The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-03
THOUSANDS OF RUSSIAN EXlLES,
SUDDENLY FREED BY REBELLION,
QUIT DREARY SIBERIAN PRISONS

Irkutsk prison and the penal settle
ment Of Tobolsk and Tomsk. The
crowds at the station cheered the
famous terrorist Nicolai Anuikhin,
who in 1906 shot and killed the chief
Of the OVERWHELMINGLY railroad.
His victim, Gen. F'uchIoff, was about
to kidnap 400 railroad strikers and
send them to Siberia. Anuikhin,
who introduced himself to tho cores
pendent AS "a released jailbi~d," is
gigantic, broad shouldered, elderly
man with a gray imperial and an ex-
cited manner Of speech. He said:
after one year in European con-
Wet prisons I spent 10 years in the
Alexandrovsk prison, so miles from
Irkutsk. This is the biggest convict
Jail in Russia and contained $4,000
ordinary criminals and about 500 po-
litical prisoners, mostly sentenced to
life, 'katrogra,' the severest form OF
Russian punishment short of death.
spent the first five years in the So
called probation class, with hands and
feet manaEled and chained to wheel
barrow which I had to take every
where. In addition, I was repeatedly
logged by order of the governor. The
assistant governor, during the absence
of his chief, ordered daily foggings
for his own satisfaction.
1.-THE over-crowded prison was d.
vided into dormitories, each Of which
was intended for 80 prisoners, but
usually contained from 60 to 80, half
of whom had consumption or rheu-
matism. We convicts had a secret
organization which we called the
Collective The occupants of the
different dormitories communicated
by means of tapping and other sys'
TENS of signalling. Although we al
so had means of communication with
the outside world we knew nothing OF
the revolution until the morning OF
our release. At that time two terror
lists and half dozen criminal convicts
were being f1ogged without apparent
cause. The provincial state attorney
suddenly appeared and announced to
our amaZement:
Russia is a republic and you are
free
after our release we learned that
the assistant governor, on getting the
news, of the revolution, declared that
he would give a farewell f1ogging, in
OrO6T To prepare lily J1AIOA1 OS LII
sweet liberty
Among the political prisoners from
ToboIsk is Alexander Popoff, who was
sentenced to death for an al
legged plot against the emper-
or a charge that he declares was a
fabrication by the police. Popof, who
is a highly intelligent artisan, was
chained by the wrists and ankles for
four years. In describing his release
he said:
"a most remarkable feature of
Amnesty Day in TobOlsk was the de-
mand for blacksmiths. The prison
blacBsmiths, fearing the vengeance OF
the Gonvicts, fed and private black
smiths, in the general frenzy Of rev.
olutionary, triumph, could not be
found. In the meantime 60 chained
men waited for their liberation. The
newly formed committee Of public
safety, unable to find blacksmiths,
drove the still chained convicts to the
dismissed governors palace, where a
BANQUET had been prepared, and we
had our first free meal. Above the
din Of speeches and cheers for the
Russian republic could be heard the
jangling of our shackles."
Another liberated exile was Sophia
Lijnaitzky, a pretty girl Of 10 from
Vitebsk, who was arrested a year age
on suspicion of being engaged in po-
litica1 propaganda and was spirited
away to the remote Siberian village Of
Kiutun. She was allowed 81 q
month by the government for her liv.
ing expenses and managed to exist by
20 Il nj n H., q m
write Relating her experiences sht
said:
i "In my village the police them
selves, wearing badges, were the frs
to announce the revolution. Imme
diately there was frantic competition
among the exiles to get home. Tn
i first two girls who started were with
out proper equipment and were over
taken by a blizzard near Vreolensl
and, it is said, froze to DEATH
Another girl WHO had been eMlet
/ to a place near the shore of Lake Bal
| kaI said that the news of the revolu
| ton was first given out by the village
| priest in church. At once SO exiles
who were in the congrega ton, rushet
! out determined on vengeance on TIN
| local police captain, who was wan
| ton tyrant They were met by tn
| policeman's ten year old daughter
! who stood before her father and ex
| claimed:
kill me first
f, The child's action saved the cap
| tain's life.
| In Tyumene are convicts and admin.
istrative exiles who were on theil
way to prison and exile when the rev.
olution occurred. These Immediately
! started to return to EuroDe. Among
them was found Basil Muraven, sen
fenced to death in 1907 for belonging tt
the militant organization of the sccia
revolutionary party Muravin spen
the first five years in the Schlush eburs
fortress on Lake Ladoga, then -four
years in other European prisons, in
GLIDING the one at Pskov, where h.
was logged seven times by the gov
ernor, Baron Modem. He was ther
dispatched to Siberia to end his day.
as an exile on the upper Lena.
When the revolution occurred,
Muravin said, II was in the small
Uldinsk transport prison awaiting tn,
arrival of other convicts for dispatcl
! together to the east. had long los
hope Of pardon when learned that
~ RnTnnR