File:Russia in the shadows (1921) (14760041051).jpg

Identifier: russiainshadows01well (find matches)
Title: Russia in the shadows
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Wells, H. G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946
Subjects: Communism
Publisher: New York, George H. Doran company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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aws. These Com- 109 RUSSIA IN THE SHADOWS munists came into power in Russia andbegan to do at once, on principle, thefirst most necessary thing in that chaosof social wreckage. Against all the habitsand traditions of Russia, they began tocontrol and ration—exhaustively. Theyhave now a rationing system that is, onpaper, admirable beyond cavil; and per-haps it works as well as the temperamentand circumstances of Russian productionand consumption permit. It is easy tonote defects and failures, but not nearlyso easy to show how in this depleted anddemoralised Russia they could be avoided.And things are in such a state in Russianow that even if we suppose the Bolsheviksoverthrown and any other Government intheir place, it matters not what, that Gov-ernment would have to go on with therationing the Bolsheviks have organised,with the supression of vague political ex-periments, and the punishment and shoot-ing of profiteers. The Bolsheviki in thisstate of siege and famine have done upon 110
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1^ ID. < o OS <o PL4 CREATIVE EFFORT IN RUSSIA principle what any other Government wouldhave had to do from necessity. And in the face of gigantic difficultiesthey are trying to rebuild a new Russiaamong the ruins. We may quarrel withtheir principles and methods, we may calltheir schemes Utopian and so forth, wemay sneer at or we may dread what theyare doing, but it is no good pretendingthat there is no creative effort in Russiaat the present time. A certain section ofthe Bolsheviks are hard-minded, doctrinaireand unteachable men, fanatics who believethat the mere destruction of capitalism,the disuse of money and trading, the eff ace-ment of all social differences, will in itselfbring about a sort of bleak millennium.There are Bolsheviki so stupid that theywould stop the teaching of chemistry inschools until they were assured it was pro-letarian chemistry, and who would sup-press every decorative design that was notan elaboration of the letters R.S.F.S.R.(Russian Socialist Feder

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