THE BRITISH IN RUSSIA
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—At intervals, the heavy fog that hangs over Russia lifts for a moment, but seldom to disclose those , Utopian visions, which apparently haunt the imaginations of " Com- rade " Purcell and Co. A glimpse I have obtained recently through a friend, a capable and reliable man who has made it his business to explore the circumstances in which those of our own race are existing—or rather, surviving—in Russia, is certainly not exhilarating. In Leningrad, in Moscow, and scattered about Russia there are worthy old men and women, who have lived laborious days and shown themselves true to British traditions in that foreign land, where many, indeed, were born or bred, who for no fault of their own have lost their all in the great cataclysm and know not how the wolf can be kept from the door in these grim winter months. The Imperial War Relief Fund has striven nobly to help them, but its power to help is becoming sadly limited. Owing moreover to the fact of their British citizenship, British residents in Russia are cut off from the aid of funds for Russians, while in some cases for the same reason they have lost the employment which meant their daily bread.• Thus it must be confessed that their birthright, the birthright of which.we British are so proud, may be regarded almost as a drawback to these poor folk: Yet they continue to look for help to Great Britain. It is, however, only repatria- tion that their countrk offers, 'which in effect means a free passage to the workhouse. And some of the survivors, paralysed, bedridden, stone deaf and blind, could scarcely be conveyed here, even as stretcher cases. One h,eroic wen-anti' refused to leave'Bussia because it meant abandoning a sister who lay between life and death. The sister recovered, but she herself went mad under the long strain. To attempt to transport this class of sufferers would be almost as cruel as it would be difficult. Recently, however, an ex-official's widow accepted the Government's offer. She was more than elderly, but she contrived to obtain a situation as cook. Her strength was not, however, equal to her courage. Her health broke down, and she crept back to Leningrad to share a daughter's scanty fare. Semi-starvation with loved ones in familiar surroundings seemed preferable to the gaunt isolation of the workhouse. Yet slow starvation is not a fate to which we English folk would readily consign these poor souls who cling so pathetically to their status of British subjects.
Knowing the ready generosity of your readers, Sir, I venture therefore to appeal for their help to case the lot of these men and women. So little will be so much to them. IWO would mean that for long months to come the grim menace of starvation would be exorcised and that the New Year would dawn with a promise of hope to these of our own race who are now wellnigh hopeless.
Any sums, great or small, marked "British in Russia" and addressed to Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, K.C.B., 26 Gordon Street, Gordon Square, W.C. 1, London, will be instantly and gratefully acknowledged and wisely and care- fully distributed amongst the truly needy. I am, Sir, &c., WINIFRED BuRGIICLERE.
[Although we hesitate to ask our readers for more money in these days, it is impossible to resist Lady Burghelere's very moving appeal. Her charitable Funds have always been not merely successes, but great successes. The reason is implicit in this letter ; not only does Lady Burghclere write irresistibly, but her association with a Fund is a guarantee that the cause it serves is both genuine and urgent.—ED. Spectator.]