Review of the political state of the USSR

Review of the internal political situation of the RSFSR in September 1922

October 15, 1922

GENERAL

A good harvest and the elimination of indebtedness to workers in most of the central regions brought peace to both the workers and the peasants; on the other hand, the successful actions of the local organs of the GPU paralyzed the increase in banditry that had been outlined by the beginning of autumn. Large bandit detachments that disturbed the industrial districts of the Republic (Western Territory and Right‐Bank Ukraine) are now either completely destroyed or thrown out of the cordon. All the central districts of the Republic have now been cleared of every kind of counterrevolutionary element capable of disrupting the peaceful course of life in these regions.

In most of the central districts of the Republic, the mood of all groups of the population can be considered quite satisfactory almost everywhere. The campaign of voluntary membership in trade unions, elections to insurance funds in the city, re‐elections of village and volost executive committees in the countryside show that the workers and peasants have full confidence in the Communist Party.

The situation is worse in the outlying regions of the Republic. The outskirts, poorly saturated with qualified statesmen by communists, represent an almost open field for the activity of counterrevolutionary forces.

The activity of the counterrevolutionary element in the Caucasus (both North and South) is distinguished by considerable intensity and aims, with the help of foreign espionage, to pave the way for a broad armed uprising against Soviet power. Counterrevolutionary work in this area is being conducted almost openly.

In the North Caucasus, the anti‐Soviet movement is led by the remnants of the White Guards, who have not yet been expelled from here since the Denikin era. The Muslim clergy also plays a significant role.

In the North Caucasus, the most alarming is the situation of the City Republic and Chechnya, where the authorities are powerless to resist the onslaught of the kulak element, the onslaught of the Muslim clergy, leading unrestrained nationalist agitation.

In Transcaucasia, work is being conducted by tactically united Georgian Mensheviks, Dashnaks ²⁰² and Musavatists ²⁰³. Their activity is currently intensifying. The situation is especially difficult in Georgia, where for several months already in many regions the population has been growing agitated, which in September took the form of an armed uprising in Khevsureti and Pshaveti.

In Azerbaijan, peaceful life is disrupted by raids by Kurdish gangs that are forming on the territory of Persia.

Eastern Siberia, which is the object of activities of Japanese agents, received some respite, now, however, it threatens to end with a new explosion of civil war.

The continuing evacuation of Japanese troops from Primorye puts the Far Eastern reactionaries in the face of the need to find new ways, thereby causing them to become active. It is vitally important for them to hold on to the Vladivostok and Grodekovsky districts, to hold on to at least a small piece of the ʺRussian landʺ from which they could march against the Far Eastern Republic, and perhaps against Soviet Russia.

The uprising in the Yakutsk region, which has been going on for so many months and has been suppressed with such difficulty, attracts the attention of the White Guards, who are trying to support and even lead it. Pepeliaevskaya ²⁰⁴ group seeks to capture Yakutsk in order to then be able to move further to

Baikal. Pepeliaevʹs expedition, according to the latest information, has already passed three quarters of the way to Yakutsk. The coming weeks, in all likelihood, will be marked by a new increase in banditry in Yakutia. The Yakut population is still hostile to Soviet power, making it easier for the White Guards and bandits to fight Soviet Russia. There is information that the Yakuts have already procured up to 10,000 sled reindeer and up to 500 wagons intended for the needs of the Pepelyaevsk units.

The southern border of the Far Eastern Republic is no less dangerous than the northern one. There is information that an intensified organization of the Merkulov brigades is under way in Manchuria.

The Manchurian region has a twofold meaning for the whites: firstly, as a base for an offensive on FER ²⁰⁵, and secondly, as a base for leading the entire gangster movement in Transbaikalia.

In Turkestan, the situation has definitely improved during September. Basmachism is on the decline. This is facilitated by the onset of winter, which has always tempered the activity of the bandits, and the successful actions of our units, who managed to defeat the Enverodom within a month. The mood of the local population has improved. In many places the dekhkans ²⁰⁶ stopped supporting the bandits and this gives hope that the Basmachism in Turkestan will finally be finished.

The situation in Bukhara also improved. The 3rd Kurultai ^{207, which} took place in the second half of August, was held in an atmosphere of confidence in Soviet Russia, under the sign of the awareness of the need for close economic and political cooperation with the RSFSR.

The situation in the Kyrgyz Republic is calm. The nationalist movement has almost completely died down. The mood of the population is calm. All strata of the population have a trusting attitude towards Soviet power. Banditry in the region is almost completely eliminated.

Thus, it can be concluded that, in spite of the seriousness, the entire significance of the counterrevolutionary groups working on the outskirts of the Republic, the situation in these areas in September nevertheless improved.

Most of the counterrevolutionary leaders who work on the territory of the RSFSR and who did not allow Soviet power to establish life in certain areas for many years are now either completely expelled from Soviet Russia, or cling to the last pieces of Soviet territory that are leaving from under their feet.

The activity of the groups thrown out of the borders of Soviet Russia by the course of the revolution gradually subsides.

The Savinkovites, who were still a real political force in the fall of last year, have now become dispersed and weakened. With the transfer of the NSPP center and C ²⁰⁸ to Bendery, the work of its local organizations declined. The leaders of the union Savinkov, Viktorov and Derental travel to different benefactors, trying to get funds to support the organization. Their financial situation is becoming more difficult. In the second half of August, the French General Staff issued 220,000 francs to Savinkov, but warned him that this was the last payment if the form of information material about Russia was not changed for the better. Savinkovʹs attempt to contact the Merkulovites ended in failure. Also, negotiations between Savinkov and Wrangel ended unsuccessfully.

Savinkov is still the largest and most dangerous of the counterrevolutionary forces located abroad. Other groups (Petliurists, Balakhovites, Makhnovists, Gozenapans, etc.) are slowly but surely decomposing and do not pose any danger to Soviet Russia.

WORKERS

The general improvement in the mood in the working environment that was outlined during August was even more noticeable in September. True, in some places there were cases of large riots that painfully shook our industry, but, with the exception of Siberia and Turkestan, in none of the regions of the Republic they were not of a long, and even less of an organized nature.

A huge role in this regard was played by the liquidation of debts to workers, carried out in a large number of places, which was the main reason for the emergence of all kinds of abnormalities in the course of the work of enterprises. A certain settlement of the supply of workers had a considerable influence on improving the mood of the workers.

The central region of the Republic gives a picture of almost complete pacification of the workers, which was especially clearly revealed during the campaigns for re‐election of factory committees and elections to insurance funds held over the past month. A huge percentage of the elected communists indicate with sufficient evidence that the highest point of the political crisis has already been left behind. Of all the many provinces that make up the Central District, only Tverskaya provides a case of rather large and stubborn disturbances that arose under the influence of delayed payment of salaries at three enterprises.

The Moscow industrial district stands alone in the group of central provinces. True, here, too, the unrest subsides in September, but still the situation here continues, as in August, to be far from prosperous. The main reason for the excitement of the workers of the Moskovsky district is the rapid rise in prices for basic necessities, which began again in August, as a result of which the level of wages, which is already low in most enterprises, has dropped even more.

During the reporting month, strikes demanding an increase in tariffs seized the following Moscow and Moscow region enterprises: Podolsk Foundry, Fk Goznak, Fk Zhiro, Bromley ²⁰⁹, OrekhovoZuevsky Trust and many others. The largest and most serious strikes took place at the Goznak factory and its printing house. It encompassed over 1,000 workers and was largely provoked by counter‐revolutionary elements.

The St. Petersburg industrial region is more prosperous in terms of workersʹ sentiments than the Moscow one. This is due to the elimination of debts for most enterprises and the improvement of workersʹ supplies.

In the provinces of the Northwest Territory, one can also note a significant improvement in workersʹ moods. The only exceptions are some districts of the Vologda and Pskov provinces, where dissatisfaction is caused by extremely difficult material conditions.

In the Western Territory, the mood of the workers is satisfactory everywhere, with the exception of some enterprises in the Smolensk province. The mood of the workers of private enterprises in Zapkrai is much worse. Attempts by private capital to go on the offensive, noted in the August survey, are also noted this month. In particular, in Zapkraye, employers fire workers without the knowledge of the unions, illegally lengthen the working day, etc.

Ukraine is a less hectic area, Nizheli Zapkrai. Here the improvement is largely facilitated by the work of the Mensheviks, which is especially pronounced in the Yekaterinoslav province. It is extremely characteristic that while, after the trial of the Social Revolutionaries, the workers of Soviet Russia were everywhere passing resolutions authorizing the verdict, the workers of Soviet Ukraine responded with deathly silence. In Yekaterinoslavskaya province. the workersʹ dissatisfaction with the tribunalʹs decision was noted.

Almost all reports from Ukraine point to the ongoing curtailment of industry, downsizing and closing of enterprises. Everything responds extremely painfully to the mood of the workers and provides abundant food for the Mensheviks in their anti‐state activities. The number of conflicts and strikes in Ukraine is quite significant, and it is characteristic that they mainly seize large enterprises. In many cases, the disturbances were quite persistent.

In this respect, the strike of the workers of the Merefa plant (Kharkov province), which lasts for two weeks, stands out sharply in this respect; it is an absolutely exceptional phenomenon in the practice of the strike movement over the past two years. Only the Poltava, Podolsk and partly Odessa provinces can be considered quite prosperous provinces in Ukraine.

The South‐East, especially the Transcaucasia, are politically disadvantaged regions of the Republic. This can be most vividly illustrated by the Sunday day of digging a canal for the Tiflis power plant, when, instead of 2,000 people, there were 5,000 workers, most of them non‐party workers. The mood of the workers in private industry is extremely favorable. To a greater extent, this is facilitated by the work of the factory committees and the RCI assistance cells, which suppress the attempts of the owners to exploit the workers. The energetic work of the unions to improve the situation of the unemployed is very uplifting. As, for example, in Tiflis, a construction artel organized from the unemployed numbers up to 2000 people.

The southern and middle part of the Volga region, as in last August, this September is a completely calm region of the Republic, only in its northeastern part by September the situation deteriorates greatly due to the delay in salaries, rations, insufficient tariff rates and the curtailment of industry produced in places. The most alarming provinces of this region are Perm and Yekaterinburg. In the first, the discontent continues throughout the month and captures all industrial districts. In the second, it extends mainly to the Cheremkhovsky coal region. The mood of the workers in Siberia did not improve in September, for the inadequacy of the tariff rates and the general indebtedness to the workers, so characteristic of Siberia, have not been eliminated even this month. The delay in rations, which became for them, in connection with the non‐payment of salaries, is very hard on the mood of the workers. especially painful. All this has a disastrous effect on the state of the industry in Siberia. The productivity of enterprises continues to decline nonstop; in some areas, workers begin to take over factories en masse, plundering factory property in the form of raw materials and even equipment when they leave. In most provinces of Siberia, numerous strikes took place during the reporting month.

The consequence of the crisis in Siberia is the desire of workers to earn extra money on the side. In Omsk, the authorities were forced to prosecute, despite the threat of a strike, the head of the railway workshops for concluding an onerous deal with local peasants.

The position of the state industry in Turkestan was greatly shaken in September. State trusts, headed by the former owners of factories and plants, were brought to such a state that they had to selfdestruct. As a result, private firms took over the market, from which prices began to rise rapidly. All this had a detrimental effect on the material situation and, consequently, on the mood of the workers. Discontent is noted in all large working‐class districts of Turkestan, Syrdarya, Turkmen, Samarkand and other regions. It should be noted, however, that this discontent never took on too sharp forms. The exceptionally insignificant number of strikes at the enterprises of Turkestan attracts attention.

In conclusion, a few words about the professional movement. While throughout the entire territory of the RSFSR the transition of trade unions to the new rails was relatively painless, in Siberia NEP had a completely destructive effect on the work of the unions.

PEASANTS

The collection of the tax in kind, as it should be expected, is the central issue in September, the most exciting for the village.

The campaign has already begun everywhere and has not yet caused any sharp excesses anywhere. The peasantsʹ attitude towards her is generally benevolent. There are absolutely no unconditional, ʺprincipledʺ refusals to pay tax this year: all complaints and discontent are now directed not towards protest against the existence of the tax as such, but only towards the desire to reduce its rates. This yearʹs food campaign began in conditions incomparably more favorable than last year. Of the factors contributing to its successful course, the first place must be given to the general pacification of the peasant masses. The second factor is a significant weakening in the countryside of counter‐revolutionary phenomena such as banditry, agitation on the part of anti‐Soviet parties, etc.

In the Central and Northwest regions, the campaign runs smoothly. In most provinces, there is a tendency of peasants to hand over the tax in kind by October 1 in order to take advantage of a 10 percent discount. In these areas, discontent is observed only in the Yaroslavl and Voronezh provinces, where the collection of the tax in kind condemns the poor to starvation, in the Karelian labor commune ruined by last yearʹs uprising and in the provinces that suffered from the spring floods.

The campaign is not entirely satisfactory in Gomel province, where the poor complain about excessive rates. In the Vitebsk province. the campaign is hampered by the catastrophic state of the distribution centers. In Ukraine, the collection causes discontent only in the second year of the starving Nikolaev lips. From the regions of the Caucasus, the campaign is proceeding weakly in the City Republic, where the population, under the influence of the agitation of the kulaks, as well as the still observed collapse of power, categorically refuses to surrender the tax, and in the regions of Georgia affected by banditry. This is especially noted in the sphere of influence of the political gang of Chelokaev, a gang that managed to win the sympathy of the population and even in some places roused it to an uprising. The weakness of the food campaign in the City Republic and Georgia is not accidental. These two republics are the targets of the most powerful counter‐revolutionary work,

In the Urals, dissatisfaction with the campaign is noticed only in the Yekaterinburg province, which is one of the most alarming in the district.

The outskirts of the Republic, like last year, are the areas where the campaign is most painful, where it meets the most stubborn resistance from the peasant population, where, finally, the sales apparatus is most saturated with negligent and sometimes criminal workers. While in European Russia the maximum resistance of the peasants is expressed in the filing of applications and petitions, in the Kyrgyz Republic even at the beginning of the campaign there have been cases of beatings and even murders of food workers. In Turkestan, due to the almost complete absence in the localities of more or less tolerable workers who are able to explain to the peasants the essence of the policy of the Soviet government in relation to the peasants, the latter are completely unaware of the existence of a tax in kind. In this regard, misunderstandings occur in most regions of Turkestan. In the Semirechensk region. due to the rumor that the grain would allegedly be taken entirely, the peasants refused to remove it from the fields. In the Dzhetysu region. there was an attempt to murder the inspectors. The only area where collection is going well is Turkmen, however, the mood of the farmers is extremely unsatisfactory and the attitude towards tax is hostile.

Although the mood of the peasants in Siberia is better than in Turkestan, this land cannot be called prosperous. And here the tax in kind evokes in many places acute discontent among the peasant masses. This is greatly facilitated by the confusion that reigns in some areas and reaches the issuance of orders for the collection of tax at the rates of 1921 and the actual collection of tax at these rates.

The second major factor determining the mood in the village is the autumn sowing campaign, which is already ending in places. It goes quite well everywhere. The interest of the peasants in agricultural work is enormous. The desire to expand the cultivated area is everywhere. In some areas (the Volga region and southern Ukraine), there is an acute shortage of draft animals.

The political sentiments of the peasantry are fully determined by the course of the campaigns described above.

RED ARMY

The Red Army men are still the most reliable part of the population in terms of their moods. The general political mood in the units during the reporting month did not change in any of the regions of the Republic.

The uniform crisis that emerged during August, as expected, continues in September, although it has not reached an excessive degree of severity anywhere. In some places, the food supply of the units suffers, and this phenomenon spread in September even to parts of the GPU troops.

In the Central District, discontent for the reporting month was noted only in units located in the districts of Moscow province. In the North‐Western and Western regions, the situation in the units remained at the proper height all the time. In Ukraine, the situation is also safe in all provinces, except for Odessa, the garrison of which is experiencing an acute food crisis, forcing the Red Army soldiers to engage in begging and plunder.

The situation in the outlying units is incomparably less favorable and inspires incomparably greater fears than the situation in units located in the central regions of the Republic. We have to admit that the situation in Turkestan is the worst. The past September not only did not give any improvement in comparison with the previous months, but the situation even worsened. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the cancellation of the demobilization of 1899 to 1900 further worsens the mood of the Red Army and further decomposes the units. The supply of units located in the Samarkand and Fergana regions is carried out very badly. The units located in the Fergana region received from time to time one quarter of a pound of bread a day.

There is almost no political work in the units, because the available small number of political workers does not at all correspond to the appointment due to their extreme underdevelopment. All this leads to the fact that the Red Army men begin to engage in plunder and begging, which to the extreme anger the indigenous population of Turkestan, which is already badly disposed towards Soviet power.

Border protection is still extremely weak.

ACTIVITIES OF ANTI‐SOVIET PARTIES

Monarchists

The August survey reported on the transfer of the monarchist center from Berlin to Munich. At the present time, this has already become an accomplished fact. The navy has moved entirely to Munich. In its current composition, the Navy does not enjoy any authority among the monarchists. Finally, the chairman of the Navy, Markov 2nd, also lost his prestige.

The relationship between the Navy and the Central Committee of the monarchist party is now more than strained, because the Navy, despite a special agreement previously concluded, is now cutting the number of delegates of the peopleʹs monarchical union to the congress, thus completely depriving the Central Committee of representation. The final break is likely to occur at the 2nd Congress, and the Central Committee is now taking measures to obtain the possibility of independent action, in particular, it is now preparing a congress of representatives of constitutional monarchists for December.

Great disagreements among the monarchists arise over the activities of the former Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. As you know, Kirill Vladimirovich published in French newspapers something like a manifesto, in which he stated that by right of birthright he considered himself the head of the imperial and guardian of the Russian throne. The Navy has a very negative attitude to Cyrilʹs adventure; however, he has not yet expressed his official point of view on the issue, apparently postponing the discussion on this matter until the upcoming monarchist congress. Kirill Vladimirovich has quite large connections in the monarchist environment. General Glazenap ²¹⁰, well‐known for his adventures in Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania, who now lives in Konigsberg, ʺswore to himʺ... The Munich monarchists, led by Biskupsky, also support Kirill, a close relationship has been established with General Krasnov, the latter is working among the Cossacks in the Balkans. Kirill established a connection with Ludendorffʹs party ²¹¹, as well as the right‐wing Bavarian group.

The constitutional‐monarchist group, headed by Efimovsky, decided to express to Kirill their monarchical feelings. Wrangel answered the manifesto with silence.

With the participation of Goremykin in the south of France, a number of meetings were held on the further actions and work of the monarchists. Now Goremykin has returned to Berlin and is leaving for Serbia the other day to meet with General Wrangel. Obviously, Goremykin will try to persuade Wrangel to confess Kirill Vladimirovich.

Nikolai Nikolaevich, called by the manifesto of Kirill Vladimirovich to supremacy over all Russian armies (even including the Red Army), behaves very carefully and shies away from active work. This is explained, apparently, by the fact that he himself would not mind taking the place of Kirill Vladimirovich. For a long time, the Navy sought to lead the monarchist movement by one of the members of the House of Romanov and nominated Nikolai Nikolaevich as the most acceptable candidate.

The emigre mass of the monarchical persuasion reacted to Kirillʹs manifesto in general negatively and leaned more towards Nikolai Nikolaevich.

The second major event in the life of monarchists is the upcoming monarchist congress. The convention will take place in France in mid‐October. Due to the lack of funds, it is unlikely to be particularly numerous. The re‐election of the Navy is on the agenda. It is assumed that at the congress there will be a very sharp clash between the Nikolaevites and the Kirillovites, as well as between the absolutists and leftist monarchists.

The main attention of the leading monarchist circles is directed to the treatment of the emigre masses. All information of the monarchists on the situation in Soviet Russia is private. There are no serious relations either with the Red Army or with individual leaders of Soviet Russia. Also, there are no more or less serious organizations on the territory of the Soviet Republic.

At present, the extremely monarchist Brotherhood of the White Cross is beginning to enjoy popularity among the Russian emigration.

create a new monarchical system that does not have the defects that toppled the monarchy in 1917.

Ukrainian monarchists are straining all their strength to create a single organization. They are supervised by Vasily Vyshivanny. Ukrainian monarchists are trying to create a united front with Russian monarchists.

Smenovekh

A split begins among the Smenovekhites. The left‐wing group working in Russia dissociates itself from the platform occupied by the newspaper Nakanune, considering the Berlin Smenovekhovites to be a group that went over to the side of Soviet Russia for personal gain. The controversy between both groups is very sharp. The Novorossiys (leftist group) call the Nakanunevites a ʺgang of adventurersʺ who have attached themselves to Soviet Russia, leading Russia to reaction. The left group, not being communist, however, fundamentally accepts Soviet power, believing that everything else inevitably leads to reaction. Novorossiysk believe that NEP defeated communism. Now a split in the Communist Party is inevitable. The turning point is either to the right, then the integrity of Russia, or to the left, then the death of Russia, reaction. The signs of a split are outlined. These are the trusts and the nepism of the communists themselves.

Right SRs

In September, most of the provincial AKP organizations were active. Work on the ground is carried out in a completely organized manner, and only the use of repression forces the SRs from time to time to weaken their activities in a particular area.

In the center, the Socialist‐Revolutionaries are heavily terrorized by the measures of the GPU. In Moscow, in connection with the arrests made, the active SRs who remained at large temporarily stopped working and left. Only a few members of the MB AKP remain, who are behaving extremely cautiously. In the first half of September, the Krasnopresnenskaya regional organization was liquidated. The district leader, a member of the MB AKP, was arrested.

In Petrograd, several persons were also arrested with illegal literature transported from abroad. Now the transfer of literature has been suspended. The information received indicates that the Socialist‐Revolutionaries decided to take a wait‐and‐see attitude and not be active in the next two or three months.

The AKP organizations showed much more lively activity in September in Ukraine.

In the Kharkov province. the Socialist‐Revolutionary group ʺPeopleʺ merged with the AKP. The Kharkiv organization issued a leaflet entitled ʺShame of the Executionerʺ about the death of AKP member Kirnos from typhus.

In Yekaterinoslav, the organization of the Social Revolutionaries was groped. The greatest activity is still shown by the Odessa Committee of the SR, which continues to issue leaflets and its own organ ʺZnamya Trudaʺ. From the 17th issue, ʺZnamya Trudaʺ became the organ of the South Regional Bureau of the AKP, organized in the summer in order to unite the activities of all party organizations of the South and establish close ties with organizations in other localities. Znamya Truda reports that Zenzinov ²¹², Rubanovich, Rusanov ²¹³, Sukhomlin ²¹⁴ and Chernov ²¹⁵ are now members of the Partyʹs Foreign Bureau.

In Kiev, the re‐registration of members of the organization is underway. The work of the latter is carried out in plants and factories. There is a close connection with the largest of them.

Work is revived in Poltava. The organization is strengthening and establishing links with the counties. Leaflets on topical issues are occasionally issued. The Social Revolutionaries are quite active in Siberia. Here, their focus is on cooperation. In Novonikolaevsk, in the Siberian Tsentrosoyuz, all departments are headed by SocialistRevolutionaries and Mensheviks. The existence of an illegal SR faction among cooperators was revealed. In the Tomsk province. intensified Socialist‐Revolutionary agitation is observed in the districts.

Also noteworthy are the Tula and Arkhangelsk lips. In the first, a large number of AKP members settled in the bodies of consumer cooperation, in particular, in the gubernia union. In the second, forest cooperatives have been completely taken over by anti‐Soviet elements.

In other provinces of the Republic, the Social Revolutionaries hardly show themselves at all.

Weak work is observed in the Ural lips. A small group publishes a typewriter magazine, Organization and Propaganda, which is distributed only among AKP members. The Ural group is now establishing relations with the Saratov and Moscow organizations.

Mensheviks

September marked the resumption of the organizational activity of the Mensheviks in the center and in the localities.

In Moscow, the bureaus of the Central Committee of the RSDLP and the MK turned all their attention to establishing ties with individual members of the party living in Moscow and with provincial organizations.

No active activity of the Mensheviks in the factories and factories of Moscow was noted.

Of the provincial organizations, the Kharkov one is the most vital and active and has published the 15th issue of Sotsial‐Democrat.

The most prominent Mensheviks flock to Kharkov from the rest of the cities of Ukraine. The party’s commander‐in‐chief designed last month, is going to redistribute forces to resume work, which stopped after the March defeat.

The Kharkiv city organization of the RSDLP directed its work in three directions: 1) to attract individual workers to the party, 2) to create circles, 3) to create non‐party clubs.

At a joint meeting of district commissioners, it was decided to publish the Sotsial‐Demokrat magazine every 10 days and to convene a city‐wide conference to discuss issues of attitude to the united front, the internal and external position of the organization, and attitude towards Soviet power.

In the rest of the provinces of the Ukraine, the Menshevik organizations are much weaker. In the Yekaterinoslav and Podolsk provinces. there are only individual members of the party. In the Poltava province. there is a city organization. There are no organizations registered in the counties, but there are individual party members associated with the city committee.

In Siberia, mainly in Novonikolaevsk, the Mensheviks, like the Socialist‐Revolutionaries, turned their attention to cooperation. They are most active in the Siberian Center of the Union, where they hold many responsible posts.

In Tyumen, a group of Mensheviks, in connection with the arrests of some of its members, is now not showing activity.

In Turkestan there is legally a committee of the RSDLP, whose members are old party workers; administrative exiles also take part. Organizational work was not shown by the committee.

The Mensheviks are conducting covert agitation against Soviet power in the City Republic and in Georgia.

The Union of Social Democratic Working Youth showed itself only in Moscow by issuing a leaflet on the occasion of the International Youth Day, which, however, did not receive wide distribution. 5 members of the SDSRM and 3 active members of the RSDLP, who work among young people, were arrested.

A small amount of information about the foreign activities of the RSDLP was received. From reliable sources it turned out that the financial situation of the Socialist Bulletin is improving, since the editorial board managed to contact the Central Bank of the Mensheviks of the Far East, which undertook the responsibility to distribute the magazine there and send sums of money. Until now, the magazine is mostly distributed free of charge.

Anarchists

Relaxation and inactivity reign among anarchists. In view of the political situation, which does not allow the development of vigorous activity, the anarchists of the overground confine themselves to cultural and educational work, while the

underground fighters close in small, strictly conspiratorial groups.

Over the past period, the work of the anarchists was expressed in the following: in Moscow, a small underground group of Nabatists and powerless people was discovered, who arrived here from Ukraine and Petrograd, dealing with exes.

The work of the Golosists temporarily slowed down. Anarchocommunists are taking steps to authorize the publication of a monthly science propaganda art magazine called Future. The Golosovites are trying to make Moscow the center of their union of anarcho‐syndicalists, for which they move a printing house from St. Petersburg. In addition, they want to open publishing offices in the provinces to distribute anarchist literature locally, for which they recruit qualified syndicalist workers. Among the St. Petersburg anarchists, there is a desire to commit exes both for political purposes and for personal. St. Petersburg Golosists are thinking to speak at the tribunal in defense of a group of anarchists accused of raids and exes.

In the provinces, the anarchists do not go further than attempts to organize exs. Complete dispersion, confusion. Some groups are taking measures to legalize, because it is impossible to develop underground work under existing conditions.

BANDITRY

August was the month of the greatest development of banditry during the summer period, which was favorable for him. The information for September definitely indicates a sharp decline and dispersal of banditry in all, with the exception of the East Siberian, border districts of the Republic.

In the Northwest Military District and Petrograd Province. a new small gang of the Lishaev brothers appeared. In the Pskov province. Colonel Vasilievʹs gang showed itself again. Both of these gangs, although small in number, however, deserve attention, because both the Lishaev brothers and Colonel Vasiliev are members of the NSPP and S, and after the peasants harvest grain, they intend to start more serious operations, especially since their combined actions with the bandits of Colonel Danilov are possible, located now in the region of Mocin and Rozhitsa on the Latvian side and numbering up to 1000 people. There is a ground for the development of banditry, for the peasantry of this lean region is dissatisfied with the tax rates in kind.

In Kartrudkommun, the appearance of the White Karelian Bavds from beyond the Finnish border is again noted. Nowadays, there are already 250 bandits in the CPC, operating in small detachments of 10‐15 people each.

In the rest of the provinces of the North‐Western Territory, banditry was not observed at all.

In the Western Territory, banditry has greatly subsided. In the Vitebsk province. now it is almost completely eliminated. Until recently, the gang of Sparrow, an officer of the Balakhovskaya army and a member of the NSZR and S, surrendered in September, led by Sparrow himself. In the Minsk province. the most active is still the Ryabtsevich gang. The gangs of Nakhlebov and Bogolovich, united by Captain Korotkevich who had come from behind the cordon, were forced to hide under pressure from our units. All these gangs are organized by the NSPP and S. The peasantry is hostile to the bandits.

In the Gomel province. the fight against bandits is weak. The gangs of Savitsky, Medvedev and the Gaikunov brothers are still operating in it.

In the Smolensk province. banditry is almost eliminated. There is only one gang of Prudnikov ²¹⁶, consisting mainly of officers ‐ members of the NSZR and S.

In the Bryansk province. there is no political banditry. In September, only a large criminal gang of the Erno brothers, numbering 85 people, appeared. This gang was liquidated in September.

The fight against bandits in Ukraine was carried out even more successfully. Galichevskyʹs gang, about whose activities detailed information was given in the last review, has now been completely eliminated. Galichevsky himself with his command staff and a small detachment fled to Poland. By the end of September, the gangs were re‐assembled by Babienko and Levchenko and were also destroyed. Now the organs of the GPU in Podolia are liquidating the underground headquarters of the Petliurites.

The change in the mood of the peasants in favor of Soviet power greatly facilitates the struggle against counter‐revolution. The Petliura gangs suffered a complete defeat in the Kremenchug province, where in September a vast Petliura organization was revealed, covering the entire Kremenchug province. and part of the Nikolaevskaya, as well as several smaller organizations in the Chigirinsky district.

The very dangerous gang of Grozny operating in the same area is now scattered. The united gang of Zagorodny, Zheleznyak and ʺBlack Crowʺ under the general leadership of Ataman Orel

Nasterenko is now forced to hide and does not actively show itself.

In the Kiev province. banditry also spread. There are no more large gangs. There remained small detachments of 10‐15 people who did not show activity.

In the rest of the provinces of Ukraine (Odessa, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Yekaterinoslav and Kharkov), there is no political banditry now, as it was last month. Only unorganized actions of criminal gangs are observed. The Svishch gang, which operated until recently, was also destroyed in September.

In total, on October 1, there were 35 gangs in Ukraine, 525 fighters with 3 machine guns (as of September 1, there were over 80 gangs, 1,500 fighters with 15 machine guns).

In the North Caucasian District, banditry almost did not decrease in number. As of October 1, there are 28 gangs and 1350 fighters with 36 machine guns. However, some successes in the fight against banditry have been achieved here as well. In the Kuban‐Black Sea region. the leaders, the brothers Karpenko, Kapustin, Lavrinetsky and Kurbatsky, surrendered.

In the Terek region. Significant gangs of Mordachev, Marchenko and Osadchenko surrendered. In the Transcaucasian Okrug, no changes were noted in the state of banditry.

Chelokaev and a number of small gangs of little importance are still operating in Georgia. In total, there are 15 gangs and 1,500 fighters in the ZakVO.

In Turkestan, our military units continue to wage a vigorous struggle against the Basmak movement.

After the death of Enver Pasha at the head of the movement, his successor Dakshar could not unite the Basmachi, for he did not enjoy authority among them. For this reason, as well as due to the energy displayed by our units, the gangs were dispersed. Many Basmachi went home. Nevertheless, it must be said that in September the Basmachi were still quite active.

Our units inflicted on the enemy in the Bukhara region with minimal losses. a very serious blow. In early September, we surrounded and completely destroyed a large gang of Mullah Abdukagar. A detachment of 120 Basmachi Muhamed‐Ali was also destroyed. By the end of the month, the gangs of Avli‐Akula of 150 people and Muhamed‐Ali with the remnants of their gang voluntarily went over to our side. In total, according to incomplete information, 480 bandits were killed, up to 300 people went over to our side.

In total, there are 27 active gangs in Bukhara and up to 4800 fighters.

Basmachi of Fergana region quite large losses were also suffered. Up to 100 bandits were killed, among them the prominent leader Shirmat‐Pansat, up to 110 people surrendered.

The Islam Quli gang has become dispersed due to internal divisions over lack of food and fodder.

Total in the Fergana region. in September 19 gangs with a total number of 3800 people showed themselves actively.

A slight increase in the number of Basmachi, reaching 2300 in September, was noted in the Samarkand region. This is explained by the fact that Otshil‐bek, who disbanded his troops in August, has now reassembled them in order to go with them to Bukhara in order to take the place of the slain leader of the movement ‐ Enver Pasha. The pursuit of the Basmachi in this area is made difficult by formidable natural obstacles.

In Khiva and Syrdarya region. gangs carry out raids on settlements and rob the population.

Comparing the total number of the Basmachi of Turkestan in September with the figure for August, when their total number reached about 22 thousand, we see that we have achieved positive results in the fight against the Basmach movement.

In the West Siberian District, we have also achieved significant successes in the fight against banditry. Two large gangs of SocialistRevolutionary colors, which operated until the last days in Altai province, have now been eliminated. The leaders of the gangs Tuzhnoy and Karman Chekurakov voluntarily confessed. The prominent leader Ilyankov from the united gang of Ta‐RyshkinOrlov also surrendered. As a result of Pyankovʹs voluntary appearance, the gang broke up. 30 people were captured, 20 voluntarily appeared.

The rest of the small gangs were not active in the reporting month.

In the Tomsk province. Zinovievʹs gang, which was mentioned in the last review, has now openly thrown out the slogan ʺFor the Tsarʺ and is distributing appropriate leaflets.

The connection between Zinoviev and the gangs of Soloviev, Kulakov and Radionov, who set apart separate groups for attacks on garrisons and posts on the Mongolian border, is revealed. The number of the entire gang‐group reaches 200 people. The population does not support them now.

Two well‐known gangs of Solo‐Marov and Zarokovsky‐Pikhrin have been liquidated in the East Siberian District. The first leader was captured, the second was killed. The Donskoy ^217‐ Black gang, operating along the Irkutsk‐Balagansk railway line, manages to elude the pursuing military units.

In the Yakutsk region. during September, there is an intensified withdrawal of the rebels from the Yakutsk region. The detachments were dispersed, some surrendered to the local authorities. There are 500 people who voluntarily surrendered, including the gangs of Afanasyev, Korobeinikov and Kanin‐Rakov. The leaders of the gangs fled in the direction of Ayan‐Okhotsk, apparently having the intention to group in the indicated area under the general leadership of Pepeliaev, who landed a landing in the city of Ayan, numbering, according to the information received, 1000 people with 4 guns and 18 machine guns ... With this detachment, Pepeliaev is preparing for an expedition into the interior of the country.

Thus, we are probably on the eve of rather major events in this area if our units moved to Ayan do not have time to deliver a decisive blow to Pepeliaev. In any case, even if the information about the number of the landing is somewhat exaggerated, our units need to be extremely vigilant there.

Deputy Chairman of the GPU Yagoda, Head of the Information

Department of the GPU Ashmarin