Review of the political state of the USSR

Review of the political and economic state of the USSR for November ‐ December 1923

January 1924

RED ARMY

In November, there is a significant deterioration compared to previous months in the mood of the Red Army, mainly due to an acute shortage of uniforms and delayed demobilization.

The food position of the parts could be called satisfactory. The Ukrainian Okrug and Turkfront, where it was not entirely satisfactory before, also noted an improvement. The only reason for the dissatisfaction of the Red Army men is the failure to dispense tobacco for 2‐3 months, noted by all districts, and in some places there are interruptions in the supply of such products as sugar, fats, matches and soap. The lack of delivery of tobacco forces the Red Army soldiers to sell sugar and, in addition, contributes to the development of petty thefts. In the Separate Caucasian Army, the Red Army are sure that they want to wean them from smoking. The unsatisfactory baking of bread should be noted as a widespread phenomenon, on the basis of which a number of excesses took place in parts. In the Separate Cavalry Brigade of the Moscow Military District, this is due to the transition of the bakery to self‐supporting, i.e., existence of such due to heat. The issuance of low‐quality bread caused a strong unrest in units of the 2nd Cavalry Division of the North Caucasian Military District, where a special commission had to be created to investigate the causes of the unrest. The Red Army men of the 1st squadron of the 84th cavalry regiment, having received raw unbaked bread, put it in the ʺred cornerʺ, refusing to eat it. The called doctor found that the bread was unsuitable for food. In the Separate Caucasian Army, stomach diseases were noted due to the issuance of bad bread. A wagon of flour was rejected in the 4th regiment of the 2nd division of the Turkfront, but in the absence of other products (meat, cereals, etc.) [... discontent] is observed, but does not have a massive character.

The situation with uniforms is portrayed in all districts as extremely difficult. In the Moscow military district, the Red Army men of a number of units are stripped and unclothed. The Red Army men of the 51st regiment of the 15th division walk in the same underwear, and the artillery of the 17th rifle division could not participate in the parade on November 7. The general lack of uniforms is 25%, but in some parts it reaches 75%. In the Petrograd military district, units are unevenly supplied. In the 11th rifle division, some of the Red Army men have no shoes at all (in the regiments 25‐30% of the barefoot Red Army men). In the 16th division, the shortage of all types of clothing allowance reaches 40‐60%. The supply of the 43rd Cavalry Division and the 56th Infantry Division is more satisfactory, except for the artillery units, which are not outfitted by 50%. In parts of the Western Front, 50% of the Red Army men cannot be used for outfits and attend classes. Warm uniforms were almost never received. In 37 divisions, the Red Army men are dressed in rags. The 9th and 5th communications regiments and the radiotelegraph battalion are extremely poorly equipped. The 4th cavalry brigade is satisfactorily outfitted. In parts of Ukraine, there is a large shortage of warm uniforms, which affects the preparation of units. In parts of the North Caucasian military circle and the Separate Caucasian Army, the situation is also unsatisfactory since the issued uniforms wear out quickly. So, in the parts of the 13th Dagestan division, the 28th rifle division, 50% of the Red Army men are barefoot, and in the 9th and 22nd divisions the Red Army men often go in the same underwear. Up to 50% of the issued uniforms have fallen into disrepair, since instead of the prescribed 6 months, it can withstand only 3. In the Volga Military District, the lack of uniforms is also significant, for example, 74% of the 1st Kazan Division, 32 45% of the 32 divisions, lack shoes. other uniforms 30‐40%. In the 95th regiment, 32 divisions, 20% are completely barefoot. In parts of Turkestan and Siberia, uniforms have recently been replenished by 100%. However, due to the rapid wear and tear, the shortage already reaches 35‐30% in some places.

The general lack of linen and bedding is extremely sensitive, which is why there is an increase in lice in all parts (up to 10%). Lack of blankets causes rapid wear of overcoats used instead of blankets.

In general, the difficult situation with uniforms for most districts is explained by the lack of repair shops and means for repairing and the substandardness of the uniforms issued. This situation had a huge negative impact on the mood of the Red Army in November, which was reflected in some places on discipline and military training, resulting in a number of units in refusal to execute orders (facts are given below).

Payments to units are made regularly everywhere. Only in Ukraine continue to be observed cases of issuing large banknotes, which delays the issuance of salaries. The situation with the medical staff continues to be difficult in this regard. Salary delays of 1–2 months at the Center, and often longer in other districts, have not yet been eliminated. The situation of medical and veterinary workers is aggravated by the fact that their families do not use the family ration. For these reasons, there is a large number of dissatisfied among them and a general desire to leave the Red Army. This is especially noticeable in parts of Siberia, where uniform decomposition is observed among them.

The preparation of the barracks for the winter period can be generally considered satisfactory, although a number of abnormalities are evident here. Unsatisfactory barracks conditions were noted in the artillery units of the 6th and the entire 19th rifle division in the Moscow Military District and in the 58‐59, 168 and 33 air defense regiments, where repairs were not completed due to lack of funds, and in the 8th division of the Zapfront; placed in villages due to the failure to complete the repair of the barracks and partly abuse in these works. In parts of Ukraine, the repairs were made unsatisfactory. Parts of the North Caucasian Military District are located satisfactorily, except for the Maikop division, which was deployed in philistine apartments due to the lack of funds for the repair of barracks. In the Separate Kazkaz Army, repairs were carried out satisfactorily, except for the 7th and 3 divisions. In the Volga Military District, for lack of funds, the barracks of the 1st Kazan Division were not repaired.

A sore point for all parts is the lack of fuel and the internal unequipment of the barracks (lack of beds and even bunks, tables, etc.). The lack of bedding, noted everywhere, complements the interior unequipped environment, which is extremely unsanitary in almost all parts.

As a result of poor uniforms, there is an increase in colds (in the 1st MVO division ‐ 10%, 17th MVO divisions ‐ 16%, and in one light artillery division there were 165 outpatients in a week; in air defense units up to 30%). In parts of the Western Military District, Ukraine and the Privy Military District, the percentage of colds has increased significantly. The lack of linen is aggravated by the weak work of the bath and laundry detachments that cannot cope with their work (Turkfront and individual units). In the Ukrainian units, there is an increase in venereal diseases among the Cossacks. There is an increase in malaria cases in the North Caucasus Military District (59%). In the Volga Military District and Siberia, there is a shortage of medicines, reaching 30% of the need.

In the relationship between the command staff, and often the political staff, with the Red Army men, rudeness, the manifestation of old officerʹs habits and even harassment are characteristic. The commissar of the cavalry squadron of the 1st division (MVO) makes the Red Army soldiers go to the front. In parts of the 1st Air Defense Cavalry Division, the rudeness of the commanders angered the Red Army. In the 24th regiment of this division, one Red Army soldier committed suicide as a result of the rough treatment of him by the military commissar. The same is noted in the artillery division and the cavalry squadron of the 56th division and the 59th regiment of the 30th division (air defense), the 39th legart division and the 10th rifle regiment (Zapfront), in units of the 1st cavalry corps (Ukrainian Military District), in the 8th cavalry regiment and division 33, where there is a massacre (North Caucasian Military District), in parts of the Separate Caucasian Army and the Volga Military District, and a number of others.

Extremely badly reflected on the mood of the Red Army, a strong overload of outfits caused by the shortage of units. This is observed in all districts. In the Separate Cavalry Brigade of the Moscow Military District, the Red Army men fall asleep from overwork at their posts, they often visit the okolotok, and they definitely declare that they are not sick, but very tired. The overload of the Red Army soldiers everywhere has a bad effect on political studies.

The lack of uniforms, the overload of outfits and the rudeness of the command staff create the depressed mood of the Red Army mass, which is characteristic of all parts of the Red Army. Added to this is the influence exerted on the Red Army soldiers by letters received from home with endless complaints about excessive taxes and the failure to provide them with benefits. All this causes an increase in demobilization sentiments (especially among senior citizens). In their letters home, the Red Army men complain about the complete lack of uniforms and ask for any documents to be sent in order to be able to leave the Red Army. This situation creates an unfavorable attitude towards the Soviet power and the RCP among the Red Army. A number of cases noted below characterize this phenomenon.

In many units, there were cases of refusal to execute orders on the grounds of lack of uniforms. A number of such cases have been noted in the MVO.

A Red Army soldier of the 144th Regiment of the 43rd Division, shod in bast shoes, demonstratively refused to go on guard and having gone out of order, loudly declared: ʺThis is not the 19th year to go on guard naked.ʺ In the 40th regiment of the 14th division, even the Red Army Communists were campaigning against the appointment of uniformed soldiers on guard duty. In the cavalry squadron of the 1st division, the Red Army men loudly expressed their indignation at the fact that the Soviet government did not pay attention to the Red Army, although it needed it. In the 6th Chongar division and the 33rd regiment of the Zapfront, there were cases of the Red Armyʹs refusal to comply with the orders of the command personnel and the loss of discipline. In the 1st Georgian regiment of the Separate Caucasian Army, two Red Army men, having gone out of action, called on their comrades not to go into the outfit due to the failure to issue uniforms; trying to calm them down, they called on to keep quiet, threatening to kill him otherwise. In the sapper battalion of the 12th corps (Siberia), there were several cases of refusal of the Red Army to carry out orders, among them one was massive because of not receiving uniforms. In the training battalion of the 1st division of the Turkfront, there was a case of refusal to enter classes due to the lack of uniforms.

The difficult financial situation also creates the basis for anti‐Soviet agitation in the units of the Red Army. At the Headquarters of the Separate Cavalry Brigade (MVO), one Red Army soldier loudly called the communists ʺtraitorsʺ, declaring that after demobilization he would form a detachment to fight them. Suspicious persons leading anti‐Soviet agitation enter the brigadeʹs barracks. In the sanroth of the 14th division, rumors were spread that the technical units of Moscow were refusing to go to classes, the commander of this company told the Red Army that it would not hurt all the technical units of Moscow to walk through the streets, demanding demobilization, while he expressed the opinion that combat units should not shoot will be, and the cadets can be dealt with. In the 12th regiment of the 14th division, unknown persons were campaigning against helping the Germans ‐ ʺour enemiesʺ. In the 142nd regiment of the 18th division, during one meeting, anonymously submitted notes were read out demanding an early demobilization and against the war. The Red Army men of the 1st machine‐gun team of the 17th division are campaigning against the communists, ʺwho, having seized power, broke away from the workers and rob the peasants.ʺ Anti‐Semitic agitation is being conducted in the 1st battalion of the 144th regiment. In the sapper squadron of the 4th Cavalry Division (Air Defense), the Red Army soldier read to the comrades the program of the Socialist‐Revolutionary Party, and there is also agitation against the ʺoppression of the peasantry by the communists.ʺ In all air defense units, a strong demobilization mood is noted. In parts of the Western Front, the demobilization mood is especially strong among the old servicemen of the cavalry and communications. In the 6th Cavalry Division, there is a sharp negative attitude towards the communists, in the 32nd regiment statements were heard: ʺIn case of war, we will beat the communists.ʺ In communications units, there were statements that in the event of war, the Red Army men would scatter or go over to the whites. In the 6th Cavalry Division, 37th Division, there is an increase in anti‐Semitism.

In parts of the Ukrainian Military District, anti‐Semitic agitation is developed in places. The mood of the Cossacks of the 1st Cavalry Corps worsened, anti‐Soviet appeals were spread in the 3rd cavalry regiment and in the 18th artillery division, in one of them the Red Army men were called upon to organize rebel cells in units and an uprising against Soviet power. In other parts of the district, the mood was depressed due to the course of events in Germany and heavy taxes on families, but there was no sharp discontent. In the 14th Maikop division (North Caucasian military district), quartered in philistine apartments, there is a kulak influence on the Red Army, which complicates the conduct of political work. In the 32nd and 34th divisions of the Volga Military District, the mood is demobilization, there are massive visits to the okolotk and the agitation of individual Red Army soldiers against the war. In parts of Turkestan, there is a depressed mood for the same reasons. In parts of Siberia, there are strong demobilization tendencies. The RCT receives many applications for demobilization. There is national enmity between Great Russians and Ukrainians. The unfavorable development of German events, which caused a rise in the mood of the Red Army and command personnel, created a general depressed mood.

Desertion in all districts is generally negligible. The reasons for its few cases is material insecurity. Often, desertion is caused by the desire of the Red Army to settle domestic affairs (Ukrainian Military District).

ANTI‐SOVIET PARTIES AND GROUPS

Mensheviks

In the activity of the Mensheviks in the months of November and December, the previous revival is not observed. In Moscow, there was no open activity of the Mensheviks, but there was a noticeable increase in organizational work to establish contacts with local organizations and with abroad. In Petrograd, the activities of the Mensheviks and the Social Democratic Youth Union did not appear. In early November, there was a certain revival among a group of students ‐ members of the Social Democratic Union of Youth, which published its own magazine ʺCall of Youthʺ. The insignificant work of local organizations, consisting in the antiSoviet agitation of individual Mensheviks, was noted in the Yaroslavl province. (there are two groups at the factory of the former Karzinkin ʺKrasny Perekopʺ and the railway workshops of the Yaroslavl junction), in the Arkhangelsk province. (exiled Mensheviks), in Voronezh and Kostroma provinces. (identified social‐democratic groups conducting organizational work), Nizhny Novgorod province. (there is an active group that conducts internal party work, maintains contact with the center and distributes party literature), Tula (some enterprises have small social democratic groups) and Pokrovsk (there is an organizational group that

connects with other cities and distributes literature).

As a result of operations carried out in November, an illegal Menshevik printing house with a ready‐made set of leaflets and various Social Democratic literature for 1923 was seized in Petrograd. In Moscow, seized about 30 poods. typographic type and various social democratic literature for 1920‐1923, in the Tula province. discovered a print shop (press and type) in Kaluga province. withdrawn old party cards.

In a number of provinces there are groups of former Mensheviks for the self‐liquidation of Menshevik organizations. Such groups have already been created in the Tomsk province. (a corresponding declaration was issued), the Tatrespublika, Bryansk, Smolensk, Vladimir, Tula (a declaration issued), Petrograd and Orenburg (a declaration issued). It is also planned to organize one in Kursk province.

Anarchists

The reporting period saw a revival among anarchist groups. Illegal anarchist groups are being identified in a number of provinces. In parallel with this, new associations of anarchists with active tendencies and aspirations are emerging (Kiev, Poltava, Kharkov provinces), where the work of anarchist groups is actually concentrated. On the other hand, in groups that have existed for a longer time, there are signs of disorganization and decomposition (Tatrespublika, Perm, Semipalatinsk, Turkestan and Orenburg [provinces]).

In the central regions, there is a comparative lull in general anarchist work and the desire to organize educational work among the backward members of the anarchist federations. There are tendencies for the WFA to contact the Anarchist Federations of North America and Argentina. The Petrograd group of anarchists decided to create a legal Petrograd federation of anarchists, along with which they leave the illegal organization of the WFA. This project was rejected.

The observed striving of active anarchists of the Smolensk province is characteristic. join the RCP with the aim of promoting ʺhealthy leftismʺ and strengthening the opposition wing. In the Voronezh province. the organizer of the anarchist group seeks to recruit former members of the RCP into the group. In the Bryansk province. (Pochepsky u.) Anarchists tried to get their candidates to the Soviets, but they failed in the elections. In Moscow, at bakery No. 9 of Mosselp‐Roma, anarchists opposed the list of candidates for the Council, which had been put forward by a small cell.

Right SRs

Any outstanding activity of the Social Revolutionaries in the Republic was not observed. In Petrograd, a local group of Social Revolutionaries published the 6th and 7th issues of Revolutionary Thought. After the party congress in Prague, it is planned to intensify the work inside Russia, which the foreign delegation is doing poorly. The congress elected an overseas regional committee, which directs work among the emigration and is subordinate to the ZD. In 1933, ZD sent only 80 dollars and about 50 magazines ʺRevolutionary Russiaʺ, published on the basis of materials sent from Russia, to help the Russian Socialist‐Revolutionary Party.

During the reporting period, the remnants of the Kiev organization of Right Socialist Revolutionaries were liquidated and the remaining members of the Right‐Bank Regional Bureau of the AllUkrainian Committee of Right Socialist Revolutionaries were arrested. In addition, a number of arrests were made of prominent Social Revolutionaries, among them a member of the Petrograd Committee of the AKP, an active leader of the St. Petersburg student organization and publisher of ʺRevolutionary Thoughtʺ Boris Viktorovich Chernov (son of V.M. Chernov) and a number of active workers in Petrograd, Kharkov, Voronezh and Rostov ‐on‐don.

Left SRs

In Moscow, the release of the Left Socialist‐Revolutionary illegal newspaper Our Put was discovered. The operation carried out revealed and seized a printing house with all the accessories, a passport bureau, adapted for the processing of documents, and various literature, including an open letter to students. A number of members of the underground were arrested.

There are 2‐3 organizations in Ukraine whose influence does not extend to the masses. In other provinces, the activity of the Left SRs is not observed. Only in the Novgorod and Kaluga provinces. The Left SRs are making efforts to overcome the ongoing decay and to gather the staunchest members of the organization.

Monarchists in Russia

During the reporting period, the sending of Kirillʹs appeals to the Kuban was noted by foreign monarchists; also intercepted several letters from Bulgaria and clippings from monarchist newspapers sent to various addresses in the Kuban, Don and Tersk regions, as well as the provinces of Kursk and Bryansk. Monarchist literature was distributed in Krasnoyarsk.

In some parts of the Republic, a new type of counter‐revolutionary organization of the ʺBlack Hundredʺ is emerging. Their composition is kulaks in the countryside, merchants, traders and contractors in the cities. The same organization exists in the Ural region. Its activity is petty anti‐communist agitation, the desire to get its likeminded people into the Soviets, etc., in the Tula province. there is a monarchist grouping called the Black Russian Party, consisting of priests, former manufacturers and landowners, handicraftsmen, nuns, etc.; in some counties [she] managed to win the sympathy of the peasantry.

Monarchists abroad

The conflict between Wrangel and the military alliances of officers, which occurred as a result of Wrangelʹs ban on introducing politics into the army by creating alliances ʺFor Faith, Tsar and Patronymicʺ, has been settled. A direct connection has been established between Wrangel and monarchist organizations ‐ ideological and organizational.

During the reporting period, intensive work was carried out by the adherent of Nikolai Nikolaevich Markov, who traveled around the Balkan countries and campaigned for Nikolai Nikolaevich. In his speeches, he stated that the name of the Grand Duke was popular in the USSR among the peasantry and in the army. The Navy continues to work on convening a congress of Russian organizations abroad. Recently, the Navy has been in conflict with the Union of Russian National Youth, which refused to accept the requirements of the Navy, and with the Brotherhood of the White Cross, one of the most serious organizations in its work in Russia.

Wrangelʹs high command was transferred to Paris. Negotiations are underway between Russian and French military circles for the spring intervention of 1924.

Nationalist movements

Transcaucasia

Georgia. The Georgian Mensheviks who remained in the party have recently changed their attitude towards the Mensheviks who left the party, letting them know that they do not consider them traitors, but those who have left the party by compulsion. They convened a number of conferences at which the Central Committee of the Georgian Mensheviks set the goal of calculating the forces and revealing the mood. Judging by the Tiflis and Kutaisi conferences, there was a turning point in the mood of the organizations towards refusal to intervene and, in part, to a policy of an immediate armed uprising.

The arrested chairman of the Central Committee of the Mensheviks, Noah Hommeriki, states in a number of documents seized from him that the collapse was the result of erroneous tactics of the party, which consisted in the involvement of the entire mass of the party in the struggle, which had suddenly turned from a state party into an illegal one. Before its disintegration, he characterizes the work of the Party as having no foundation, but rather artificially revitalized by the leading organs of the Party. The change in national policy and a number of economic measures presented a significant part of the party with the fact that it was unnecessary to fight against the Soviet regime and adapt its tactics to new conditions. Refusing to intervene, the Georgian Mensheviks still hope to use the support of the Entente and the Amsterdam International. Particular attention is paid to Poland, where there is one division, almost exclusively consisting of Georgians.

Despite the obvious results of the work on the disintegration of the party, the number of the remaining Mensheviks is still very significant and exceeds the figure (1,000 people) noted in previous reviews by several times. At the same time, a fairly substantial part of those who came out submitted to the underground Central Committee declarations of loyalty to the party. Obviously, under the ideological influence of the Mensheviks are also underground trade unions, uniting about 10,000 members, the governing body of which was recently disclosed by the Transcaucasian Cheka.

Armenia. The process of decomposition of the Armenian Dashnaks was finally formed by the All‐Armenian Congress of Former Dashnaks in Erivan. This is evident from the state of the Dashnak emigration. The resolution of the Vienna conference of the ʺDashnaktsutyunʺ party reads: ʺArmenia needs peace and all‐round economic recovery, to which all the partyʹs forces should be directed.ʺ The activity of the Dashnaks is currently carried out mainly along the line of resistance to decay. A new Central Committee of the Dashnaks was organized in Georgia.

The left‐wing Dashnaks strive to unite around themselves the Armenian national movement and set the main task to arrest the further disintegration of the party. The right‐wing Dashnaks continue to adhere to an irreconcilable position of overthrowing Soviet power, at least with the help of Turkey. The Armenian masses will not follow the right, in view of such a position.

Azerbaijan. The religious trend of Muridism that has appeared in Azerbaijan, striving for reconciliation of Shiites³⁰² and Sunnis³⁰³, Turks and Azerbaijani emigrants are trying to carry out in Persia as well. The agitation of the former leader of the Kurdamir (Azerbaijan) uprising, Sheikh Bohhul, among the Persian Shiite clergy had no success. Its specific goal was to attract Shiite clergy to participate in the All‐Muslim Congress in Angora to unite Islam.

Adjara. The political situation in the region is extremely unfavorable. The preservation of the former economic importance by the beks, their influence on the Muslim masses and the existence of the Sharia court create a certain pressure on the nature of Soviet construction. The gravitation of this anti‐Soviet element towards Turkey is of great importance since the masses follow it entirely. Turkey pays considerable attention to work in Adjara, and the latter is overflowing with its emissaries.

NORTH CAUCASUS

Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia. Chechnya is at the head of the national movement. All of Chechnya and the mountainous part of Dagestan are an armed camp. In the rest of the regions, the process of internal organization is still going on, led by the leaders of the Chechen‐Dagestan counter‐revolution Ali‐Mitaev and Go‐tsinsky and their assistants, Turkish agents. Gotsinsky and Ali‐Mitaev, not limited to their subordination of the upper layers of mountain auls (foremen, small sheikhs), also appoint their own naibs³⁰⁴who must directly direct the movement and organization of armed detachments. The efforts of Turkish agents overcame the resistance of some local sheikhs of the flat regions, which hindered the unification of the regions of mountainous Dagestan and the whole of Chechnya. This resulted in demonstrations at stts. Samashkinskaya one of the detachments of 140 people with 4 machine guns.

In other regions of Dagestan, the end of hostility between local

Muslims and the sheikhs and a tactical agreement between them in the fight against Soviet power is noted. This also involves this region in the counter‐revolutionary movement. In Ingushetia, similar work [carried out] by Ali‐Mitaevʹs murids, and its proximity to Chechnya, pose a threat to its joining the movement. The economic situation of the population of these areas: landlessness, ʺscissorsʺ, lack of hope for help from the Soviet government due to the weak representation of small tribes in Soviet bodies. All this creates the basis for the involvement of the tribes in the counter‐revolutionary movement.

Gotsinskyʹs tactics are to intensify political banditry, attack the oil fields, railroads, Red Army garrisons and terrorist party workers. Ali‐Mitaev, who is a member of the Chechen obrevkom, keeps the USSR from decisive action to the creation of an external front. However, some impatient elements are already showing themselves and over the past 2 months there have already been 40 cases of gang attacks on the fields, the railway and the Red Army units. The attacks are political in nature. The Chechen Revolutionary Committee is powerless to fight banditry without Ali‐Mitaev, which the latter uses to popularize himself. The repressions against the population of Chechnya and Ingushetia, which initially gave successful results, had to be suspended due to the immediate intensification of political banditry in the North Caucasus.

Other regions of the North Caucasus. The growth of the national movement here proceeds along the line of tribal enmity, mainly due to the dominance of the strongest tribes in the Soviet organs. In the City Republic, this situation creates a particularly strong national movement, similar to the Chechen movement in Diogoria, where the Christian Ossetians actually dominate the Soviet bodies, and the Diogor Muslims are almost not represented in them. In the Kabardino‐Balkarian region. the antagonism between Kabarda (flat part) and Balkaria (mountainous part) is caused by the dominance of the Kabardians in the Soviet organs. A connection has been established between the nationalists of Balkaria and Diogoria. Between Kabarda and the Karachay‐Cherkess Republic, the strongest enmity is caused by land disputes. At the Congress of Soviets convened to settle the conflict, the parties hinted at the possibility of an armed resolution of the conflict. In the KarachayCherkess region. the struggle is taking place on national‐political grounds.

CRIMEA

The national movement is generally weak. The group of the Sharket cooperative is showing some activity, which was manifested in the success of its efforts to abandon the Tatar landowners expelled from Crimea. However, this cooperative as a class organization is already decaying and its influence on the Tatar masses is weak. This process will undoubtedly intensify from the moment of the Tatarization of state agencies. The resolutions of the CP Congress of the Party on the national issue are being successfully implemented, especially in the direction of opening schools of the 1st stage. At the end of the reporting period, there were spiritual congresses dedicated to the acts of recognition of the new caliph and the sending of delegates to him.

TATAR REPUBLIC

The national movement is characterized by the rapid development of private capital. A number of projects, such as the opening of a Muslim trading corps in Nizhny Novgorod, the creation of a Muslim trade and industrial syndicate, the creation of a trade and industrial committee, etc., indicate this strengthening of the national capital.

Among the Muslims, there is a desire to strengthen its apparatus and intense agitation for permission to teach religion in schools. In order to strengthen the influence on the younger generation of Muslims, the Central Spiritual Directorate ordered mullahs to allow women to visit mosques. The clergy collect fees for the opening of theological schools, not doubting that under the pressure of public opinion, the Soviet government will permit the opening of such schools.

The organization of the Tatar intelligentsia ʺUchagʺ (founded in 1914 in Petrograd by nationalist students) began to take shape, the goal of which was to subordinate the Soviet apparatus to its influence. There is a desire to create a Union of Muslim Students, independent of public organizations. The influence of national elements on the Soviet apparatus is in the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Land, where land is provided exclusively to Tatars without distinction of social status, in universities, where the distribution of scholarships and admission is carried out more on a national basis, and, finally, in attracting to Soviet work a number of people who had previously actively opposed the Soviet authorities.

The national intelligentsia maintains contact with emigrant groups, sends young people to study abroad, where they are brought up in emigrant circles, and ideological ties are established with Central Asia. In this respect, the interest of the Tatar national circles in Turkey is also characteristic, expressed in fees for the Turks moving from Europe to their homeland and the recognition of the Turkish Caliph as the spiritual ruler.

The strengthening of the Tatar trade and industrial groups and the intelligentsia provokes the resistance of the village kulaks and reactionary mullahs, who are opposed to the former flirting with the Soviet regime.

BASHKIRIA

The reporting period is characterized by the end of anti‐Soviet protests. At the same time, the antagonism between the TsDU (Tatar) and DU (Bashkir spiritual administration) is becoming more acute. This struggle is a reflection of the struggle against the aspirations of the Tatar bourgeoisie to involve the neighboring republics (Bashkiria and Kyrgyzstan) under their economic influence. In this struggle, the Bashkir national movement is forced to put up with the Soviet regime, as evidenced by the successful struggle of the Bashkir Peopleʹs Commissariat for Internal Affairs with the Central Dispatch Office, which was expressed in the confiscation of his birth registers, and the decision of the Bashkir Central Executive Committee to remove the Central Administrative Directorate from the territory of Bashkiria (Ufa). The Ts DU mobilized all forces for agitation among the Tatars and the otatarized Bashkirs against the last event, in order to keep the influence of the Tatar nationalists in Bashkiria.

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

The factor determining the current political position of Kyrgyzstan is the predominance of the Tatar part of the population in the cities, which concentrated in their hands all trade with the auls. The forms of this trade are highly predatory. There is no data on the nascent Kyrgyz commercial capital.

The influence of the Tatar clergy was greatly strengthened here. The mullahs are subordinate to the TsDU and in every possible way seek to subordinate the population to their ideological influence. Recently, this desire has met with resistance from the nascent local clergy, which was almost nonexistent before. This results in schisms between the Tatar and Kyrgyz clergy and the first common parish communities.

The influence of the Tatar bourgeois‐nationalist intelligentsia is very strong here. In Kyrgyzstan, there are a number of societies, which are, as it were, its apparatus. Such are, for example, the Ural (ʺTakpoʺ society), Akmola (Muslim society), Aktobe (ʺTulanʺ society) and others. These societies, consisting of intellectuals and merchants, extend their activities to the Kyrgyz population and thus seize the political and economic impact.

National party and Soviet bodies are cut off from the masses, and economic organizations and cooperatives not only do not fight against predatory private capital, but they themselves follow its path, knocking down prices for cattle‐raising raw materials and inflating the prices of their goods, thereby ruining the population. This causes a tendency towards the elimination of cattle breeding and the transition to a sedentary lifestyle. However, the possibilities of creation are limited due to the enormous resources required for irrigation.

Such a situation created, on the one hand, the desire to seize from the Russians a significant part of the best lands they had and a strong growth of banditry directed against the Russians. On the other hand, the dependence of the Kyrgyz poor on the bays is growing, and the process of disintegration of the clan system that had been going on before stopped. At the last elections to the Soviets, clan and tribal enmity for the seizure of power bodies (and at the same time pastures and water) was clearly manifested, which adopted the form of a ʺclassʺ struggle against the mutual accusation of belonging to the ʺbaiʺ in imitation of the Russians. The lower apparatus of Soviet power absorbed all the elements of the tsarist administrative and police apparatus.

The Alash Orda organization collapsed due to the lack of ground for an anti‐Soviet movement among the Kyrgyz bourgeoisie and intelligentsia, which is more hostile to the Tatar and Uzbek bourgeoisie. The striving of the few Alashorda residents to conquer the state apparatus is hindered by friction between their various groupings ‐ a reflection of clan and tribal enmity (which is also observed among the Kyrgyz communists).

The difficult economic situation and the presence of an unsatisfactory Soviet apparatus can, however, create the basis for a small part of the local intelligentsia, irreconcilable towards Soviet power, and the current movement against the Russians will be used. Without the creation of authoritative lower bodies of power, an improvement in the situation cannot be expected, since otherwise all economic measures will only benefit the strongest tribes and further aggravate the relations of the majority of the population towards Soviet power.

TURKESTAN

ʺIttikhat‐Islamʺ. Moving from the tactics of openly opposing Soviet power, the organization launched an offensive on the ideological front by uniting the cultural forces of the Uzbek intelligentsia and pouring them into the Soviets and the Soviet apparatus. There were even attempts to bring a member of this organization to the post of head of the GPU. Members of the organization conduct espionage work, transmitting information about the Red Army and the mood of the population to London.

ʺNashri‐Maarifʺ. This legal nationalist organization is pursuing the idea of ʺIttihat Islamʺ, seeking to replace European workers with Muslims. The organization is widely ramified, it plans to publish its own newspaper ʺAsiaʺ and has organized a Muslim book publishing.

ʺMakhkamey‐Shariaʺ. The spiritual organization ʺMakhkameiShariaʺ ‐ a tool in the hands of the commercial bourgeoisie ‐ is also switching to ʺpeacefulʺ methods of work, taking an active part in the election campaign to the Soviets. The organization has its branches in many places and enjoys a certain influence among the peasantry, to whom it helps from its grain reserves collected from the vakuf estates.

ʺIshanismʺ. According to the latest data, the Ishanist movement is assuming wide dimensions. This organization of the nascent feudalism in Turkestan, due to the weakness of the Soviet economic agencies, is strengthened thanks to the material assistance provided to the peasantry. In contrast to the organizations of the commercial bourgeoisie, it is deeply hostile to Soviet power.

Basmachism. The real measures carried out by the Soviet government to restore the Turkestan economy are tearing the ground from under the feet of the bands, which are being crushed almost everywhere by the Red Army. The gangster movement is generally disadvantageous to the commercial bourgeoisie in the cities and to the kulaks in the countryside, and therefore is not supported by them. Along with this, the leaders of the Ittihat people keep the gangs from disintegrating, using them, since they can testify to the weakness of the Soviet regime.

Turkmens. The Turkmen national movement in Bukhara and the Trans‐Caspian region, directed against the Uzbeks and Tajiks, received legal opportunities in the form of permission to allocate Turkmen regions to a separate region. There are attempts on the part of Persia to take the initiative of restoring the independence of the Turkmens under their leadership (pressure from England). On the other hand, Afghanistan is taking a number of measures to win over 40,000 emigrant Turkmen by allocating land to them, exemption from taxes, etc.

The main element that rouses the Turkmens to full independence is, however, the British, who bring goods in exchange for livestock and raw materials and restore the population against the Soviet regime and the Persians. The British consulate in Mashhad organizes uprisings in the steppes, for which he bribed the Dujnur Khan, he formed and supplied the gangs with weapons, etc. There is information that Yomudshtan has up to 12,000 well‐armed horsemen.

All these facts definitely indicate that the Turkmen national movement is being used by the counter‐revolution. In particular, the Enver group, using the objective conditions of the Basmachism in Bukhara, wants to create a new base for itself in the areas bordering with our Turkmen.

Bukhara Republic. Bukhara Basmachi show signs of growth in quantitative and growth in activity. It is centralized, grouping its forces around Abdukagar (he gathered up to 600 horsemen and recruited volunteers in the area of the Zeravshan River). Ibrahimbek was appointed commander‐in‐chief of all the armed forces of the Basmachi instead of the absent Selim Pasha. His call not to hand over food to the Russian authorities to prepare for the fight against Soviet power was a partial success among the Lokai peasantry.

A group of active members of ʺItgihat‐Islamʺ, adherents of the ousted group, are campaigning against the new government and for the return of the old Nazirs.

Newly intercepted data points to the involvement of local Ittikhat

Islam organizations in the Basmak movement.

RELIGIOUS CURRENTS

Orthodox clergy

The struggle among the groups of the Orthodox clergy continues to develop. The main issue in the reporting period was the implementation of a new style in church life. Tikhon, who sanctioned it, ran into a negative attitude of believers and was forced to refuse to implement it. However, in December Tikhon reaffirmed the need to switch to a new style. In general, it has recently been observed that Tikhon, under pressure from his bishops, is trying in every possible way to gain confidence in the Soviet government. So, they retire the North American Bishop Plato for counterrevolutionary activities. This act will undoubtedly increase the number of conservative churchmen dissatisfied with Tikhon and strengthen the opposition. This also helps to strengthen the position of the renovationists.

Cultists

In December, the All‐Russian Baptist Convention was held, which was attended by up to two hundred delegates from the field. The congress passed a satisfactory resolution on the question of Soviet power, but on military service it passed a half‐hearted resolution. This was a consequence of the negative position taken on this issue by the collegium of the All‐Russian Congress and the predominant composition of the congress of young people, and partly former white officers and generally dubious elements. The adopted resolution deepened the split with the evangelists, who adopted a resolution for military service at the October congress and makes it impossible for them to unite in any way. Baptists are intensifying their work in this regard, seeking to split evangelical organizations over the issue of conscription. They have success in some places, but insignificant.

In connection with this decision of the congress, the German Baptist communities split off from the Baptists, condemning this decision, considering military service permissible as a kind of rent to the state. There is reason to believe that all Baptist communities in the Caucasus will also break away from the All‐Russian Baptist Union and recognize military service.

Muslim clergy

All Muslim Congress in Calcutta. In the month of December, it was planned to convene an all‐Muslim congress in Calcutta, apparently at the initiative of England. Britainʹs aspirations are aimed at inciting the Muslim outskirts of the USSR against Soviet power and diverting the attention of Muslims from the activities of England in Muslim countries. The correctness of this assessment is proved by an excerpt from the invitation letter to the congress: ʺRussia is a geographic absurdityʺ, ʺthe Muslim community is called to eliminate this absurdity.ʺ

Attitude towards the newly elected caliph. The election of a new caliph in Turkey was recognized by the majority of the Muslims of the USSR. Everywhere Muslim meetings were held in his honor. In Turkestan, it is recognized only by the progressive part of the clergy, headed by Makhkamei‐Sharia. The conservative part of the clergy, the ʺIshanites,ʺ is oriented towards the Afghan emir, demanding his appointment as the caliph as the emir of the most important Muslim center.

BANDITRY

Small‐scale banditry is observed in the Central District. Gangs here are quickly dispersed, as they appear. Some revival is noticeable in the Voronezh lips. and in Voronezh itself, where there is a thievesʹ organization, i.e., ʺGrabtrestʺ. Part of the gang is caught.

In the Petrograd region. there are single crossings of White Karelian scouts from refugees.

In the West, the activity of foreign political gangs of 5‐10 people is noted mainly in the border zone of Belarus.

Banditry, which has assumed large proportions in Borisov and Orsha districts, has now been eliminated. 10 gangs were destroyed, and 210 bandits and concealers were seized. The very active gang of Monich has been defeated. The defeat of banditry improved the attitude of the population towards Soviet power. Actions of the Ivanov‐Prudnikov gang in the Smolensk province. weakened noticeably, its core passed to Poland.

The previously noted concentration under the guise of working detachments of Ba‐lakhovichʹs gangs in the border zone with Poland continues. The detachments already number up to 1000 people. A repeated crossing of Balakhovʹs detachments was established in the border zone of Slutsk and Borisov u. On the territory of Poland, Polish gangs (Mukhaʹs gang) continue to terrorize half a border guard, consisting of former Denikin and Balakhovites.

In Ukraine, criminal banditry does not stop. The play of criminal gangs on national sentiment is very characteristic, expressed in the robbery of the Jews and in the desire thus to win sympathy among the peasants (Kiev province). In the Volyn and Poltava provinces. banditry has a criminal and political connotation (local authorities are terrorized). During the reporting period, the political bands of Maslov (Kharkov and Poltava), Dovgy, Grishchenko and several others were liquidated. In total, 48 bands of 467 bayonets are registered. In general, political banditry has lost its serious importance and is definitely degenerating into criminality. Attempts by individual groups to organize and staff their gangs are unsuccessful. The tactics of undermining the authority of the Soviet government by economic means clearly failed.

There is a strong growth in criminal banditry in Crimea. All in all, there are 47 gangs in 460 bayonets in the Ukraine and Crimea.

In Ukraine, a new type of ʺSovietʺ banditry is emerging, arising from the difficult economic situation of the non‐cheaters who, before the NEP, actively participated in dispossession of the village and in the fight against banditry due to illegal actions of the local authorities.

In the South‐East, criminal banditry is developing at the expense of political. Cases of raids on trains and railway structures have become more frequent. The remaining political bands are few in number (the largest of them is Shumakovʹs of 50), and their activities are expressed in the spread of provocative rumors, anti‐tax agitation and terrorizing the population and Soviet workers. Agitation finds ground among the kulaks, dissatisfied with taxes. In the area of art. Zolskaya (100 versts from Pyatigorsk) kulak discontent took the form of an uprising, in which up to 700 Cossacks participated, including women. The gangs were divided into hundreds. When the movement was liquidated, 24 instigators were seized. Some of the participants fled to Kabarda, where they counted on reinforcements, which did not come due to the measures taken.

Criminal banditry flourishes in the Don, Kuban‐Chernomorskaya and Stavropol provinces, finding support among the population. In Tersk Gubernia, the Mountain and Chechen Republics, criminal and domestic and national‐political banditry is still developed. National banditry is especially strongly developed in Ossetia and Ingushetia, the population of which is strongly influenced by Chechen political sects. In the reporting period, an operation was carried out to disarm the population, and the gangs of Kulin, Burun, Nemykin, Marchenko and others were liquidated. 30 gangs of 400 bayonets remained on the register.

In Transcaucasia, small‐scale banditry is on the decline. Political banditry goes underground. The desire of the leader of the Chelokaev gang to organize Chechen detachments is paralyzed. The leader and the remnants of the gang hide in Telavsky u., Meeting support among the population. Chelokaev maintains contact with the North Caucasus and Gotsinsky, as well as with Turkey.

The Esiashvili and Losobridze gangs were liquidated. Many gangs give up voluntarily. 23 gangs (260 bayonets) remain on the register.

In the Volga region, criminal banditry is still active, and especially in the Kyrgyz Republic (increased cattle‐theft). Criminality in the Penza province. is on the decline. In the Tsaritsyn province. the gang, which came from the Voronezh province, was partially liquidated. In the Urals, after a long lull, criminal banditry appears again. The old criminal‐political gang of Dremin was discovered, behaving passively.

In Turkestan, further decay continues among the rank‐and‐file kurbash and horsemen. The population, which had previously supported them, has now recoiled, which is not a little helped by the tax policy of the Basmachi. The exception is Central Bukhara, where, according to information, an uprising was prepared by the agents of Mullah Abdukagar. In Eastern Bukhara, the unification of the small Basmak gangs is hampered by the enmity between individual Kurbash, reaching armed clashes. To unite these gangs, a representative of the Emir of Bukhara Shurshukh‐Ishen

arrived. According to the latest information, the Emir of Bukhara, having lost hope of restoring his power in Bukhara, began to arrange his personal life. The testimony of Danyar (the former Kulyab bek) about the change by the Afghan government of its attitude towards the Basmachi, which did not justify its appointment, is also very important. In general, the Basmach movement is not getting stronger. In some areas, the Basmachi detachments, although they make movements for the purpose of unification, are dispersed when our flying detachments approach. So, for example, in the Kirki area, a gang of 200 people, who plundered the villages, was utterly defeated by red infantry and cavalry units. At this time, in Turkestan, there are 78 bands of 6496 bayonets and sabers.

Small‐scale banditry is still observed in Western Siberia. Political banditry, which takes place in Eastern Siberia, degenerates into crime. The gangs commit robberies in order to obtain food for the winter. The gangs leave for the winter in the taiga, some of the gangs self‐destructed and surrendered voluntarily (Rodionov, Karelin); the Donskoy gang was defeated, the leader of which was killed. In Yakutia, large white bandit associations of Derevyanny, Kinin, Gerasimov, which remained after the liquidation of the Pepelyaev adventure, surrendered.

In the Far East, banditry has somewhat weakened, with the exception of Transbaikalia and the Amur region, where gangs, taking advantage of the proximity of the border and the weakness of its protection, freely cross it, plundering the outlying population. In some places, the gangs are distributing leaflets calling for the overthrow of Soviet power. Particularly active are two political gangs of the Gordeev brothers, acting on the instructions of the ʺHeadquarters of the Primorye partisan detachmentsʺ located abroad.

The situation here is very serious owing to the existing anti‐tax movements of the peasantry. Peasants of the AleksandroZavodskoy Vol. Transbaikal Gubernia, excited and led by kulaks, not wanting to accept salary slips for the delivery of the state tax, raised an uprising. The population of other volosts followed their example. The uprising also took place in the Amur lips. and in the area of art. Ippolitovka and der. Lyalichi, 10 versts northeast of Nizhne‐Ussuriysk. At the same time, 15 rifles, 3 revolvers and 44 grenades were stolen from the Nizhne‐Ussuriysk artillery warehouse by unknown persons.

Deputy Chairman of the OGPU Yagoda

Head of the Information Department of the OGPU Ashmarin