Evening star., 1934-12-16
Continued From Fifth Page.

was not a single camera Except few Russian
imitations) to be bought in all Leningrad.
On an island in the Neva River stands the
Fortress of Peter and Paul, built by Peter the
Great to protect his newly founded capital.
This place is held in particular disfavor by
the Soviets for to its prison were sentenced the
political enemies (now heroes) of the former
government. All they did to throw bomb
under the Cars carriage and blow few OF
the royal family to bits, which, we know now,
was pious and glorious act OF rebellion against
the capitalistic system.
AS prison, however, the place is unSpeakabe
and the agonies endured there in the name of
political faith helped drive the hberal-minded
people of the country into blood-thirsty revolt.
Another reason the Soviets dislike the fortress
is that its church shelters the tombs of all the
Cars from the time of Peter the Great to
Alexander the father of the last Romanof.
Large groups of workers are led through this
church-now ugly and unkept, and stripped OF
all the splendor it once new-and shown the
tombs of their mortal enemies, the Cars. The
accompanying lecture, in brief, is this Here
lie the devilish tyrants who fought against the
demands of the workers. Let us be thankful
that the Romanoffs dead and all the corrupt
Russian capitalists with them" There is not
one note of pride in what Russia accomplished
under the Cars and no attempt to instin in
the young people who come to stare at the
past-only scorn for everything not part of the
Soviet revolution.
SAVED St Isaac's Cathedral until I could
spend half a day there The cathedral,
reminiscent of St. Peters in Rome, and once
the Imperial Church. is now an anti-religious
museum filled with childish posters revealing
the iniquiies of the old orthdox religion, its
ignorance and greed, its indifference to the
workers struggle against the capitalists. There
are pictures of priests hidden in belfries, turn
ing machine guns on workers demonstrations;
and pictures of drunken orgies in the monas-
teries The priceless marbles and mosaics sre
hidden beneath strident boasts about the five
year plan, showing how many more tractors
and nails and suits of underwear were made
under Stain than under the tyrant Nicholas.
remarked to the English-speaking lecturer
who escorted me about, that it was shocking
to see the mosaics covered over by these
hideous posters.
Religious art is only tool of the capitalists
to lull the workers into submission" he replied,
from his reply-book. Its tractors and shoes
we worship now
But you not proud of those glorious
granite columns across the facade outsider"
/ asked him. II understand they weigh 60
tons apiece. They must be the largest and
handsomest monolythic columns in the world"
I'VE are not proud of them," he said. Think
of the suffering the workers had to endure to
bring them from F1nlanO. we nave drawings
made at the time showing how badly housed
and fed they were. The workers were not al
lowed to have union; they were nothing but
slaves"
But do you know why this sacrifice
made why this marvellous church was built?"
I asked him. seeing that he had no real en-
Ightment about the place.
ITO enslave the workers with the opium of
religion" was again the mechanical answer.
1T built to commemorate your Gar
Alexander's expulsion of Napoleon and his
destroying arm from Moscow, from Russian
SOIL" I retorted hotly
I'VE workers do not believe in war"
gave up.
On another day visited two of the most
celebrated Summer palaces-Peterhof and
DetskOye Selo. The former is famous for its
fountains which when they play create scene
of extravagant loveliness and luxury. Here the
Cars and their courts danced and wore their
emerald crowns. In DetSkoye Selo Catherine
lived in imperial splendor, amid her so draw
ing rooms, her rooms walled with amber, with
silver, with priceless murals. Here she received
in her gold and crystal ball room, dined with q