Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13

H white shawl about her shoulders, in
her eyes a calm dignity that seems
to pervade the whole of the great
Moscow building in which is her private office.
Her face Is that of thinker and an organ
izer an intellectual arstocrat-here is q wom-
an of power, of a clear, exact mind, bearing
herself with the gravity and earnestness OF
one who has suffered much to reach lofty
position in the government OF her dreams.
Here is widow a wife, the mother of two
children a woman who Is commissar OF
finance Of the r. S. F. S. r., division that in
cludes TO per cent of all the Union of Socialist
Soviet RUSSIA position equivalent to that
of Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon In
the United States of America.
In December of last year Varvara Nikoliovna
Yakovleva was appointed commissar. She as
sumed responsibility for the national budget,
1880 million rubles, the largest in the world,
and for the financial direction of the spec
tacular five-year plan, by which the Soviet
government hopes to force complete indus
trialization of Russia.
Even IN America, in England and the coun-
tries where women have made such startling
progress, no woman has become a cabinet
member no woman has become the chief hnan-
cial executive of q government.
lifetime Of devotion to the Russian revo-
lutionary movement and faithful service in re-
sponsible positions since 1917, coupled with
special training and ability, have proved Yakov-
levaS fitness for her post. She served for
seven years as assistant commissar OF edu-
cation under Lunacharsky who said OF his
assistant:
"Varvara Nikoliovna is woman with enor-
nous capacity for work, q rare decisiveneSs on
every question, and exceptional talents. She
establishes the StrtcteSt order wherever she Is,
she is lover of truth and an excellent COM
rade. Varvara Nikoliovna has golden hands"
Her Revolutionary record is less extraor-
binary. Born in 1884, her 46 years have been
crowded with work, adventure and hardship.
volyO cI1o dnor NOT NJ md hnv
she came to be revolutionist.
Our parents were bourgeois, our home life
patriarchal, stagnant. We children could not
leave the house without permission and could
have playmates only children approved by
our parents in the evening evnrv one had
to be at home"
But it is possible that this very oppression
at home was somewhat responsible for the re-
bellious spirit kindled in Varvara and her
brother School life was just as restricting.
The teachers were afraid to awaken any in
terest in their subjects-it was revolution; the
students were forbidden to bring newspapers
into the school-it was revolution. If girl
walked with boy on the street. was worse
than revolution.
Yakovleva exercised great influence on her
brother. She was already a member Of rev.
dictionary party, and he soon followed her ex-
ample. He became an active revolutionist,
suffered long years of Imprisonment and exile
and after the 1917 revolution became presi-
mittee Of the Siberian Soviet During the civil
war in Siberia, he was pursued and driven
$500 versts 1900 miles, on foot through the
Tiaga, the almost impenetrable swamp forests,
without food. At last emerging from the
woods he entered village, was surrounded
and killed
FINISHING the gymnasia, or high school, at
the age Of 49, Varvara entered the Girls
Higher School in Moscow, choosing as major
subjects physics and mathematics, with o
special course in astronomy. This girl Of l6
already showed a deep interest in the most
exact and beautiful Of the sciences. But while
she studied the stars, she remained very much
on the earth; she joined group Of students
engaged in political self-education, but It was
only after years of study tNet e>'e "-H-"d her
self as a MarxiSt
In January, 1904, she Joined = Socialist
revolutionary group and asked to be given some
definite work. This consisted Of hitting and
distributing literature. Durire tao4-5 she
worked as an organizer a-d croneeandist
among the proletariat. Rv A"t''r'r OF 1904
she had become q confirmed hclshe-''-
Her first arrest occurred i- fa"e ord re-
suited in a prison sentence SC eo"v pc she
was free she took up illepel ~"-'a---e IN HFos-
COW: she passed her f,a' e--~-'--''0-e and
became teacher in the ~-~-~'- - -"t,o"fs.
She was arrested again IN E"--o~,",-. 1oa7: