The Denver Jewish news. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-1925, 1921-07-20
Life Of Jews in Soviet
Russia
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHAIN
NAHUM BIALIK, HEBREW Ma
TIONAL POET.

onmenc Tor six years In Soviet Rus
sia. Chain Nahum Bialik. the grea;
Hebrew national poet. has arrived in
fhis city. Bialik, once so erect and
stately, Is now bent with care, and
marked with the sorrows OF war and
the prosecutions. of Il troubled regime.
The long period OF distress however,
seems not to have cooled his enthus-
iasm nor checked his desire, for ac-
tiVity nor yer made MS poetic fire
burn any the lower. Tho his original
intention had been to go from Con-
stantinopie Immediately to Jerusalem,
he INFORMED me that his plans were
now changed and that, instead. he
wou'a visit the Important Jewish CEN
tres In Europe with view of obtain
Ing che financial means necessary far
the establishment or one Immense He
In which he would entieavor to CON
centrate the production Of Hebrew
writings and from which publications.
In the Hebrew tongue would be dis
tributed the world over.
Asked how he had been granted the
exceptional privilege OF leaving so
Wet Russia at this time, Bialik ex-
planned IN these words:
of late, the conditions OF a group
OF authors including myself and nine
others residents in Odessa. had reach
ed an almost impossibly distressing eli
max. In our despair we addressed
ourselves to Maxfm Gorky, the IA
nous Russian author who. we knew,
had considerable influence with the
powers that be in Moscow. We ex-
planned that since we had been placed
In the :non-usefuf category by the
Soviet authorities there ought to be
no objection to our leaving the co,tn-
try. A letter to this effect, and CIV
leing an the detnils OF our case, was
| dispafched thru a certain Mr.. Sedox,
weli-known Journalist Two months
later, tia, same Set'oy returned TO
Odessa from Moscow bringing us the
happy news that Gorky hau interview
ed Lenin on our behalf and that Rus-
parture. 1 was fearful however, that
the permission would not be forth
coming for long period because OF
the maze of official red tape thru
Which our papers would have TO pass,
and none too certain that our lives
would be safe till the end OF that pc
riod i fastened to Moscow together
with my colleague. Kleinman.
We arrived there mt most un'
fortunate hour. All of Russians en-
ergy and the attention of all It's many
commissares and cOmmjsSarlatsi We're
concentrated on beating down the
Kronstadt insurrcction then threaten
ing Petrograd. We nervoiisly bided
our time. but when the revolution col
lapsed and quiet was restored Gorky
informed me chat all the departments
concerned had received instructions to
facilitate our passage thru and out OF
the country. On all sides officials
treated us with the greatest sympathy
and respect.
But it is characteristic of Jewish af-
fairs in Russia today that whatever
difficulty arose was created by the
Jewish communists known us Jefsek
from the two Russian words JEFF
raiske Sekstie. the Jewish section).
These gentlemen exerted themselves
to the utmost TO hinder our plans,
Lunatcharsky, Commissare OF Educn-
tion and many other Russian inteiiec'-
uals had intended giving us n great
farewell dinner in the "Presse Home
in Moscow but the 'Jefsek' interfercd
and the banquet did not take place
The .Jefsek' wrote to the Central Com
'"",''''