The Washington times., 1935-11-27
RUSSIANS HAVE
FEAR, SECRET
POLICE
ARTICLE XII
BY MICHAEL BURSTEIN


(ShOck Brigadier of the Five-Year Plan
In Soviet Russia)
Many Of us went away broken
hearted. A comrade Of mine,
alongside of whom I had fought
in the civil war against the white
armies, turned to, me:
80 this is what we struggled
for! Instead of gaining the rights
of man, we are being treated like
dogs. And the world thinks that
Russia is now republic of work
erS and peasants!"
Other comrades recalled the pre-.
revolutionary days when the Boil
shevik agitators appealed to the
masses in the name of secret and
universal suffrage, and promised
the ballot to the workers upon the
establishment of the Soviet gov.
eminent.
I'VE had more rights under the
Tsar than we have under Stain,
some Of them said. I'VE used to
vote for the duna, and in spite of
discrimination we elected Bolshe-
vik and Socialist deputies then to
defend our interests.
Hate Secret Police
"Now we cannot even elect one
of our own men to represent us
In the government. We are COM
PEELED to vote under the eyes Of
our masters for the enemies OF
labor and then cheer them as our
beloved leaders"
If the people of Russia hated
the Cars people, it hates even
more the Soviet police. At the
outbreak of the revolution the
wrath of the people was vented
against the police.
When the Soviet government
come into power, even the name
was abolished and the guardians
of the law were officially desig-
mated as the militia.
The reform was one OF name
only. The militiamen in the So
Wet cities are like the gendarmes
of old. They have lost all human
Sensibilities. Their arbitrary con-
duct, their brutality has given
them a standing second only to
that of the G. P. 1.-THE political
secret service.
Easy to Break Law
Few foreigners have occasion to
come to know the Soviet police.
But the common Soviet citizens
find their daily paths crossed by
petty and heartleSS militiamen
who beset them at every turn.
Yet the restrictions are so nu-
merous under the Soviet system
and the power of the militia to
levy fines so great that it is al
most impossible for the average
Russian to move about without
breaking some law.
Every now and then the militia
stages wholesale street raids. Spe-
cial help is then required. AS a
shock brigadier I was once mo-
bilized for duty and acted as a
deputy policeman under a spe-
cial inspector. The dragnet was
spread in a public square with
many street intersections. Nearly
everybody caught in the net
turned out to be a lawbreaker.
The commonest offense is
boarding a street car after it gets
started. There is a fine of /
ruble for this infraction. 1t is
a usual occurrence to see workers
seized for that offense.
Get to Work Earlier
While I was on duty one such
victim argued and pleaded with
our chief that he had waited too
long for the street car, that he
had to get to his job so as not
to waste the governments time.
IF you are such a loyal work
er." our inspector said, "why don't
you get up a couple of hours
earlier and walk to the factory?"
The man gnashed his teeth and
paid the fine to avoid being
dragged to the police station,
where, he knew, he would be pc
nalized to the extent of 25 rubleS.