Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-08-19
CALL NAT|ONAL|zED
WOMEN RUSS HOAX
Those Interviewed by Cor.
respondent RidicuIe
Story.
MARRIAGES ARE NORMAL
BY ISAAC DON LEVINE.
(C0rrespOndence OF The Star and the
Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 1913.

started out the first day of my ar
rival in Russia to ascertain the truth
regarding the story of the national
ization of women in Russia, widely
circulated abroad.
The reception that this question got
from the first ten women that I put it
to was mixed Some were thoroughly
indignant, being entirely ignorant of
the yarn about the soviet nationaliz-
alton of women which the western
world has spun and cultivated. 9th
erS were amused, expressing their
wonderment how any intelligent per-
son could ever credit such reports.
But none. not even the two daughters
of an out-and out bourgeois. who
have nothing but hatred for the soviet
regime, would admit that a decree for
the naturalization of women has ever
been promulgated by the government
AS soon as one finds ones self in
Russia in the company of the fair sex,
the story of naturalization of the
Russian women appears as a huge
falsehood. People simply will not take
you seriously if you try to delve into
the matter. I spoke to factory girls,
to stenographers. to domestic serv-
ants, to students, to oilers and, finally,
to the Galli-Curci of Russia, Nezh-
danova, the prima donna of the Mos
COW opera. but all my efforts to find
any nationalized women were in vain.
Product of Humorist.
There was a humorous weekly in
Petrograd. 1t was hostile to the
bolsheviki and to the soviets. 1t had
some clever writer's on its stan. One
of them. upon the PRONUNCIATION of
the soviet decree simplifying mar
riage, conceived the idea OF going a
little further and outlining q decree
for the Naturalization of women.
ton of clever humorist was duly
carried abroad and published in
Great Britain as an authentic gov
eminent proclamation.
Perhaps from the point Of view of
the old Russian order of life the
soviet marriage decree was a star
Ting novelty. But from the Ameri-
can point Of view there is nothing
strikingly radical about it. The full
text fthe decree, promulgated under
the sienatures Of Lenin and the then
president OF the central executive
committee of the soviets. Sverdlov.
follows: ;
Only Civil Marriages Recognized.
The Russian republic henceforth
recognizes only civil marriages.
Civil marriage is performed in ac-
cordance with the following regula-
tions: =
1.-The persons desiring to contract
a marriage apply either personally or
through a written declaration to the
section for the registration OF mar
riages and births at the city, dis
trict, county or village administra-
tion board Of. their place of resi-
Sdence.r
Mote: Religious marriage. con-
tracted parallel with the compulsory
civil marriage; is the private affair of
the marrying persons.
"2. Declarations OF intentions to get
married are not accepted:
"fa) From males under eighteen
years Of age and females under six
teen. In Transcaucasia the natives
can contract marriage when the
groom is sixteen and the bride Is
~1bl From direct line relatives. full
and half brothers and sisters.
"(c) From people who are married.
-"td) From demented persons.
No False Statements Accepted.
"s. The persons wishing to marry
appear in the section for the regis.
tration of marriages and births and
declare under their signatures that
the above prohibitions arc not vio-
lated by them and that they contract
the marriage of their own free will
Those who are found guilty Of max
ing Intentionally false statements are
held crimin ally responsible and their
marriage is declared void.
~. Upon the afflxing of their sigma
lures, the director OF the section reg
listers the marrying couple and de-
cIares the marriage legally perform
ed. The marrying persons are given
the freedom to determine whether
they should go under the name OF the
husband. the wife. or their Joint name.
In testimony Of the event OF the mar
rage the married couple Immediately
receive q copy Of the marriage cor
tifcate."
Indeed. marriage in soviet Russia is
not much different from marriage In
the United States. had the good for
tune Of falling into typical bolshe-
visit home upon my arrival In Petro-
grad. My host was the youthful com.
mandant of Bellostrav, q Petrograd
factory workman OF Finnish origin,
twenty years Of age. He had
been married for three years, but had
not been divorced even once. And this
in spite of the comparative ease with
which q divorce can be obtained In
soviet Russia. In the first months
there were hundreds Of Thousands OF
divorces in Russia, almost exclusively
among people who had been unable to
separate legally under the old regime.
but things soon stabilized. and now
the number Of divorces 10 surprising
ly low.