3 7

f WOMEN IN
RUSSIA

U N IV E R SIT Y o f W A R W IC K LIBRARY
M attland / Sara C ollection
 Published in February, 1928

Printed in England by The D o trit Press Limited (T.U.

throughout), 6X-70 Lant Street, Borough, London, S.E .i.
Published by the Communist Party o f Great Britain,
16 , K ing Street, London, W .C .2
 INTRODUCTION
E v e r y woman in B ritain i s f a m i l i a r with the Bolshevik
bogey. I t has been used to capture h er votes a t elec­
tion tim es, and influence h er mind in favour of the
Governm ent’s hostile acts against Soviet Russia.
According to the capitalist press reports, the Bol­
sheviks have nationalised women and destroyed family
life and everything beautiful in the realm s of art.
Religion has been wiped out, and hordes of homeless
children roam a t large. “ M orality’' docs not exist, and
the people are ready to revolt against the Soviet
Government.
In the following pages is told the story of five
British working women, who travelled thousands of
miles, unattended, in order to see things for themselves.
In this land so dangerous for women they found work­
ing women treated with a care and consideration un­
dream ed of in our own country-w om en in all kinds of
official positions, from the helm of the S tate to the
managem ent of a factory or the driving of a tram car.
Wo were invited to attend the All-Russian Con­
gress of Women in Moscow, and afterw ards to stay for
the C elebration of the T enth A nniversary of the
Russian Revolution.
Four of us left England on O ctober 6th, 1927, but
one had difficulty in obtaining a passport from the
B ritish authorities, and had to (ravel later. She joined
us in Moscow, and the experiences set forth in this
pam phlet are vouched for by all the delegates.
BETH TURNER, London.
ROSE SM ITH, Mansfield
LILY W EBB, M anchester.
FANNY DKAKIN, Stoke-on-Trent.
FLORENCE MAXWELL, D urham .
January 2nd, 1928.
 WOMEN IN RUSSIA
En Route for Moscow
H E clerk in the B ritish Passport Office looked
T up in surprise when we asked to have our pass­
ports endorsed for Soviet Russia. ,fYou are
aware, of course,” he said, “th a t the British
Governm ent accepts no responsibility for your safety
when you get there? You may g et into Russia, but
Ood knows how you will get o ut a g a in !”
We recalled this pious sentim ent when we found
ourselves crossing the oorder of Soviet Russia.
Our first indication th a t we had really arrived in
the country about which so many stories are told was
when our train drew up at the first station over the
frontier. Red soldiers were walking and standing
ab out on the platform , and some of them boarded the
train to examine the luggage and passports.
We got out for a walk, and one of our delegates
offered cigarettes to some of the soldiers. These they
were diffident about accepting, until they discovered
th a t we were delegates. Im m ediately upon this dis­
covery their doubtful looks changed to (teaming smiles
as they shook hauds heartily. They showed us their
wall new spaper with its comical illustrations, and told
us the Germ an working women who had also been
invited to the Women’s Congress in Moscow had come
through earlier.
When wc left the station- the soldiers bid us good­
bye with warm smiles, and two who travelled quite a
long way on the same train gave one of our delegates
a silver coin and a small Red Army manual as
souvenirs. They also jpave us a little'n o te, w ritten in
Russian, conveying their w arm est greetings to the dele*
gation and to B ritish working women.
Our train sped over interm inable stretches of land,
without any sign of human habitation, along the side
of g reat forests ablaze with all the glory of autum n.
Stopping a t stations on the way, or watching the
peasants a t work in the fields from our carriage win­
dow, we noticed a g reat difference betw een these
 people and those we had observed in the Border S tates
of Latvia and Lithuania.
In the Border S tates we saw people m iserably clad
and half starved. On one occasion our h earts were
wrung by a pitiful procession of workers in chains
being leu, under the supervision of an armed guard, to
work in the fields. In Soviet Russia we saw none of
this. All the workers we saw during the whole of our
visit were warmly and comfortably clad. W e did not
see one worker with broken boots, b u t the m ajority
with good boots and goloshes. No workers could afford
goloshes under Tsarism.
At half-past eight on the morning we were due in
Moscow we had all washed and breakfasted, and were
wandering restlessly along the corridor. We had
wakened that morning to a new and delightful world.
The ground was covered with snow, a glorious sun was
shining and frost sparkled everywhere like diamonds.
Someone pointed out to us the fancifully-decorated
buildings th a t used to be the summer palaces of
Moscow's rich before the revolution, b ut are now used
as rest homes for the workers.
On arriving in Moscow we were taken to an hotel
an«l given a magnificent suite of rooms—Louis XV. gilt-
leggcd furniture, walls hung with flowered brown satin
instead of wallpaper, and a private bathroom with con­
sta n t supply of hot and cold water, and central h eat­
ing. We were given the best, because we were workers,
and the guests of the workers of Russia.
The Women’s Congress
A hall ablaze with light from huge crystal chan­
deliers. A hail, lofty and arched, whose tall m arble
pillars are emblazoned with gold, and whose walls are
of blue and white marble. This is the g reat ball in
the Kremlin, in which the All-Union Congress of
Women is being held.
There are twelve hundred women present, dele­
gates from all p arts of the Soviet Union. We enter
noiselessly, our steps muffled in tho thick red carpet,
and it is not until we ascend the steps leading to the
Presidium th a t the women are aw are of our presence.
All the women rise and give us a rousing welcome.
The scene as wo survey it is a breath-catching one.
There are women from rem ote E astern provinces of the
Soviet Union, such as Azerbaijan, T urkestan, Uzbe-
3
kistan, And far-off Siberia. They w ear national cos­
tum es, and the tight beats down on their gaily-
coloured skirts and draperies, and sparkles on the silver
coins some women wear {or a headdress. There are
headdresses of all shapes, sizes and colours; the two
hundred delegates from factories w ear sober clothes,
with a bright red kerchief tied round th e ir heads.
Some of the other women are draped entirely in
black, some in white, some in all colours of the rain­
bow. Some faces are white, some brown, some yellow.
Many are rem arkably beautiful.
The commotion of our en try over, the conference
settles down again to business. They have been called
there to hear reports from the heads of Government
departm ents on all questions affecting women through­
o ut the Soviet Union. They have to consider health,
education, industry and the building up of socialism.
I t is difficult to im agine the M inister of H ealth in
B ritain calling a m eeting of women from the factories
and mining villages in order to rep o rt his activities to
them , and discuss his future tasks. But in Soviet Russia
this is done, and the women sit listening eagerly while
Dr. Semaschko, head of the People's Com m issariat for
(M inistry of) H ealth, details to them the work that
has been done during the last ten years. He rem inds
them of conditions before the revolution, and immedi­
ately after -of the horribly insanitary living conditions,
the dreadful heritage of epidemics, syphilis and various
other diseases, bequeathed by Tsaraom , of the starva­
tion of the blockade period, when neither food nor
medicine was allowed to en ter Russia, and of the lean,
long m onths of famine. Poignant memories th e se !
M ost women present paid the price in the loss of lovpd
ones and in terrible suffering. Their eyes darken as
the shadow of those awful years falls on them once
again.
It is soon lifted. He does n ot dwell long on past
difficulties. H e tells of the winning fight they are
waging with diseases, of the netw ork of clinics and
hospitals in town and country, of the dental, ex-rny
and sunlight treatm ent th a t is available for every
worker free of charge.
Every factory employing forty women m ust have
a creche where the children of the women can be cared
for free of charge. The creche is m aintained o ut of
the profits of the industry.
“ M other and child” institutes, where women obtain
4
the most scientific advice before and after child-birth,
are quite common. The number of m aternity hospitals
has increased by 12,221 since the revolution.
U nder the T sar women’s diseases were prevalent,
owing to young girls of seven and eight years of age
being forccd into the factories to work nine and ten
hours a day. Now no child roust be employed under
the age of fourteen, and those between th e ages of
fourteen and sixteen are not allowed to work more than
four hours a day.
Inform ation on birth control is now free to every
woman. Secret abortion is abolished, and any woman
who feels her circumstances do not justify her having
a child can receive skilled medical assistance.
Not a word of all this is missed by the listening
women, and many questions are handed up to the
chairman.
Itykov, Prim e M inister of the Soviet Union, pays a
visit to the Congress, und his speech is loudly cheered.
So also is the speech of K rupskaya, the widow of
Lenin. In the intervals of Congress the women buzz
round K rupskaya like bees, and the photographers are
constantly arranging groups with her in the centre.
We take our meals in w hat used to be a chapel of
the Tsars. The walls are painted in m any colours,
depicting scenes from the Bible. U p in one com er is
a narrow window through which the ladies of the
T sar’s household were in the old tim es perm itted to
gaze upon their lord a t prayer. They them selves were
not allowed to enter the chapel.
A fter m eals we wander arm in arm with E astern
women and Moscow textile workers through the great
rooms and corridors. The magnificence of the T sar’s
S tate A partm ents, the Throne Room and the Im perial
Bedchambers is still preserved. Priceless woods and
marbles, great doors that are works of a rt in them ­
selves, show no signs of the alleged destructiveness
of the revolution. Even the chair on which the tyran t
sat and the bed in which he slept are preserved in p er­
fect condition.
The women nuite clearly regarded all this as their
property, and indicated to us by ea&ily-understandable
gestures that all this magnificence was once for the
glory of one man, b ut that now it belonged to the
many.
We are taken into the Throne Room, where stand
the thrones of tnanv Tsars, in two n eat rows. A new
5
 throne was made for every T sar, and each g reat chair
with its gold and jew el-encrusted crown on the back is
a rclic of years of oppression and tyranny.
Downstairs we go through room after room, nearly
ail panelled in carved oak. The women's apartm ents
particularly are very dark and isolated. W e gaze on
the bed in which N apoleon slept when he was in
Moscow, and stand also in the long gallery where some
of the Tsars used to view' the most beautiful women
of the court and pick out for their am usem ent the one
deemed the most desirable. Back again to the Con­
gress. where Lunacharsky speaks to us on education.
“ We have given you freedom —political equality,”
he says, “ but women will not be able to make use of
their political rights, to en ter upon the path of social
activity and economic independence without education.
Lenin laid particular stress on the fact th a t without
women we should not be able to build up socialism.
. . . We have not enough teachers. Tsarism left us
teachers whose minds were crippled. . . . We are spend­
ing much more on education tnan was spent before the
war. Last year we spent 695 million roubles as com­
pared with the 561 millions spent in 1913. Since then
we have had an increase of 30 p er cent, on the Budget.
Our system of education constitutes a scale from the
elementary school to the highest educational institu­
tions, an<] includes also creches, kindergartens and
village reading-rooms. There are 10.000,000 children
attending elem entary schools in the Soviet Union, as
compared with 7,000,000 in 1914. Schools for young
workers and technical schools provide training for
590.000 students. There are one and a half tim es as
many teachers as before the war. and 136 universities,
as compared with 90 in 1924. Religious teaching has
been abolished. Pre-school education is very im­
p o rtant.’*
Lunacharsky’s voice is carried to the very back of
the hall as he concludes: “ This Congress m ust pay
special attention to this work. There are 86,000 chil­
dren in creches and kindergartens, but we must have
more. There are 4,000 playgrounds, which are paid
for out of local finances, and the responsibility rests
upon you to see that still more money is spent in this
direction.
“ Before the revolution there were no more than 25
literate women in the whole of Turkm enistan. In 1925
268 girls attended first-grade elem entary schools. It
6
has been decreed th a t 10 per cent, of all existing educa­
tional institutions in Turkm enistan should be assigned
for women’s education. In 1926 there were 20 special
girls’ schools (the people will not send girls to schools
attended by boys), two boarding schools, ten courses
for the liquidation of illiteracy, and teachers’, mid-
wives’ and first-aid courses.”
Lunacharsky stresses the importance of science and
a rt:
“ The theatre, the cinema—all are your sphere.
You are builders of the future. W hat our children will
be depends more on women than on men. On w hat our
children will be depends the victory of the revolution.”
The Congress applauds loudly, and the young girl
behind us, from Turkm enistan, hugs tighter the dic­
tionary which she has been studying a t every spare
m om ent during the Congress.
Reader, w hat think you of this leadership? It is
the leadership of the Communist P arty, concerned not
with class collaboration and “ peace” with the enemy,
b ut with leading the workers, from whose ranks iU
members come, to complete victory over capitalism in
every shape and form, and to the ultim ate and per­
m anent rule of the working class.
The Celebrations
Going down the Tverskaya, Moscow, a t 8.30 on the
morning of November 7th, we were passed by a column
of Cossacks ou their way to the Hed Square.
The square was packed with soldiers, delegates
from every regim ent in Russia.
A t 9 o’clock Kalinin, Chairm an of th e Central
Executive Com m ittee of the U .S.S.R. (i.e., the P resi­
dent of the U nion), drove up, greeted with cheer upon
cheer, in which the soldiers and w orker-delegates from
China, India, France. Germany, England and Ireland,
and many other countries, all joined enthusiastically.
Speaking from the Lenin Mausoleum, on which
stood the members of the Governm ent and of the Com­
m unist International (including G allacher and M urphy
from B ritain), Kalinin gave a brief address on the
struggles and achievements of the last ten years and
of the progress tow ards socialism.
Then the bands played the “ Internationale,” and
all the soldiers stood at the salute, after which the big
guns boomed out from the Kremlin.
Then came the thrilling march p ast of th e workers’
7
 arm y : cavalry, artillery, the navy and the magnificent
Cossacks. The Cossack* dashed p ast on gleaming black
horses, their black cloaks lined with blue, spreading
on the breeze—their shining lances held aloft. Even
the pacifist delegates from England forgot their
pacifism in their excitem ent and cheered loudly with the
rest.
A t 11.15 the workers of Moscow poured into the
Red Square. From every factory, workshop and school,
from every kitchen and from every college, they
trooped past, carrying th eir banners high, shouting
revolutionary slogans. Predom inant in the throng were
th e banners of the Communist P arty and the Konsomols
(Young Communists).
Laughter greeted the effigies of Cham berlain and
Baldwin making peace speeches, while their jaws were
worked by strings held in th e hands of capitalists and
m ilitarists.
O utside the square it was scarcely possible to cross
the road. Ail streets lead to the Red Square, and men,
women and children surged in processions that
stretched from one pavem ent to the other. This con­
tinued until 7 o'clock a t night. There were women
Red Cross workers, as well as women arm ed with guns,
and from the greetings the la tte r shouted to us, as well
as from their m anner, it was easy to see th a t they had
no hesitation in deciding the action they were prepared
to take in order to defend th e revolution.
The oustanding feature of the entire celebrations
was the complete and o tte r tru st which the workers,
peasants and soldiers have in the leadership of the
Com munist Party.
Through the dark days of civil war, pestilence and
fam ine that tru st was never betrayed, and now, with
the dawn of brighter days, th eir confidence rem ains
unim paired.
The Tenth A nniversary celebrations were not only
a m anifestation of thanksgiving and rejoicing that
Tsarism had been overthrow n, b u t registered the re­
newed loyalty and faith of R ussia’s workers in the
Com munist P arty which led them from T sarist oppres­
sion and slavery to power and freedom througn the
Soviets.
Women in Factories
W hilst in Leningrad, we visited the Rabotchi
textile factor}’. Like every other factory we visited,
8
 the liabotchi has its workers’ club on the prem ises,
where plays are perform ed and m eetings held. A fter
a trem endously exciting meeting with girls and women
packed in every available inch of space, we were taken
round the factory.
There are 5,750 workers in this factory, and the
conditions arc typical of other textile factories we
visited.
Before the revolution, the Ilabotchi belonged to a
coutpauy run mainly on English capital. Its managing
director was an Englishm an named Maxwell, and the
whole of the technical staff were English also. U nder
the English company, hours were ten and a half a day,
and wages 24 roubles a month. Fines were inflicted
on the workers on the flimsiest pretexts.
Now the hours arc eight a day, and will be reduced
to seven before the end of 1928, while the minimum
wage is 70 roubles a mouth—about 35s. a week.
M ost of the m achinery was made in England. \Vc
saw some in the carding room that had been m anu­
factured in Accrington, and weavers on looms made
by B utterw orth's of Burnley were making £2 a week.
No fines were imposed. If a worker is constantly
late, she is reprim anded, and if she persists, a notice
is p u t on the wall draw ing general attention to her
slackness.
The factory is controlled by the factory comm ittee,
which num bers 2d. Seven are men and the rem ainder
women. Seven of these workers are freed from all
other work but th a t of the Com m ittee, and of these
four are women.
A ttem pts a re being made to abolish "shuttle kiss­
ing" and g reat precautions are taken to safeguard the
workers' health. Those in unhealthy departm ents
receive one m onth’s holiday a year on full pay, while
the rest have a fortnight’s on full pay.
Overalls arc provided for the textile w orkers in
most mills and washed for them weekly. There was
no bullying or rushing. W orkers left their work to
speak to us. and others whose departm ents wc hail
not visited ran after us to ask us to do so. They
wanted to know all about wages and conditions in
England.
There is a creche and kindergarten, where the
m others take their children to be cared for while they
are working. Children up to eight vears old can also
9
 be left a t night if m others w ant to go to meeting*, pic­
tures or a theatre. N urses and doctors are in a tten d ­
ance, and we saw tiny tots from eight months to a year
oki seated at a circular table, being fed by a nurse.
Infants of two m onths old were in Another room in an
oblong playing pen, carefully padded so th a t it was
impossible for them to h u rt themselves. H ere they
could lie. kicking and crowing to their h eart’s content.
In the kindergarten, olaer children danced and
marched to music and posed p rettily for the cam eram an
who had just come to take tn eir photograph. Pictures
of Lenin as a child, fram ed in red and adorned with
two red flags, hung on th e walls. All kinds of toys
were provided, and all the appointm ents, from the tiny
white enamel tables and chairs to the excellent medical
supervision wore such as are only to be found in the
nurseries of the rich in Britain.
Stretched across the curtain of the weighing room
was the slogan ' ‘D octors should guide the education
of the next generation.”
A t another textile factory outside Moscow we
spoke to one woman who had worked there before
the revolution. In 1917, she worked ]0£ to 11 hours a
day. Now she works 8, and has thirty m inutes off
for dinner, and 10 m inutes every two hours. There
were no holidays before the revolution. Now there
are three days in N ovem ber and M ay Day, in addition
to the fortnight’s annual holiday for which she receives
full pay.
Before, there was no recreation provided for the
workers. Now there are w orkers' clubs, study circles,
games, physical culture, a library, reading rooms and
a theatre.
There was also a creche here, and we saw some
of the women who had left their work in order to
b reast feed their babies. T his they are allowed to do
every three hours. E verything is provided for the
washing of hands and breasts, for the m ost scrupulous
cleanliness is insisted upon, and boracic powder is al­
ways handy. Before and afte r a baby is born, the
woman is given two m onth’s tim e off from work on
full pay, in addition to an allowance to purchase a
new outfit for the child, and also a nursing allowance
during the first nine months.
In the Kalinin textile factory, 65 per cent, of the
workpeople live in factory-owned houses rent free. The
’ 10
others are Riven a rent allowance of 11 s. 4d. irrespec­
tive of th eir being m arried or single, skilled o r un­
skilled.
When we arrived a t the Petrovsky F irst State
Hope Factory in K harkov, it was the dinner hour, and
the workers were walking about in the yard, listening
to a loud speaker which blared forth its music on the
frosty air. Sacks are made a t the factory from jute,
the raw m aterial of which is mostly procured from
England. They hope, however, to be able to produce
enough a t home in a short tim e to make t&em inde­
pendent of the English m arket, which is so uncertain
under a Tory Government. Similarly in the wire rope
departm ent all steel used to come from England. Now
60 per cent, comes from Siberia.
A vocational school is attached to this factory, in
which there are 19$ young workers. Those under 16
work four hours a day, under 18, six hours a day, and
ovor 18 years, all work eight hours daily. The average
wage was ISO roubles per month (£3 16s. per week).
A communal living place for single men and women
ii attached to the factory, where they receive lodging,
bedclothes, heating and light free. Family flats are
in course of building, and we saw large num bers of
these new buildings. They arc built in the American
style and appeared from the outside sim ilar to those
a t Baku described later. Most of the workers a t pre­
sen t live in villages near by and pay no rent. Those
who livo far away travel free on cars and buses.
Twelve women are on the factory comm ittee, three
of them being relieved of other work.
The operatives receive new overalls every six
months.
The m achinery was from Parkerson’s, Dundee, and
from Fairburn Naylor and M acPhorson, Leeds.
There is a workers' club, a creche, a library witu
6 ,<K)0 books and a dining room where dinner is pro­
vided for 35 kopecks ( 8jd .).
A M etal Factory
In the K harkov electrical factory everything is made
from a screw to a large machine. The factor}* supplies
electricity for the whole town, and the wages are from
125 to 130 roubles a month (£3 2*. 6d. to £3 5s. Od. a
week).
The workers are very proud of the factory, as it
11
 played an im portant p art during the revolution. On
the walls in the yard were vividly illustrated posters,
showing every scene in its history—how the factory
was captured by the workers, the m eetings in the yard,
the fighting in its vicinity—all were portrayed in bright
colours. There were also huge charts showing how pro­
duction has increased since the revolution.
in most of the shops we saw the Lenin Corner, a
space divided from the rest of the room by a wooden
arch decorated in red and surm ounted by a photo of
Lenin. H ere were tables and forms, papers and
magazines.
Young workers from 14 to 16 are in the vocational
school. They spend four hours in study and four hours
in practical work, with ten m inutes’ rest a t the end
of every hour. We spoke to one girl student who was
working her four hours, and she told us that she earned
35 roubles a month (17s. 6<l. a week). Pupils of 14
are started a t 12s. 6d. a week, and receive an advance
every six months. We saw some of them in the gym­
nasium , as physical culture is regarded as p art of their
education.
The attitu d e of the workers tow ards their foremen
was dem onstrated to us clearly by an interesting little
incident th a t occurred during our visit. W e observed
a very excited m eeting going on in one of the shops.
O f course, we gathered round, and wanted to know
w hat it was all about. It happened th a t one of the
forem en had n ot been treatin g the workers in the way
he ought. He did not always speak civilly to them,
and was also responsible for delay in letting them have
m aterial. This naturally affected their earnings, and
the meeting was being held to decide w hat to do about
this man. H e defended himself vigorously, but we
were amused to see a slight young woman stand high
above the crowd and move a resolution th a t the fore­
m an be given one more chance. If he did not alter
then, he would have to be dismissed. This resolution
was carried with applause, and the meeting drifted
away.
In a delightful creche with walls and doors enam ­
elled in white and delicate blue, we saw a hundred
babies being cared for. Fourteen little bundles lay on
beds all in a row in a sort of summer-house in the
garden. This building had a roof, but no walls. On
close exam ination, we discovered dim inutive pink faces
12
of sleeping babies peeping out of the enormous rolls
of blankets and eiderdowns. This fresh air treatm ent
was evidently doing them good, for n ot one of them
stirred as we tip-toed round to look a t them.
W hen the m others come to feed th eir babies, they
themselves are given a good meal. Posters w ere all
over the place em phasising the need for hygiene. One
poster caught our eye. It showed the uom arried mother
before the revolution abandoning her babe because
she could not keep it. On the other half, it showed
the m other draw ing the allowance which the State
now compels the father to pay, and leaving a happy
baby in the factory creche to be cared for while she is
a t work. The poster rem inded women that under the
new laws of the Soviet Government, an unm arried
m other could claim one-third of the income of her
child’s father, as his share tow ards the cost of m ain'
tenance.
Fur Factory
In the S tate fur factory, Moscow, we found the
usual conditions existing for the workers—equal pay
with men for the same kind of work, eight hour day,
vocational school and so on. B ut here we had an oppor­
tunity of seeing how they coped with a factory that
was obviously very old, and a relic of the worst period
of Tsarism. A new factory was being built, and would
be opened at the celebration of the T enth Anniversary.
Everybody was full of enthusiasm about this new fac­
tory ; workers in several departm ents told us about it,
and we were invited to go to the opening, which,
however, we were unable to do.
The old building with its obsolete m ethods was a
dreadful relic of the past, b ut everything possible had
been done to improve it, pending the opening of the
new factory.
Every worker here has a m outh’s holiday a year
on full pay, and milk is supplied in the unhealthy de­
partm ents.
A dental laboratory and am bulance room complete
with woman dental-surgeon and nurse are all on the
prem ises, as well as a barber’s shop.
A medical inspection commission, including all
kinds of specialists, coines every year and stay* three
months. During this period, every worker is given a
13
 thorough overhauling. The sick are attended to, and
the run-down sent off to a sanatorium .
W e talked to the workers in every departm ent and
they were particularly friendly and full of humour.
One young man of nineteen was sent by his factory to
the Moscow Soviet. H e was also an attorney in his
spare time, and functioned as a public prosecutor! He
was a member of tfao Young Com munist League, and
tremendousjy proud of it.
The students in the vocational school learn chem­
istry and anatom y among other things, and th e girls
have special lectures from th e doctor on feminine
hygiene.
Factory Dining Room*
A ttached to most Russian factories are dining
rooms, in which workers are able to obtain excellent
m eals at very low cost. The dinner usually consist* of
soup, bread, m utton or pork cutlets and vegetable*.
In the Kharkov jute factory, we found the workers
paying 33 to 35 kopecks for a meal which would have
co«t 60 kopecks in a town restaurant.
In the State printing works, iloaoow, where we
dined, the price of meals with several courses was 25
kopecks ( 6d.), rising to 50 kopecks (Is.) for a really
elaborate meal. More than 2,000 dinners had been
served in the dining room on the day of our visit.
Travelling Facilities
O ther am enities enjoyed by the workers, and equiv­
alent to an addition to real wages, are free travelling
facilities extended to those living some distance from
th eir place of work. F ree use of autocars is afforded
to the workers employed a t the K harkov rope (jute)
facto ry ; whilst at tho S tate printing works, Moscow,
free railway tickets are provided to all who do not
live in the faotory houses. A t the Kalinin factory
w orkers not living in houses provided by the concern
receive travelling expenses in addition to wages.
Unhealthy Occupations
Special consideration is given to women in un­
healthy occupations. These include very hot or dusty
occupations, and certain kinds of printing, dyeing and
bleaching, etc.
14
 In the S tate printing works in Moscow over 1,000
workers, including many women, are receiving special
benefits due to their employment in unhealthy occu­
pations. In addition to an ex tra two weeks holiday
(m aking a m onth in all) with full pay, yearly, these
workers are given special nourishing foods such as milk
and fate. In the Three M ountains factory we found
tha-L the supply of milk to the workers employed in the
dyeing, bleaching and printing departm ents had been
increased from 57 bottles provided before the revolu­
tion to 1,100 bottles now.
Im proving W orking Conditions
One of the im portant steps taken by the Soviet
authorities to minimise the unhealthiness of certain
occupations is to improve ventilation. In the Kharkov
State rope factory 600,000 roubles had been spent for
this purpose. In the Three M ountains factory, efforts
to improve ventilation having failed in the mercerising
departm ent, a new section of tho works is in process of
construction. H ere, in addition to mercerising, bleach­
ing and dyeing work will be carried on. Two hundred
and thirty-tw o thousand roubles has been expended in
this factory in one year on ventilation improvements.
In other factories we visited, ventilation has been
considerably improved since the revolution.
Free clothing is usually provided for workers in
the form of overalls, and in certain cases boots and
goloshes. In the Three M ountains factory, 140,000
roubles yearly is spent on special garm ents which are
given free to the workers, whilst in the S tate printing
works, Moscow, overalls and goloshes arc provided
free.
In the cotton and wool factories, we noticed many
drinking cistern# placed conveniently near to the
workers. Stools and small tables are also provided.
A washing bowl was supplied for tho use of every ten
workers in the cotton and wool mills in Leningrad, and
there is a constant supply of hot w ater in the various
departm ents, which is accessible to workers desiring
a refreshing cup of tea.
To safeguard the health of the wool-sorters, an
inspection takes place of all fleeces by veterinary
doctors, and only those certified as healthy are allowed
into the factories. The women workers a t the K alinin
15
 factory informed us th a t such inspections were un­
known under the Tsar.
Trade Uoions
Before the revolution very few women were mem­
bers of trade unions, w hereas now fchoy are to be found
m g reat numbers, many taking an active p art in trad e
union affairs. They act as dues collectors, delegates,
on factory comm ittees and as Soviet representatives.
Women are to be found w ithin the highest adm inistra­
tive organisations of the trad e unions, and a woman
textile worker sits upon the most authoritative body
of the Russian trade unions.
The delegates put num erous questions to the Rus­
sian women workers. The la tte r were also eager to
learn from us of the conditions under which the E ng­
lish textile women workers lived and worked. Chief
am ongst questions p ut was th a t of asking when the
British textile workers would follow th e exam ple of
their Russian comrades and take the industry in
their own hands and control it.
Although the conditions in Russian factories are
not yet by any m eans perfect, we were assured of the
appreciation of the textile w orkers of the trem endous
difference and betterm ent of their conditions since
the revolution. We learned of their regard for the
Communist P arty, th e guide and leader of the Russian
workers, of their devotion to the Soviet Government.
W hilst talking to the workers in the factories, at mass
m eetings and dem onstrations, we were impressed by
their evident determ ination to consolidate their gains
and to defend a t all costs th e ir g reat working class
republic.
The Don Basin
Some of us being m iner's wives, and al) of us having
lived many years in mining areas, we were eager to
visit the Russian coalfields and compare conditions
with those in England.
We descended two coal mines. Goslorka No. 1, and
the Stalin Mine, and found th a t the m ajority of t ie
workers, including all underground miners, worked a
six-hour day, reckoned from the tim e they leave the
p it head to getting back there. Those on lighter sur­
face work rem ained for eight hours. I t must be re ­
membered th a t under Tsarism the 10$ hour-day was
16
A fter being down a pit in the Donetz coalfield. Middle row : third from left. Rose Sm ith; fifth,
F. D eakin; front row : middle. I.. W ebb; right F. Maxwell.
 Tlie Eiritisli C o o p e r a ti v e D ele g a tio n to R u ssia. 1927.

A rest home for workers in the woods near Leningrad.

 V-

Sun bath at a factory creche.

Explaining a gas mask to the factory M ilitary Com
m ittee of the Youth.

Baku—a housing estate (or workers.

prevalent, while quite a number of workers had a
12-hour day.
W hilst we were in the Don Basin the Soviet
Governm ent issued an order th a t the working day was
to be decreased by one hour in 1928.
We found that the m iners’ wages have increased
100 per cent, under workers’ control, and also th a t the
workers enjoyed many privileges which m ade real wages
considerably higher.
The Russian m iner has no tools to buy. He lives
rent free, with lighting and heating also provided. We
visited a num ber of new houses built by the industry.
They were very sim ilar to the houses in English garden
cities, with every m odern convenience and easy for
the housewife to work in and Keep clean. W e also saw
some of the pre-revolution miners’ homes—m iserable
hovels, one room and a kitchen, with every Inconveni­
ence.
Single men also have free accommodation, or alter­
natively are paid extra wages to com pensate for it.
N ear the Stalin p it, we visited one of these communal
houses for single people. Each apartm ent is self-
contained and usually shared by two men. The rooms
are centrally heated. There is a huge kitcheu where
the food is prepared if desired. Many workers prefer
to eat in the common dining rooms. The rooms are
kept clean for the occupiers, and in many instanoes
bed clothes are provided.
In 1925*26 thirty million roubles w*ere spent on
housing in the Don B asin ; in 1926-27, thirty-six million
roubles ; and n ext year it is planned to spend thirty-
eight million on housing.
English m iners dread the approach of holiday
tim e. I t means m onths of strugglo to get over short
pay. in Russia, the mineworker has a month’s holiday
w ith pay. in addition, he has free mcdical service and
in th e event of sickness, his insurance pay equals his
full wages. He also has sick benefit for tno members
of his family, with special allowances in the case of
death. The wife baa an allowance to purchase baby
clothes, with m aintenance for herself two m onths before
and after childbirth. In addition, there is a “ nursing
allow ance” until the baby is nine m onths old.
W e found in the Don Basin a wonderful medical
service, much of which is m aintained directly out of
the profits of the mining industry. There are hospitals,
17
re st homes, sanatoria, creches, kindergartens and
m other and child welfare centres. 77 per cent, of the
m aternity cases go to the hospitals.
W e were particularly interested in the baby crcches,
of which there are 31 in the Don Basin. We visited
several, and always found th a t the accommodation,
m anagem ent and general organisation were perfect.
The furnishing is ideal for small children, the food,
clothing and medical atten tio n of the best. In addition,
we felt th a t there is real love betw een the children and
the staff.
A t Goslorka, we saw the m others visit the creche to
have their hot lunch and to tak e th eir babies away.
From conversations with them , we learnt th a t they
had nothing b ut praise for the creche, and were eager
to explain to us all the benefits of a W orkers’ Govern*
m ent.
Later, we visited the “ M other and Child” welfare
centre, which deals with practically the whole of the
young children and m others in the im m ediate neigh*
bourhood. It is divided into two departm ents, one for
th e care of the m other and the other for the care of
the baby. Each departm ent has its particular technical
experts, and Goslorka boasts of a very low infant death
rate on account of the magnificent work of this centre.
Pre-natal care has worked m iracles am ongst the women,
much needless pain having been avoided, and conse­
quently happy, healthy babies have been assured. Birth
oontrol knowledge is a t the disposal of every woman.
When we descended the mines, as we did in miners’
clothes, we were am azed to find that clothing too comes
o u t of the cost of industry, and is free to the miners.
Vests, pants, shirts, trousers, coat, socks, top-boots,
cap, m ackintosh, spectacles w here needed, and even
iu some instances fur coat and gloves were all provided.
We had previously been down English mines and
so were able to contrast the conditions a little. F irst
of all, we noted extrem ely efficient .tim bering and
good air, also none of the bullying which has in­
creased English production 30 p er cent, since the lock­
out. Safety and the health of the worker are the
first consideration of the Soviet Union, and all th a t
can be done to m ake the m iners’ task less arduous
h as been done.
W e conversed with the m iners a t the coal face.
Thev were anxious to h ear how the Engliah miners
18
 were faring. We thanked them in the name of the
English m iners' wives for their very real and prac­
tical sym pathy of last year. They assured us th a t
the conditions of their mines were typical of the whole
minefield, and th a t where production had beon in­
creased it was due to the m odernisation of plant, and
not by the speeding up of the workers. They in­
formed us th a t the Government organised the mine­
fields as one unit, and that by scientific winning of
the coal on behalf of the workers, the chaos of capital­
ism was being stam ped out, so th a t the lot of the
miner was being considerably improved, and the out­
p ut a t the same tim e increased.
On regaining the surface, we used the m iners’
bathhouse, where every m iner clcanses himself before
returning home. (The photograph included in this
pam phlet was taken—as will be noted—before we had
been through th e bathhouse!) This was a source of
much comment by the miners1 wives, who imagined
the relief of having th eir men come home clean and
changed, with no w ater to heat, tubs to fill and em pty,
and no necessity for the general clean-up afterw ards.
Their greatest am azem ent was when we visited the
pit laundry, and found th a t all the m iners’ clothes
were washed a t the p ith e a d !
In ever}' pit-yard is a clinic with medical staff in
constant attendance. We Icarnod th a t the num ber of
accidents since the revolution has decreased consider­
ably, and that the num ber of fatal accidents has been
halved. In this connection we learned that compen­
sation for disablem ent is based upon the wages of
the workers. W orkers retire on pension at 55 years
of age. or even earlier if a doctor certifies them as
unfit for further work in the mine.
W e found th a t there was a little unemployment,
but to counteract this, we saw many new mines were
being sunk, and by-product plant, coal-washeriea and
electric generating stations being erected. This we
learnt was being done by Russian labour under the
direction of G erm an experts. Mad relations with
Britain been norm al, English technicians and inven­
tions would have been employed. These new ventures
will absorb most of the unemployed within the next
few months. M eanwhile, the unemployed m iner lives
rent free, and draws unemployment insurance alm ost
equal to wages.
\9
 W e visited some of the m iners’ clubs, of which
there are nearly 400 in the Don Basin. There we saw
libraries, reading-rooms, gym nasia, rooms for vari­
ous studies and social circles, and also a cinema.
A t Goslorka, a wonderful Palace of Labour was in
process of completion. This is costing £6,000, and
there are ten sim ilar ones being p ut up. I t contains
a huge theatre, many rooms for educational and social
intercourse, a splendid gymnasium and also a night
creche where babies can be p ut to bed under the care
of trained nurses w hilst th e ir parents attend m eet­
ings. It is surrounded by huge playing fields and
gardens where thousands of trees have been planted.
W e saw the technical schools, where the young
m iner who is only allowed to work three hours
a day, studies the theoretical side of mining, and also
continues his general education. W e found th a t a
youth has every facility to graduate from these
schools to the universities, and th a t whilst he studies,
he receives wages which help considerably toward* hig
maintenance.
Do you wonder th a t Russian miners and their
wives are proud of the leadership of our brother
P arty, which has brought them literally out of the
darkness into the light?
Baku
The “ Daily M ail” has m ade us all fam iliar with
the campaign against Kussian oil.
In Baku we saw oilfields of enormous extent.
They cover over a hundred square miles. Oil is
exported from here to India, France, B ritain, Italy,
Turkey, Persia and America, and the wells now dug
will last for fifty years.
Fabulous wealth is represented in this wonderful
oilfield, and it is easy to see why it is coveted by the
B ritish capitalists.
On our way, we saw the place where the British
G eneral Thomas set fire to several oil tanks in 1917,
when he was compelled to retreat. H e blew up many
buildings and a large p art of the population.
When capitalists owned the oilfield, the workers
were housed in mud huts w ithout windows—places th a t
rem inded us of the m iddens in some of our English
slums.
Now, 20,000 men are employed erecting houses.
30
 On one estate alone, accommodation has been pro­
vided for 10,000 families. Rents average Is. 6d. a
week, and each group of houses has an up-to-date
wash-house and cach estate its own social club for
recreation.
The houses are built in family flats on the Ameri­
can style, each with its verandah. A young man play­
ing the violin on one of the verandahs invited us to
come in. He showed us his bedroom, sitting-room and
kitchen, and his wireless set, on which he could listen
in to London. The floors are of polished parquet,
and the flats are centrally heated. Each flat has its
own bathroom and lavatory, and also an American gas
oven. Gas, electricity ana heating are all free. The
average wage is about 35s. a w c c k .
The workers have, in addition, many benefits from
social insurance for which there are no deductions
from their wages. W hen they are ill, they roceive full
pay for a m onth. Women g et eight roubles a month
(4s. a week) for nine m onths while nursing a baby,
and 30 roubles (£3) a t their confinement. A t death,
45 roubles (£4 10s.) is paid for funora! expenses.
A Night Sanatorium
The night sanatorium we visited in Baku is typical
of other sanatoria throughout Russia, except for the
fact th a t it caters for workers who arc not seriously
ill, but who have shown signs of the beginnings of
tuberculosis.
The patients a t this sanatorium were all well
enough to be employed during the day, but came to
the sanatorium imm ediately on leaving work. This
ensured careful suj>orvision and skilled treatm ent to
prevent the further developm ent of the disease, and a
cure in its early stages where possible.
The first thing we were shown on enteriug was the
num ber set aside for each patient. This num ber, we
were told, has g reat' significance. I t is attached to
everything the p atient wears or uses, and is even taken
with him to the barb er’s shop, which is on the
premises. Thus it is impossible for infection to be
carried from one p atient to another. Bod, towel, chest,
tooth-brush, nail-brush, dressing-gown and pyjam as—
even loofahs are all numbered and kept strictly
separate.
21
 Patients are adm itted betw een the hours of four
and six, strip in one room, deposit their soiled clothing
in a numbered locker, have a show er in the n ext room ,
don white dressing-gown and pyjam as, and then pro­
ceed to spend the evening in the recreation-room .
H ere they have a good library, a loud speaker, and
sometimes listen to lectures or concerts, or have a con­
versation with some representative of the G overnm ent
who comes to talk to them and answ er any questions.
A t 5.30 dinner is provided. The night we w ere
there, the menu was soup, veal with rice, and fruit
compote. A fterw ards everyone lies down and rests till
7 o’clock. Then te a is served, and again at 9 o'clock
they are given supper.
If it is a beautiful evening, such as it w as when
we visited the sanatorium , m any will spend th eir tim e
on the roof iostead of in the rest-room, and indulge
in air baths. There is a g reat, beautiful dome a t the
top of the building. Its walls are pink, and its round
windows contain no glass, h ut are open to adm it life-
giving currents of air straight from the bine Caspian
Sea.
When the sun is shining there are bath chairs in
the solarium. The solarium is a huge verandah laid
out with beds of flowers and with climbing plants and
flowers growing up the walls and pillars. I t is, as its
nam e implies, literally a trap for the sun, and here the
patients lie in bath chairs and bask in its health-giving
rays, or lean over the verandah and look out over the
flat roofs of Baku and the shining w aters of the Caspian
Sea.
In the m orning they are packed off to work, with
food for their dinner, and return again a t night until
they are certified as cured. This they receive w ithout
a penny being paid directly o ut of their own pocket*.
Children of the Revolution
He looked a t us w ithout the slightest shade of
em barrassm ent. W hen he could afford to perm it his
atten tion to be distracted for a mom ent from the fancy
cake he was devouring he returned our smiles with a
friendly grin.
W hat his name was we never knew, but his eyes
w ere the blackest (and his face a ls o !) th a t we had ever
seen. He looked as if they had forgotten to wash him
when he was a baby, he was so incredibly dirty and so
superlatively content.
22
 H is big eyes were full of mischief, and be lay rest­
ing on his elbow, evidently enjoying o ar looks of in­
terest and astonishm ent.
Perhaps his m ethod of travelling accounted for
some of the d irt th a t encrusted him, for he was travel­
ling to Baku underneath the train, while we travelled
conventionally inside it. His com partm ent was a sort
of box, slung beneath our carriage (the trains inK ussia
are very high, like the American ones), and it was
from this “ com partm ent” th a t he lazily surveyed us aa
we peeped under the train to look a t him.
H e was one of the homeless children of whom so
much has been w ritten. Tens of thousands of children,
orphaned by war, fam ine and blockade, roam ed the
country as child vagrants during th e first years after
the revolution ; even now they form one of the biggest
problems with which the Soviet G overnm ent has to
deal. Trem endous efforts have been made to gather
them into homes, and it is to this work th a t K rupskaya,
the widow of Lenin, has devoted many years of her
life.
In 1920-21 there were 5,241 homes for these chil­
dren. In 1926-27 the num ber was reduced to 2,269, as
the need for them had decreased. M any of those who
were originally taken into the homes had been drafted
into peasant fam ilies or become self-supporting
workers.
I t is extraordinarily difficult to induce these chil­
dren to enter homes as the w anderlust is in th eir blood.
They prefer to roam about in bands, travelling the
country bcnoath trains, and begging th eir food from
the passengers a t the stations. Sometimes, of course,
they also steal it.
H ere is a description of a colony of these children
th a t we visited in Kharkov.
The Children’s Colony in Kharkov
The old monaster}* bell was ringing as we stepped
o ut of our car on to th e snow-covered ground a t the
door of a g reat white building. W e had ju st arrived
in fine style, with a crowd of cheering, yelling boys
clinging to every precarious foot and hand-hold they
could find on the machine. They seemed to be swarm­
ing all over it.
This was the colony for homeless children named
after Maxim Gorky, and we had come many miles out
of Kharkov to see it. On the boundaries of the colony
23
 our driver, uncertain of his way, bad asked some boys
who were playing ov the roadside. One said he could
direct him if he could jum p on th e footboard and show
him the way. The invitation was accepted by all the
group, and they settled on the car like flies on jam ,
and we arrived like a trium phal procession.
A m onastery before the revolution, all th e build­
ings except the chapel were now used to accommodate
children who had been induced to leave their life of
vagrancy. The chapel was still used for its original
purpose by the neighbouring inhabitants.
On entering the home boys and girls at once be­
come responsible members of a self-supporting colony.
They are form ed into "regim ents” o r companies for
different kinds of work. Some make shoes or engage
in other industry, and some tend horses, pigs and cows.
The new-comers are usually p ut to work on the land,
as it would be too much of a change and strain for
them to be continually indoors.
Kach regim ent has a commander, and the colony
is ruled by a Soviet of commanders, which m eets every
Sunday, and includes th e chairm an and secretary of
the Teaching Council. These last two are appointed
by the pupils.
A fter three years each boy o r girl becomes an “old
colonist.” and can be made m anager of one of tho
colonies, factories or departm ents.
They are taught m athem atics and line arts, and
many have graduated into tho W orkers’ Faculties
(Rabfaos). There were m any Young Communists
among them.
The m eals are excellent. Two cinema shows are
given on Saturday, one for the pupils only and one
to which the surrounding inhabitants come.
The tobacco factory which has adopted the colony
presented them with a set of band instrum ents, which
they played loudly for our benefit.
H ere it is interesting to note th a t when we visited
the Moscow fur factory the workers there had volun­
tarily decided to work an e x tra hour in order to give
the proceeds of the hour to the homeless children.
We saw the dorm itories in which the children sleep,
tho workshops, club and library. Before we left we
had an enthusiastic m eeting in the club hall. The band
played, and as we came away many of the children
crowded to shake hands.
The aim of the colonv is to make these w andering,
24
 homeless children feel th a t the colony, and indeed all
the country, belongs to them. A little incident showed
how they were succeeding. As the last good-byes were
being said a p retty dark girl came pushing h er way
through the crowd to shake hands. She was about ten
years old, and the rest were so eager and excited
th a t she had difficulty in reaching us. A t last she got
through, and h er small hand shot out. One of the
delegates kissed her, and was about to thrust into her
arms the w hite chrysanthem ums given us by the guide
who had conducted us through the greenhouse. The
child drew back quickly. “ N yet! N yet!” (N o! N o!),
she exclaimed excitedly. “ Those are our gift to you.”
Prisons
In the Lcfortovo prison, Moscow, arc confined
425 men who have been found guilty of particularly
bad crimes, and are comm itted for sentences of over
three years.
. H ere arc m urderers, robbers, spies and Stnto em­
bezzlers. We found that there was no solitary con­
finement, the cell doors are Dot locked, and two men
share each cell. On application a man can change
his room mate.
In the cells we saw good collections of books,
musical instrum ents and even wireless sets. Each cell
was well lit and heated, and contained in addition to
bed, chairs and table, a fixed basin and washing ap­
paratus, as well as a shelf of food tins. AH were lit
by electricity.
We saw men visiting each other in their cells, and
holding conversations in the corridors.
The prisoners m aintain their own discipline within
the prison, addressing the G overnor as “ com rade.”
They have their various cultural circles, art. music,
dram a, circles for getting rid of illiteracy, reading
circles, and they also play chess and indulge in physical
culture.
We saw th eir library, bookshop, barber and the
co-operative, where they can purchase all kinds of
luxuries out of th eir wages.
Peasants are allowed to go home to assist in the
farm work for three months. This period is rem itted
from their sentence if their conduct is good.
We also learned th a t in the event of accidents the
same compensation is paid as to civilian workers.
Moreover, their dependents are not penalised, but are
25
 well provided for, partly by the Soviets and partly
out of the wages of the prisoners.
The spirit of the prison was typified by the slogan
th a t ran across the walls. T ranslated, it read as
follows:
“ IN SOVIET R U SSIA TH ERE ARK NO
PRISON S, BUT TRA IN IN G CENTRES W HERE
THOSE WHO HAVE NOT HAD O PPO RTU N ITIES
CAN LEARN TO BECOME U SE FU L C ITIZEN S.”
Women in the Red Army
Many women took p art in the actual fighting during
the civil war that followed on the heels of the revolu­
tion, as well as working as Ited Cross nurses. Fourteen
thousand women took p art in the dcfcncc of Leningrad
against General Yudenich, and some of the cilics in
the Ukraine were saved from the W hite G uards by the
wonreii.
Women with rides marched in the demonstrations
in Moscow, and came on the stage during a meeting
a t the Bolshoi T heatre, where there were 4,000 women
present.
We spent a day with the Red Army a t an academy
for the training of officers in Moscow. On th a t day
50 young officers had graduated, and after we had re­
viewed several hundred soldiers and spoken to them
there was an address from the officer in oommand.
He addressed some of his rem arks especially to the
new commanders, as the officers are called. Pointing
out the danger of war through Soviet Russia being
surrounded by capitalist nations, he showed how the
arm nments of the world were increasing. He asserted
that the Soviet Union w anted peace in order to con­
tinue her development tow ards socialism, b ut that, on
the other hand, they were prepared to fight and die
if ueed be, to safeguard the gains of the revolution.
This statem ent was cheered to the echo from
several hilndred throats. To the young commanders he
emphasised the responsibility of th eir position, and the
need for continual endeavour to fit themselves for their
position as leaders of the w orkers' army.
After the parade we saw the soldiers’ club and
library and the training school. A fter an excellent
dinner with the soldiers (they insisted on separating
the delegates, so th a t they could have a guest at each
table) the regimental band played, and some of the
men gave us messages such as th is :
26
 “Tell the British workers to do as we have done.
Tell them th a t the Red Army has for them nothing
but love and comradeship. We arc prepared to assist
them in their struggles whenever we are needed.
British capitalism will never be able to overthrow the
Soviet Republic, which is founded on the love a n l
loyalfy of its workers.”
Some of the young commanders told us how they
had worked a t tho bench or at the machine before com­
ing to the academy. A fter dinner they gave us an
excellent concert.
No women were being trained a t this school, b u t we
had a very good friend who was in charge of the mili­
tary training of women throughout the Soviet Union.
She had travelled with us from Baku, and not one of
os will ever forget Boggatt. She told us her story on
the way in the trnin.
A medical studont before the revolution, she joined
the arm y, and was several tim es wounded. A fter the
actual fighting she applied to a cavalry school for train ­
ing as an officer.
S ent along with the simple intim ation “ Comrade
B oggatt comes to receive training as a comm ander,”
the officer was astonished to see that his applicant was
a woman. H e refused to take her, and she in a rage
w ent straig h t to Trotsky. “ Am I to be insulted in this
w ay?” she demanded. “ I, who shed my blood a t the
front
Trotsky supported her, and she was adm itted to the
academy, fthe was the first woman to he trained in
this way, and they warned her that she would not be
able to stick it. All the men turned out to see how
she would take her first riding lesson, and there was
much laughter And speculation as to w hether she would
be able to keep on the horse's back.
H aving had some experience at the front, and
aw are of the prophecies th a t she would want to give
up after the first fall, Boggatt struck to her horse like
grim death.
“ I fell off no more and no less than the other
heginners.” she said, smiling.
A t first she was afraid to sleep in the barracks with
all the men. but after the first three weeks slept in
a room with th irty of them. They all treated her as a
good eomrado. and never once was she insulted or
made to feel her sex.
She came out above many of the men in her ex-
27
 anim ation, and some of them would even come to her
for assistance. Som etim es peopio would tau n t the
men with having a woman in th eir regiment. “ We
have no women,” they would reply. Then, “ O h! You
mean Boggatt? She's just one of us.”
She wore the ordinary uniform and lived under the
sajno conditions as the rest. W hen she left they pre­
sented her with a m an’s gold watch inscribed with
many names.
Consumers’ Co-ops. in the U .S.S.R.
During our visit to the U .S.S.R . the women dele­
gates were very much im pressed by the great activity
in the co-operative retail shops. There was an
obvious air of prosperity about all the co-op. shopping
centres, whether in the large towns or rem ote country
villages. We found th a t approxim ately 80 p er cent,
of the business was done through the co-operative and
State shops. M oreover, we learnt by actual experi­
ence that their goods are both cheaper and of b etter
quality.
All business is rapidly passing into the hands of the
co-ops. There are already 72,000 shops with a member­
ship of 15.000,000. ami a turnover of nearly £3,000,000.
This is not a mere book membership, b ut repre­
sents millions of workers actively engaged in the task
of building the co-operative commonwealth. We found
that 30 per cent, of the mem bers aro women, and th a t
the quarterly m eetings are attended by over 70 per
cent, of the membership. The particular national
language is spoken at the m eetings, and very many
members take an active p art in the discussions. Board
meetings, too, are open to members.
Somewhere about 20 per cent, of the profits go to
the shareholders as dividends, b ut we were pleased to
note that the Russian co-ops. seriously seek to bring
down prices. During 1926-7 there were two price-
reducing campaigns. From M ay, 1926, to January, 1927,
food was thus reduced 8 p er cent, and other goods 4.5
per cent. The second cam paign, covering the trading
period January to June fu rth er reduced food prices
9 per cent. This was a magnificent success, and one of
the surest guarantees th a t the co-operatives in the
U .S.S.R. will succeed.
W e were pleased to note th a t they tackle first
things first, the bakeries, dining-room s and laundriei
being most effectively equipped. There are 340 co-op.
28
bakeries, and the tw enty largest are producing 10,000
tons of bread per day. Already there are 1,000 co­
operative dining-rooms with every sign of still further
development.
I t is interesting to note that cach republic has its
own co-operative, united with the central body, the
CentrosoyiiR, in Moscow. Thus the co-operatives of
the U kraine, W hite Russia. Trans-Caucasia, U zbeki­
stan, T urkm enistan and the U .S.S.R. have one common
co-opcrativc policy, developing in the interests of the
whole of the peoples.
A large am ount of cultural work goes on in con­
nection w ith the co-ops. In 1925-28 5,500,000 roubles
were devoted to this purpose. There are co-operative
People’s Palaccs, reading-rooms, libraries, kinder­
g artens, playgrounds and creches. These latter are
established in order th a t working ami peasant women
may have leisure to devote to the very necessary work
of building up co-operation and socialism.
Co-operation enters into the very life of the people,
one m ight say it Is the life of the people.
T here are 2,600 “ M other and Child” corners in the
various sections, advising m others and aiding them in
the rearing of their young children.
T here are 1,000 co-op. study circlcs in w orkers’
clubs alone. H ere they study the tasks of co-operation
from the point of view of socialist reconstruction, and
also from the standpoint of the consumers. Thus they
are fitting the workers for active work in the move­
ment.
A special feature of education in the U .S.S.R. is
th a t th ere are co-operative departm ents attached to
universities, industrial and technical schools and
secondary schools, dealing with it as an integral p art
of social service.
T he societies themselves issue many newspapers,
periodicals, threo central newspapers, 13 regional
new spapers and 17 different journals with a very wide
circulation. On top of this there is an extensive book
trad e with 5,000 departm ents.
T he delegates witnessed a wonderful activity in tho
co-ops., from tho m anagement and organisation of the
sm all village stores up to the governm ent of the central
body, Centrosoyus. In Russia we have seen not the
passive co-operation of the consumer “divi-hunter,”
but th e active co-operation of class-conscious workers,
under th e leadership of the Communist Party.
29
 An Eastern W omen's Club
I t was in their work am ongst the E astern peoples,
particularly the women, th a t the Bolsheviks encoun­
tered some of their most serious difficulties.
A backward and illiterate population, bound by
superstition, religion and prejudice to keep its women
in a state of seclusion, hidden from the eyes of men,
bought and sold like cattte, subject to the whims and
wishes of their husbands, had to be made to realise
th a t the revolution had come, bringing with it freedom
for women as well as men.
U nder the influence of Bolshevik organisers tens
of thousands of E astern women threw off the
“ parandjak,” a hideous black veil of horsehair they
had previously keen compelled to wear when walking
abroad, and dared to show their faces unveiled.
Although this was b ut a symbol of their new-found
freedom, it was strenuously resisted by the priests and
wealthy peasants. Women were beaten, in some cases
to death, and m urder and violence were frequent.
Some of the organisers them selves met their death at
the hands of the infuriated men.
Laws had to be passed for the protection of women
who dared to unveil them selves, and funds were raised
for the relief of the families or those who were killed
during the campaign.
In spite of these difficulties the work progressed,
and Eastern women are bring draw n into the work of
the co-operatives, the factories and even of the Soviets.
In lOifl-? some 051,812 E astern women took p art in the
elections to the rural Soviets, and 36,258 were elected
as members of the Soviets.
On visiting the women’s club of Ilebaranof in
Baku the women’s delegation had an opportunity of
meeting and speaking to many of the Eastern women.
H ere we found a magnificent club, housed in the
mansion previously owned by the richest oil m agnate
in Baku. W ithin its walls 2,000 E astern women who
had cast off the hideous veil were being educated and
trained to become useful independent citizens and
builders of the new socialist society.
The club had its own co-operative, was entirely
self-supporting and run by the women themselves, who
were all members of a trad e union.
We were ushered into a huge room where many
women were husilv working at the most modern tvpe
30
of sewing machine. Many of the women were remark*
ably beautiful. They were unveiled, but still wore
Eastern draperies. T heir hennaed h air and nail*
showed how recently they had adopted new m ethods
and ideas.
O thers we saw at work on toys, drawing, painting,
sculpture, ornam ental art, woodwork, shoes and ex­
quisite em broidery. One girl who was a member of the
Y.C.L. was engaged on a painting of two figures, one
a woman before the revolution wearing h er veil and
the other the free woman, self-reliant, self-confident
and unveiled. This was to be afterw ards woven into
the beautiful fabric some of the others were produc­
ing a t their hand looms.
AH income from the work done in the club is
divided into three parts. One is reserved for the cost
of production, one for the enlarging of the business,
and the third p art is divided amongst the workers.
The women chattered and spoke freely to us, and
exam ined and fingered our W estern clothing curiously,
and were very reluctant to let us go. In a lofty and
beautiful room decorated in w hite and blue, and domi­
nated by the picture of Lenin, the manager of the
d ub told us the women’s story. The m anager is an
E astern woman, who was one of three who first founded
the club in 1921. Before the women came there they
were not allowed to see or speak to any man but hus­
band and brother. Their h u s h a n d R were polygamous,
and some of them had been m arried at the ages of
eleven, twelve and thirteen.
Women were induced to attend the club for sewing
classes and instruction in reading and writing. Now
they have 2,000 women members, a creche earing for
60 children, and their own theatre. One hundred Tuke
women have graduated from the club to the university,
many have been trained for the theatre, the opera and
the ballet, and some have taken their place as members
of the Soviets.
Thus have some of the biggest difficulties been met
with and overcome.
Conclusion
So ends our necessarily brief report of our all-too-
short stay in the Soviet Union.
W hat we saw and heard we have put down with­
out exaggeration or alteration.
T hat all is perfection in Russia the Soviet Govern-
31
 m ent would be the last people in the world to assert.
W hat is im portant is th a t in comparison with pre-
revolution standards and conditions, the lot of the
workers aud peasants has improved alm ost beyond
belief, and is still on the up grade.
I t is true th a t the roads are bad, and the lavatories
n ot always up to those of a W est-end hotel. These
and other necessary improvements will come in time.
I t is only six short years since the workers were to
a large extent able to change the sword for the plough­
share, and devote th eir attention to the building up of
the socialist commonwealth. T hat building has pro­
ceeded on the principle of “ F irst things first,” and the
transform ation in the lot of women and children as
described in these pages fully justifies the wisdom of
such a course.
W e came back from a country where wages were
on the up grade, prices falling, and fresh capital con­
stantly available for the extension of industry and
agriculture, to find unparalleled poverty and suffering
in the coalfields, venomous attacks upon both cotton
and woollen textile workers, already impoverished by
unemployment and system atic short time, the new
Unemployment Bill hounding down unemployed wor­
kers, and the operation of the anti-Trade Union Act
with the New Year.
W e come back from a country whose workers are
led by the Communist Party, working continually for
th eir betterm ent, to a country whose Labour leaders
are occupied solely in seeking co-operation with the
Liberal P arty on the basis of a program m e from which
every socialist principle has been dropped, and enter­
ing into “ Industrial Peace” relations with the most
b itter and avowed class enem ies of the workers.
W e come back, inspired A n d encouraged bpr w hat
we have seen, to intensify our fight against capitalism ,
to strengthen our criticism and condemnation of all
who m asquerade in Labour’s arm y, b u t are in reality
helping the enemy’s generals, to rally working women
everywhere to organise resistance to the Governm ent’s
attem pts to declare w ar on Soviet Russia, and above
all determ ined to spread among women workers,
w hether in factory or home, the message of the Com­
m unist P arty, building up a g reat P arty th a t can and
will follow the exam ple of our brother P arty in Russia
and lead the workers of B ritain to prosperity through
power.
si
 The Best Workers’ Paper Published!
|^
$

WORKERS’ !
j LIFE >
^ Contains Workers’ News |
$ Gives Fighting Leads $
| Is not afraid to criticise |
J Do not miss it— $
| You cannot afford to ! 4
$ *
? *
? t
| PRICE |
I| -id I
*
1
Every Friday I *

Order fro m
Every Friday
1t
4

^
A. Holland, $
29 Euston Road, London, N W l |
Subsciptiott Rates on Application ^
{ , . . . t
cromiuLriJUj^^

THE COMMUNIST
INTERNATIONAL'S
POSITION
WILL there really be War?
This pamphlet tells you.
It analyses the decisions of
the Communist Interna­
tional on the War Danger,
the Revolution in China,
and the Reaction in Britain.

By A. J. BENNET
3d.
The Workers’ Bookshop Limited
16, King Street, London, W.C.2

‘.VO* ftI:* y . v'; s = v > ;’