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Soviets;   as   at Astrakhan;   Nijni;   Kostroma;  Tambov;   Smolensk   and   other 

places。     New polytechnics are being founded。                At Ivano…Vosnesensk the 

new   polytechnic   is   opened   and   that   at   Briansk   is   being   prepared。      The 

number   of   students   in   the   universities   has   increased   enormously   though 

not to   the same proportion   as the  number of   universities;  partly  because 

the difficulties of food supply keep many students out of the towns; and 

partly because of the newness of some of the universities which are only 

now gathering their students about them。               All education is free。 In August 

last a decree was passed abolishing preliminary examinations for persons 

wishing   to   become   students。        It   was   considered   that   very   many   people 

who could attend the lectures with profit to themselves had been prevented 

by   the   war   or   by   pre…revolution   conditions   from   acquiring   the   sort   of 

knowledge that could be tested by examination。 It was also believed that 

no   one   would   willingly   listen   to   lectures   that   were   of   no   use   to   him。 

They hoped to get as many working men into the universities as possible。 

Since     the   passing    of  that   decree    the  number      of  students    at  Moscow 

University; for example; has more than doubled。 It is interesting to notice 

that of the new students a greater number are studying in the faculties of 

science   and   history   and   philosophy   than   in   those   of   medicine   or   law。 

Schools are being unified on a new basis in which labour plays a great part。 

I frankly admit I do not understand; and I gather that many teachers have 

also failed to understand; how this is done。              Crafts of all kinds take a big 

place   in   the   scheme。   The   schools   are   divided   into   two   classes…one   for 

children   from   seven   to   twelve   years   old;   and   one   for   those   aged   from 

thirteen   to   seventeen。      A  milliard   roubles   has   been   assigned   to   feeding 

children in the schools; and those who most need them are supplied with 

clothes     and   footgear。    Then    there   are   many     classes   for   working     men; 

designed   to   give   the   worker   a   general   scientific   knowledge   of   his   own 

trade   and   so   prevent   him   from   being   merely   a   machine   carrying   out   a 

single uncomprehended process。 Thus a boiler…maker can attend a course 

on   mechanical   engineering;   an   electrical   worker   a   course   on   electricity; 


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and    the   best   agricultural    experts    are  being    employed      to  give   similar 

lectures   to   the   peasants。    The   workmen   crowd   to   these   courses。         One 

course;     for  example;     is  attended     by  a   thousand     men    in  spite   of  the 

appalling cold of the lecture rooms。            The hands of the science professors; 

so Pokrovsky told me; are frostbitten from touching the icy metal of their 

instruments during demonstrations。 

       The following figures represent roughly the growth in the number of 

libraries。    In   October;   1917;   there   were   23   libraries   in   Petrograd;   30   in 

Moscow。        Today there are 49 in Petrograd and 85 in Moscow; besides a 

hundred   book   distributing   centres。        A  similar   growth   in   the   number   of 

libraries has taken place in the country districts。              In Ousolsky ouezd; for 

example; there are now 73 village libraries; 35 larger libraries and 500 hut 

libraries    or   reading    rooms。     In    Moscow      educational     institutions;    not 

including schools; have increased from 369 to 1;357。 

       There   are   special   departments   for   the   circulation   of   printed   matter; 

and they really have developed a remarkable organization。                     I was shown 

over their headquarters on   the Tverskaya; and saw  huge maps of   Russia 

with all the distributing centres marked with reference numbers so that it 

was   possible   to   tell   in   a   moment   what   number   of   any   new   publication 

should be sent to each。 Every post office is a distributing centre to which 

is   sent   a   certain   number   of   all   publications;   periodical   and   other。  The 

local    Soviets    ask   through    the   post   offices   for  such    quantities    as  are 

required; so that the supply can be closely regulated by the demand。 The 

book…selling kiosks send in reports of the sale of the various newspapers; 

etc。; to eliminate the waste of over…production; a very important matter in 

a country faced simultaneously by a vigorous demand for printed matter 

and an extreme scarcity of paper。 

       It would be interesting to have statistics to illustrate the character of 

the   literature   in   demand。   One   thing   can   be   said   at   once。 No   one   reads 

sentimental romances。           As is natural in a period of tremendous political 

upheaval pamphlets sell by the thousand; speeches of Lenin and Trotsky 

are only equalled in popularity by Demian Biedny's more or less political 

poetry。     Pamphlets   and   books   on   Marx;  on the   war;   and   particularly  on 

certain     phases    of   the   revolution;     on   different    aspects    of   economic 


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reconstruction;      simply    written    explanations     of   laws   or  policies    vanish 

almost as soon as they are put on the stalls。             The reading of this kind has 

been something prodigious during the revolution。                  A great deal of poetry 

is   read;   and    much     is  written。    It   is  amusing      to  find   in   a  red…hot 

revolutionary   paper   serious   articles   and   letters   by   well…meaning   persons 

advising   would…be   proletarian   poets   to   stick   to   Pushkin   and   Lermontov。 

There is much excited controversy both in magazine and pamphlet form as 

to the distinguishing marks of the new proletarian art which is expected to 

come out of the revolution and no doubt will come; though not in the form 

expected。      But the Communists cannot be accused of being unfaithful to 

the Russian classics。        Even Radek; a foreign fosterchild and an adopted 

Russian;  took   Gogol   as   well   as   Shakespeare   with   him   when   he   went   to 

annoy General Hoffmann   at Brest。              The Soviet   Government has   earned 

the   gratitude   of   many   Russians   who   dislike   it   for   everything   else   it   has 

done by the resolute way in which it has brought the Russian classics into 

the    bookshops。      Books     that  were    out   of  print   and   unobtainable;      like 

Kliutchevsky's 〃Courses in Russian History;〃 have been reprinted from the 

stereotypes and set afloat again at most reasonable prices。                I was also able 

to buy a book of his which I have long wanted; his 〃Foreigners' Accounts 

of the Muscovite State;〃 which had also fallen out of print。                   In the same 

way the Government has reprinted; and sells at fixed low prices that may 

not be raised by retailers; the works of Koltzov; Nikitin; Krylov; Saltykov… 

Shtchedrin;         Chekhov;         Goncharov;         Uspensky;         Tchernyshevsky; 

Pomyalovsky and others。            It is issuing Chukovsky's edition of Nekrasov; 

reprints   of   Tolstoy;   Dostoievsky   and   Turgenev;   and   books   by   Professor 

Timiriazev; Karl Pearson and others of a scientific character; besides the 

complete   works   of   Lenin's   old   rival;   Plekhanov。       It   is   true   that   most   of 

this work is simply done by reprinting from old stereotypes; but the point 

is that the books are there; and the sale for them is very large。 

       Among   the   other   experts   on   the   subject   of   the   Soviet's   educational 

work     I  consulted     two   friends;   a  little  boy;   Glyeb;    who    sturdily   calls 

himself a Cadet though three of his sisters work in Soviet institutions; and 

an old and very wise porter。           Glyeb says that during the winter they had 

no heating; so that they sat in school in their coats; and only sat for a very 


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short   time;   because   of   the   great   cold。   He   told   me;   however;   that   they 

gave him a good dinner there every day; and that lessons would be all right 

as soon as the weather got warmer。               He showed me a pair of felt boots 

which had been given him at the school。                The old porter summed up the 

similar   experience   of   his   sons。    〃Yes;〃   he   said;   〃they  go   there;   sing   the 

Marseillaise twice through; have dinn

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