THE AGRICULTURAL SITUATION IN RUSSIA
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—The interesting communication from your Moscow corres- pondent published in your issue of January 4th, indicates vast and important changes in the international organization of the agricultural section of the Soviet Republic, and gives promise of a substantial increase in grain and other crops which should materially assist the present Government in increasing their exports and thereby increasing imports of necessary articles.
It is singular that from Riga, on January 5th, the Times reports as under :- " For the last few days the Agricultural Departments of the chief Republics of the U.S.S.R. have been sending to the Union Commissariat of Agriculture in Moscow demands for the introduction of emergency measures to counteract the failure of the plans for 1930, investigation having confirmed the disquieting reports noted in December. Reports from the provinces published in the Soviet Press state that the lack of preparation for the sowing campaign threatens to bring calamity. Leading Communists, including Kalinin, have published warnings of: the critical condition of agriculture, and the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party has published a decree' holding the heads of local administra-
tions personally responsible if the spring agricultural campaign should fail."
It is of paramount importance that the truth should be known about the situation in Russia, so that hopes of extension of business may not be dashed to the ground, and it would be interesting to know which description is
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