The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-09-16
Inside Russia
By HARRISON SALISBURY

reached the outside world only in bare fragments. Today it is pos Sible to put these fragments to- gether and see what they mean.
 They tell a story of vast changes within the Soviet Union.
 First reference to these events used the word purge" This desig- nation appeared in a dispatch which United Press Correspondent M. s. Handler was permitted to send his New York office from Moscow on June 26.
 "All CMoscow) newspapers re- port" said Handlers cablegram, ''that the Ministry of State Control Is purging and committing to trial factory directors, engineers and &C., countants throughout the country who have been faking production figures, receiving bonuses illegally, misappropriating factory funds and converting state property for per- eonal use"
 House-cIeaning Shifts to Army
 Other advices and other cables direct from Moscow since June show that Generalissimo Josef Stalin's postwar house-cleaning has not been confined to Soviet industry alone.
 Shifts in personnel and removals from office, reorganization and 1n- vestigation have reached high into government ministries. They have reached into the Red Army, the Communist Party and even into the cormtry's intellectual and artistic life.
 On some recent days the four page Moscow newspapers have de- Soked as much as two-thirdS of a page to reports of reprimandS for lnNficiency and exposes of malic1- pus or wrongful conduct by Soviet citizens.
 Unlike other Soviet upheavals, notably those of the -thirtieS, the sentences so far reported have been confined to prison terms and fines.
 Confirm ZhukOv's Change
 On July IT 8 two-line United Press dispatch from Moscow said Eunconrmed reports" had been re- ceived of the transfer of Marshal Georgi Zhukov. chief of Soviet ground forces and outstanding So- viet war hero, to the post of com- mandant of the Odessa military garrison.
 A day later the United Press ob- tained confirmation of Zhukov's transfer. No news of the shift ever has been published in the Russian press nor has there been any of ficial Soviet announcement.
 Various theories to account for Zhukov's transfer were advanced: that he was sent to take over the defenses of 8 region close to the troubled Balkans and the vital Dardanelles; that his firm hand was needed in restoring law and order due to unrest in the Ukraine; that he had been sent to a com- paratively obscure, provincial post because he was too friendly with commanders of the west like Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
 Zhukov's post as ground force commander was filled by Marshal Ivan s. Koniev.
 Litvinov Retired"
 A second Soviet notable to lose his position was Maxim Litvinov, deputy minister of foreign affairs. Announcement that the 70-year-old diplomat, widely known as a friend of the West, had been relieved of his duties" was made on Aug. 23. On the same day P. V. Smirnov, chief of the Meat and Milk Produc- tion Ministry, was removed.
 On this day also Nikita Kruschev, member of the Politburo and secre- tary of the Ukraine Communist Party, told a party gathering in Kiev that there is taking place mass replacement of the leading party personnel in the Ukraine.
 By Aug. B every reader Of the Moscow newspapers was aware, II he had not been previously. that one of those thorough-going shake ups in personnel and personalities which have marked the history of the Soviet regime was well under way.
 The initial announcement of June 9S concerned r individuals-eight factory managers or directors, five engineers and four accountants.
 Miners Inflate Figures
 One was director of coal mine No. 19 of the Tulaugol Coal Con- bine who had inflated his produc- tion figures for February, March and April of this year by about three percent in order to distribute bonuses to himself and his CO., workers. Three others were execu- lives of the Katex Automobile Works who fattened their produc-- tion figures from 3.3 to 5.8 percent for the same reason.
 These moves have been accom- panied by what appears to be 8 full-blow propaganda campaign Tor tighter discipline, greater efficiency und closer hewing to the Kremlm party line. .,
 The campaign for better d1sci- piine-"iron discipline" as 1t IS called in the leaflets, newspaper editorials and wall posters - has been particularly pronounced in the Red Army. It was launched with an announcement on June l9 that Generalissimo Stalin had signed a new code of discipline for the Red Army which emphasized prompt and precise execution of orders, the strict guarding of military and state secrets" and an attitude of respect toward older soldiers and superior officers. All ranks were in structed ito carry out strictly the rules of military etiquette and sa- futing"
 Random selections from the So- viet press show how the campaign has penetrated into almost every nook and cranny of Soviet life.
 Nothing Escapes Attention
 Hardly anything has been too imposing to escape attention in this : recrudescence of what is called In the Bolshevik argot Soviet self criticism"
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