New Britain herald., 1917-04-03

tuttonary propaganda and exiled without trail by order of the secret police; gendarmier or the minister of the interior, and finally, some tens of thousands of peasants exiled without trial by decrees of the village com munal councils. Many of the latter will remain in Siberia voluntarily. where conditions of wand work are excellent under the reform govern ment.
 One of the largest convict settlements was in Yakuba, in northwest Siberia, where about 15.O00 exiles and con- victs lived in semi-liberty. Tn the mining district of Nertchinsk, 100 exiles. including seven women. con- victed of conspiring against the eim- peror, have been released. The first to be freed was the famous Marie Spiridonoya, who killed colonel of gendarmes for torturing prisoners, She was herself tortured and abused for seven days and then sentenced to death by 8 field court martial. After her release Mademoise1le Spiridonova fell ill and is now in a hospital in Tohita.
 Nicolai Ahuilkhin Interviewed.
 At Tyumen the correspondent met 9 second trainload of exiles from the Irkutsk penal settlements. The crowds at the station cheered the famous terrorist Nicolai Anuikhin, who, in 1906, shot and killed the chief of the Petrograd-Warsaw railway.
 His victim, General Fuchloff, was about to kidnap 400 railroad strikers and send them to Siberia. Anuikhin, who introduced himself to the cores A l~&n .&rSl 4a gigantic, broad shouldered. elderly man with a gray imperial and an ex- cited manner of speech. He said:,
 After one year in European con- vict prisons spent ten years in the .Alexandrovsk prison, fifty miles from Irkutsk. This Is the biggest convict jail in Russia and contained 12.OO0 ordinary criminals and about 500 po- litical prisoners, mostly sentenced to life, ''katrograd.' the severest form of Russian punishment short of death. spent the first five years in the so- called probation class, with hands and feet manacled and chained to 8 wheel barrow which had to take everywhere. In addition, was re- peatedly logged by order of the gov- ernor. The assistant group. during the absence of his chief, ordered daily foggings for his own satisfaction.
 'eThe overcrowded prison was divid- ed into dormitories, each of which was intended for thirty prisoners but usually contained from sixty to eighty, half of whom had children or rheu- matism. We convicts had a secret organization which we called the col lective.' The occupants Of the differ ent dormitories communicated by means of tapping and other systems of signalling. Although we also had means of communication with the out side world we knew nothing of the revolution until the morning of our release. At that time two terrorists andt half 8 dozen criminal convicts were being logged 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 govern or. on getting the news of the revolu- tioh. declared that he would give a farewell logging in order to prepare my jail birds for sweet liberty
 PopO6 Plotted Against Czar.
 Among the political prisoners from Tobolsk Is Alexander Popoff, who was sentenced to death for an alleged plot against the emperor. a charge which he declares was 8 fabrication by the police. Popoff, who is g, high lyr intelligent artisan. was chained by the wrist and ankles for four years In describing his release he said: "A most remarkable feature of amnesty day in TobolslS was the sudden de- mand for blacksmiths. The prison fearing the vengeance of the convicts. fled and private black smiths. in the general frenzy of triumph, could not be found. In the sixty chained men waited for their liberation. The newly formed of public safety, unable to find blacksmiths. drove the still chained convicts to the dismissed gov- erpor's palace, where a banquet had been prepared. and we had our first free meal. Above the din Of the speeches and cheers for the Russian republican could be heard the jang- ling of our shackles."
 From Tobolsk prison there were also released fifty soldiers, sentenced to life for mutiny during the revolu. peasants riots and others who were sentenced for agrarian offenses.
 Another liberated exile was Sophia Lijnetzky, pretty girl of 19. from Vitebsk, who was arrested year ago on suspicion of being engaged in political propaganda and was spirited away to tue remote Siberian village of Kiutun. She was allowed g a month by the government for her living ex- penses and managed to exist by teach ing adult peasants to read and write. Relating her experiences she said: ''In my village the police them selves. wearing red badges. were the first to announce the revolution. Im- mediatelv there was frantic competi-