-called President of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, who took the salute from the top of the Lenin tomb in Red Square. Behind the troops came 250,000 picked workers, preceded by a monster, two-headed green dragon. One of the heads represented, monocle & all, Sir Austen Chamberlain, British Foreign Secretary; the other, Prime Minister Benito Mussolini of Italy, with the Fascist swastika above his forehead.

Above an open window in a house near the Kremlin Gate that still bears the name of Trotsky there stretched a large red streamer in the centre of which was a large picture of L. D. Trotsky himself. Matters grew serious when at the open window there appeared the head of Trotsky in the flesh, not to mention the head of his brother-in-law, Leo Borisovitch Kam-ener. Some of the crowd jeered, others cheered. Then something attracted their attention.

That something turned out to be a man on the roof trying his utmost to tear the red streamer down. With a bellow like a bull's the giant Mura-lov, onetime commander of the Moscow garrison and Trotsky's most devoted follower, elbowed his way through the crowd, scaled the side of the house like a human fly, mounted the roof, caught the offender by the scruff of the neck and the seat of the trousers, carried him to the edge of the roof, and dropped him from a safe height to the ground, where, terrified, he scampered off.

Hour after hour the procession wended its way through the square. A short speech by M. Kalinin was the signal for the singing of the International, which was taken up by the miles of parading populace. Simultaneously, the Kremlin*guns roared salvos of blank shells for six minutes, their blue smoke spiraling upwards around the pinnacles of St. Basil's Church and over the tower of the Spasski Gate.

In Moscow's big parade every branch of the army took part, and there were Red sailors, too. Caucasian cavalry dashed by, their gleaming sabres at salute, their long black capes flowing behind; protection troops, wearing their round astrakhan caps, passed by, a little regiment of dwarfs, to the tune of the famed "Volga Boat song"; then came the Turkoman cavalry at a sharp trot, wearing their huge black shakos and great ponchos. Many of the civilian men and women wore weird costumes of the Middle Ages.

All this to celebrate the achievement of ten years of Bolshevist rule.

What is this achievement?

Last week, had a U. S. observer been in Russia (more particularly in Moscow) he might have noted, besides some noteworthy counterdemonstrations by the Oppositionists accompanied by fisty brawls, some of the following factors:

Voters. He might have been struck by the full meaning of the revolution: the substitution of one privileged class for another; for, today, in Communist Russia the workers are the aristocracy, and the former aristocracy and the bourgeoisie rank even lower than did the workers under the Tsars--they do not count at all. Only workers & peasants over the age of 18 can vote.

Housing. Everywhere there is a shortage of houses, huge families sleeping in small rooms, and as many as 100 people eating at a neighborhood kitchen. For while Moscow before the War had 1,500,000 people, today it harbors almost 3,000,000.

Ragamuffins. Incorrigible, homeless children, orphaned by war, revolution, famine, abound like alley cats, sleeping for the most part where night overtakes them. Preying upon society, finding food and money where they can, they are skilled pickpockets, moral degenerates. U. S. observers would have seen them and shuddered, half with pity, half with revulsion.

Education. Although the Soviet Government has opened many schools, among them being those in which trades alone are taught, the population as a whole remains illiterate and characteristically apathetic. Children are taught only what they wish to learn, for there is no such thing in Bolshevist philosophy as forcing a child to do something that he or she does not want to do--hence the reason why 100,000 vicious ragamuffins roam the streets today.

Divorce. To understand the Soviet psychology of divorce, the U. S. citizen must first note that nobody, even a Kalinin or a Stalin, is permitted to earn more than $115 a month (and few earn as much). It is true that a man or woman can obtain a divorce, without any red tape or delay, merely by applying for a decree. The judge almost invariably grants it. And the charge is only a few cents.

But Soviet law states that a man must pay his wife, if there are children or if she is physically incapable of supporting herself, no less than 30% of his income. Thus, if he earned $115 a month, he must pay $34.50 a month in alimony. The result is that he is very careful about choosing a second mate, for a second divorce would leave him without means of self support. Therefore, although divorce is facile, the law actively discourages it.

On the other hand, men & women, childless and physically fit, may obtain any number of divorces, and this is unquestionably the objectionable feature of the law; for it tends to check propagation.

Prices. The inquiring U. S. citizen would be obliged to pay from $10 to $20 for a room in an hotel--there might be a bath attached, but, probably, there would be no water to fill it. An ordinary dinner, such as might be bought in the U. S. for $2 at the outside, would cost about $5 in Moscow or Leningrad; and, paradoxically, the cheapest food is caviar, which may be bought for a few cents a pound. However, the open air markets and the food bootleggers (those operating without government licenses) supply fresh foods much cheaper and stale or semi-putrid stuffs even cheaper--but always above U. S. prices. A rough suit of clothes costs about $125.

Ogpu. Nor could the visiting citizen escape the surveillance of the Ogpu, formerly the Cheka or secret police, the successors of the Tsar's secret agents. So secret are they that members of the force are even unknown to each other, and only a handful of the highest governmental officials know who is at the head of the organization that sends agents out to shadow the visitor and that is ever alert for the faintest sign of a counterrevolution.

Theatres. The U. S. visitor would find many theatres and cinemas. He would be surprised to find them always crowded with enthusiastic audiences. He would be even more surprised to discover that, in order to get a seat, he must bargain with a ticket scalper. All seats are the same price (it would be most uncommunistic to charge more for a box than for a seat in the gallery). To the unprivileged they are about $3; for the workers, $1, although the scalpers get what they can, as in the U. S.

The plays are mostly of a revolutionary type--that is, their themes tend almost invariably to glorify the revolution. Most of the films are Russian; a few are German; and, occasionally, there is a U. S. picture. it being a not uncommon sight to see billboards advertising Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. The opera is like the theatre, revolutionary.

Entering a theatre, the U. S. observer would see no ushers; he would find his own seat. He would see, not tuxedos and silk hats, but bloused men and girls in coarse sleeveless gowns. He would find, too, no racial distinctions; there would be fair-haired Russian girls sitting amorously with slant-eyed Mongols or yellow-skinned Tartars.

Religion. Approaching Red Square in Moscow, the U. S. observer would see a flamboyant sign in Russian characters: "RELIGION IS THE OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE." Yet, in the streets he would frequently see black-garbed Russian Orthodox priests. He would see people crossing themselves as they passed these holy men and as they passed churches. Some big churches are closed because the people cannot afford to keep them up, but most of the churches are still open. The U. S. citizens would, therefore, come to the conclusion that the Soviet Government, while actively discouraging religion and paying not one kopeck to the support of the churches, nevertheless tolerates worship of the Deity.

Trade. In Russia everything belongs, to the State. Private enterprise, therefore, flourishes on concessions bought from the State. The class that buys concessions are known (and despised) as Nepmen (new economic policy men). If, for example, a man buys a concession to sell bread, he may not open his store before say 10 o'clock, or some three hours after the government monopoly stores open; he may not charge more than a certain amount for a loaf; he must buy all his materials from the government; his books are subject to scrutiny by government agents at any time during the day, and woe betide him if he is discovered cheating! Finally, his profits are so taxed that he cannot make more than the maximum of $115 monthly. His customers are obliged to stand in file awaiting their turn to be served, as they do at all government stores; for the U. S. citizen will find before he is long in the country that Russia is a land of queues.

Concessions. Concessions granted by the Soviet Government to U. S. concerns include the following:

W. A. Harriman & Co.--manganese ore mining in the Caucasus. Concession granted in 1925 for 20 years.

Russian American Gas Co.--now building factories in Russian towns.

Vant Gold Field Co.--concession granted in 1922 for 20 years. Operates in the Amur district of Siberia.

H. Hammer Co.--asbestos and pencil concession.

Prikumsk--agricultural concession, granted in 1924 for 15 years.

Besides these, there are four technical aid associations:

Hugh L. Cooper & Co.--building a vast power system (to be larger than the Muscle Shoals scheme) in Dniep-rostroy, Ukraine.

Stuart, James and Cook, mining engineers--preparing projects in the Danetz Basin coal mines.

Allen & Garcia, engineers--mining in the Moscow district.

Freyn Engineering Co.--erecting steel mills.

There are also the American Aluminum Co. which has a general prospecting concession, and the Beloukha Co., which is prospecting in the Altai region.

Industry. Although a vast amount of capital has been expended on Russian industry by the government, it remains the most serious problem that the Soviet is facing. The basic reason for this is that, with its bureaucratic control, its restricted markets, and its general inefficiency, Russian industry is not able to turn out goods cheap enough to appeal to the peasantry, its logical customer.

Nevertheless, according to the most recent report of the Russian Information Bureau in Washington, the industrial output has increased fivefold in the last five years, while the individual output and the number of workers employed have doubled. The report reads in part:

"During the current fiscal year, begun Oct. 1, $609,754,840 will be expended for capital improvements in industry, over one-fourth of this for new plants.

"Industrial production increased 18% during the past fiscal year.

"The Soviet Union this fall gathered its third successive good harvest. About 35,000 tractors took part in this year's harvest, as compared with 500 in 1913.

"The foreign trade turnover increased from $199,000,000 in 1922-23 to about $800,000,000 during the past fiscal year, with a favorable balance of $30,000,000. Before the War the trade turnover of the Tsarist empire was $1,490,500,000.

"About 20% of the imports last year came from the United States, compared with less than 6% in 1913. American-Soviet trade during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 was about $90,000,000 as compared with $48,000,000 in 1913.

"Under the census completed last spring the population of the Soviet Union is 146,304,931, a gain of 15,000,000 in the past six years. The trend to the cities has been marked."

OPINIONS. Conditions in Russia, veiled as they are by propaganda, and obscured by partisanship, may well be compared to the next world: one side has it that Soviet Russia is an earthly paradise; the other, that it is quite the reverse. Here are opinions pro & con:

Pro. The New Masses: ". . . the last ten years in Russia appear almost miraculous. . . . Millions of workers and farmers the world over look upon the Soviet Union as the advance guard in the emancipation of the mass of mankind from the exploitation of capitalism."

The Nation: "Ten years ago something new was born into the world: . . . Soviet Russia, still hated and feared by the West, is enthusiastically celebrating its tenth birthday. . . . Soviet Russia has become a land of hope, a country where millions of men and women feel a new intensity in the dull business of living . . . women have a freedom exceeding even that of America and Scandinavia; children have a primary consideration unknown elsewhere; and the whole machinery of the State is directed .toward raising the standards of living of the millions. No government in history has set out so deliberately and so successfully, to annihilate illiteracy, to build up mass health, to set its people economically free."

Con. ALEXANDER KEREN SKY, onetime Provisional Head of Russia, in his book, The Catastrophe:-

"Ten years have passed since the fall of the provisional government. But the aims of the Bolsheviki dictatorship remain as irreconcilable as ever with the fundamental life interests of Russia. Social welfare, popular enlightenment, domestic order and international security will not be assured to the Russian people as long as the Bolsheviki continue to hold Russia in the grip of their party dictatorship. . . .

"In the struggle for liberation Russia must inevitably return to the road of popular, national, democratic government, the road upon which the Russian people embarked--hesitatingly and with uncertain steps--in March, 1917."

LEADERS. Outstanding personalities in present day Russia are:

MIKHAIL IVANOVITCH KALININ, 52, First Chairman of the Union Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party, a position roughly corresponding to the Presidency of the Soviet Union. Born a peasant, Kalinin (Karlee'neen) migrated to St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) at the age of 14 to work in a cartridge factory. There he became interested in revolutionary intrigue; imprisonment, banishment repeated themselves, as in the case of most of the revolutionists. Liberated in 1917, he took an active part in the Bolshevist revolution and in 1921 was elected to his present post. He is a small, wiry, typical Russian peasant, with all the peasant's limitations; yet, because of these shortcomings, he has proved invaluable to the Bolshevist cause by the restraint he has helped to impose upon the fiery out-and-out Communists in the interests of the peasants.

JOSEF VISSARIONOVITCH STALIN, 48, virtual dictator of the Soviet Union, is the General Secretary of the Polit-bureau (Political Bureau) of the Communist Party, in which the supreme power of the party is vested. Like his comrades, M. Stalin (Starleen) suffered imprisonment and banishment for his revolutionary activities. He is distinguished by a well-shaped head surrounded by a shock of black hair, just beginning to grey. He has a silky black mustache. His eyes are black, and rarely is there a gleam of merriment in them. His facial features suggest cruelty--a hard mask of oriental ruthlessness. He is a silent man, not given to speechifying; and behind his mask lies a singular determination. That is why M. Stalin is feared.

ALEXEI IVANOVITCH RYKOV, 46, is the President of the Union Council of People's Commissars, or, roughly speaking, Prime Minister of Russia, the post that was the late Lenin's. Born a peasant, he took a conspicuous part in the revolution. He, mild-mannered, is often seen slouching along the streets to & from the Kremlin in Moscow. He talks fluently in a pleasant manner, is always polite, extremely reserved, but he is neither orator nor scholar, as are many of his comrades. His forte is his presence of mind.

GEORG TCHITCHERIN (cheat-cher-'een), 55, is Commissioner for Foreign Affairs. Onetime aristocrat and diplomat, he threw up his appointment in Berlin in 1905, associated himself with the Socialist movement, was banished from Germany in 1908, since when he has remained an ardent Bolshevist. During the War he was imprisoned in England whence he was expelled in 1917. returning to Russia in January, 1918. As Foreign Commissioner he has been noted for his suave touch and clever diplomacy in the conduct of the foreign affairs.

LEV (LEON) DAVIDOVITCH TROTSKY, 50, a Jew, from early manhood until the revolution braved the perils and vicissitudes that beset all revolutionaries, although he did not join the Communist Party until 1917. Undoubtedly the most brilliant man in Bolshevist circles, even more brilliant, say many, than was Lenin, he is today shorn of power and has been completely excommunicated from the party. Yet, he is not a nonentity; for he is the leader of the opposition and he is uncompromisingly outspoken in his criticism of Stalinism.

After all, Trotsky's contributions to the success of the Bolshevist experiment, insofar as it may be called a success, are considerable--just how considerable it would be difficult precisely to determine.

He was first arrested in 1898 at the age of 19; Tsarist persecution followed. Escaping from Siberia in 1902, he remained abroad until the 1905 revolution broke out. He then returned to Russia, only to be arrested as the Chairman of the Workers' Committee. Railroaded to Siberia, he managed to escape and for ten years lived in foreign lands, coming to the U. S. in 1916.

While in the U. S., Trotsky lived for nearly three months at No. 1522 Vyse Ave., the Bronx, New York City. With him were his wife (sister of Lev Borisovitch Kamenev) and his two small sons. He is said to have eked out a precarious livelihood on $15 a week, which he got for writing brilliant revolutionary articles in the Novy Mir, New York Russian language newspaper. It is possible, however, that Trotsky earned much more, for his coming was advertised widely among the radicals, who organized many a reception for him and, he, brilliant as always, made many a scintillating speech.

When the 1917 revolution broke out, he abandoned the Bronx and embarked for Russia. The British imprisoned him at Halifax, but released him later, and he made his way without further molestation to his native land, where he joined Lenin. In September, 1917, he was elected President of the Petrograd (Leningrad) Soviet; and the next year, as the first Commissar for Foreign Affairs, he conducted the peace negotiations for the Russians at Brest-Litovsk. He refused to sign the treaty that the Germans drew up, resigned and became Commissar for War, in whiqh capacity he organized the Red Army, now said to be the largest in the world.

Until Lenin died, Trotsky's authority and prestige were supreme. Young, with a penchant for sarcasm, he made many enemies. After Lenin's death, Trotsky's political demise set in. He has held himself up as the disciple and interpreter of Leninism; the men in power have regarded him as an upstart and a renegade. The difference is not merely political; behind all there lies an inscrutable 'tissue of venemous personal hatred. For the nonce, Trotsky is in the discard. Who can say but that the fate of Robespierre and Danton hangs like Damocles' sword over his head?

-Ancient Citadel of Moscow wherein are situated the Soviet Government offices. -THE CATASTROPHE--By Alexander Kerensky --Appleton--New York ($3.00).