soviet local goverment

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Russia Today ublic ion


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is the hal lmark oj a pa1J1phletdealing with the USSR issued.by the RUS IA TOD.A Y

~ O C I E I Y and written byan authority on the subject.

First PubUshed: Oct 1945.

OVIET LO L GOVERNMENT_ iThe Administration of City and VUlage e x p l a i n ~ ~

Rates and Taxes, Elections, Gas Water, Electricity,and other Muni.cipal S ervices

by Don Brown

Prilnted and Published T The Russ ia Today Society , 150. Southampton Row, Lortdon, W.O.1.ln Metcalfe Ooover. td T.U. a depts. 10-24. Scrutum Street. London. E.O.2.

SOVIET LOCAL GOVER ME NEW BEGINNINGSEN years ago, a group of architects an d engineers struggledalong th e wave-battered shore of th e Caspi an Sea . The. Apsheron Peninsula looked inhospi table, but one of th earchitects was saying Here we will have a theatre, an d there acinema. On that raised land will s ta nd a n hotel, wit h p le nt y o fsea view.This was th e planned beginning of th e Soviet city of Sumga it i nAzerbaidjan. The plan provided for a r ap id g rowth to 100,000inhabitants, with al l a modern city would require .That was one met ho d o f bringing a barren piebe of Soviet

territory to life.Then there was th e newly c reat ed township o f Igarka-aboveth e Arctic Circle-the requisites for th e construction of which se t offfrom Archangel an d Vladivostock in five ships with every requirement down to 2,000 razor bl ade s. Thes e Noah s Arks contain ingal l th e requirements of a township set sail with their ingeniou;sprefabrications in July, 1936-and I g ~ r k a now well established on.th e Nordvyk oilfield, creates a fuel-base which doubles th e cargocapacity of ships on th e northern sea route .Few local governments start with such a clean sheet as this,even i n t he Soviet Union. But before th e wa r 270 Soviet .townswere being rep lanned , an d now there is th e tremendous ta sk ofrepairing th e ravages of war-being tackled in the fourth FiveYear P lan.I t is th e local soviets which have to translate these schemes intoachievement.How does this local government work? How is it elected?Where does it find the money? Is it democratic?

LOCAL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURETh e word Soviet means Council, an d was th e name given

to the councils of workers an d peasants an d soldiers, which firs tc ame i nt o being during the, 1905 Revo lution . T he n ame wasgiven to similar Councils in 1917 an d has r emained eve r =since.The local autho ri ti es o f czarist t imes disintegrated in 1918.Fo r some yea rs following, local soviets in towns an d v i l l ~ sassumed what powers they wished an d administered their areasi n t hei r own way . Eventually th e central government formednew divisions of local government-the oblast, krai? okrug, rayon,city an d town soviets, an d selosoviet (village soviet) An ob last is an adminis t ra t ive dist r ic t which contains noautonomous areas. n autonomous area peopled by a nationalminority is usual ly known as a krai the l ~ r g e s t units below th e


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22 Autonomons Republics. The 80 oblasts v ar y i n ize from th eMoscow Oblast (2,000 villages and 42 towns) to th e South OssetianRepublic (41 villages an d one town).A rayon is a large unit of villages, small cities an d towns. Therear e 3,500 r ayons in th e U.S.S.R.Between oblas t and rayon is another uni t the okrug. Sine1930 they have been largely uperseded by th e rayon an d only.about 30 remain.In addi t ion there are 808 cities an d towns, 942 town-hamlets an dhamlets, .and 70,000 villages, al l e lect ing their own soviets .These bodies ar e responsible for man s activities over one-sixthof the earth's surface-an area a million square miles larger than th eface of--the full moon, an d inhabited by nearly 200,000,000 peopleof 183 separate nationalities, speaking 150 different languages, an dat different s tages of cultural an d economic development.

PECULI R PROBLEMSThe Soviet Governmen t has been faced with many problemsi n i ts attempt to devise a sys tem of democratic local government.Imagine th e difficulties i n r el at io n to th e nomads. Whatsystem of voting , representa t ion and taxa t ion is possible for suchKhirghiz townships, whi ch when th e graz ing ge ts thin, movetheir t own of felt-and-wattle yur t a s to new pastures '?What sort of soviet assembly will suit ' th e Sovie t Eskimos ,whole vil lages o f whom will be sealing amongst th e ice-floesin their kayaks ?What of th e vot ing r ight s o f th e Nentsi f o l l o ~ i n g their reindeerherds as th e melting snows revea l more moss above th e ArcticCircle?Great encouragement ha s been given to these people to abandonthei r nomadic l if e s o fa r as it was possible. Irrigation projectsensured grazing an d food c rops . Agricultural scientists producedhardy varieties o f whea t an d vegetables which would grow in th efar north. Fish-canneriEs were e st ab li shed nea r th e fishinggrounds, an d -settled townships came into being around- them.Nomadic fishermen have become members of fishing co-operatives,

whilst th e establishment of breeding-farms for sable an d s i lver foxis bringing stability an d settlement t o t he fur t rappers . .In th e kaleidoscope of nationalities. represented i n t he SupremeSoviet, th e Soviet of Nationalities, an d local organs of government,ca n now be discerned th e faces .of Deputies elected by th e Nentsi,th e Evenki, and Khirghiz ians -from the. farthest corners of th eoviet Union.These people have quickly developed their local government,a nd t he Soviet system holds sway in place of previous backwardness.Where an y form of local government al 1 eady existed, th e bestfeatures have been incorporated i to the local Soviet system.

There is, therefore, considerable varia tion f rom place to placei n t he details of election an d government.LO L ELE TIONS

Prior to the S ta li n Const it ut ion o f 1936 Soviet. citizens onlychose their l ocal ( town or village) representatives, who in turne le ct ed s ome of their number to the rayon soviet. Indirectelection of this kind went on right up to the Sp.preme Soviet,but since 1936 there has been di rec t election to ll soviets, gqaranteed in Article 134 of th e S ta li n Const it ut ion. Thi s declares thatth e Deputies to al l sovie ts ar e elected by t he electors on th e basisof universal, equal an d direct suffrage, by secret ballot . .Elections to c it y, t own, an d village sovie ts take place everytwo years -and every four years to higher bodies.Prior to 1936, elections ha d been open b y show o f h ands

at relatively small gather ings , usually in the factories or otherplaces of work.Since 1936 th e elections have been by secret ballot, an d on aterritorial basis as in Bri ta in , i n p la ce of th e industrial basis.Factory units still meet as a kind of discussion group, an d ar e .very. active in stimulating election interest. They often nomInatecandidates an d submit requests to be dea lt w it h b y t he soviet.The people previously excluded from th e f ranchise (pries ts, e tc.)now have th e vote, tw o categories alo:q.e excepted. This broadening of th e democratic basis of Soviet society is assured in Article 135

of th e Constitution Elect ions of Deputies are universal: all citizens o f t he U.S.S.R. who have reachedthe age of 18, irrespective of race or nationality, ~ e l i g i o n s t ~ d r d of ed.ucation, s o c ~ a lorigin, propertys ta tus, or pas t activities, have the nght to vote electIOn of DeputIesand to be elected, with the exception ofthe insane and persons convICted by court of lawto sentences including deprivation of electoral rights.

All elections are governed by regulations aiming at th e properobservance o f d emoc ra ti c procedure. Candidates must benominated thirty days p ri or to th e election: th e election mustno t be held on a work-day; th e polling-booth must be open f romsix a.m. until m id ni gh t; t he electors ar e no t disenfranchised ifunavo idab ly absen t f rom home on v o t i n . g ~ a y f? r they may. v o ~ ewherever they ar e on product ion of theI r I d e n t i t y c a r d ~ whIch Sthen stamped t o s how that they have voted.

This simple expedient could hardly ap l i e ~ .in ou r p ~ t ysystem of elections., We should have Part Ies .organIsIng charabanctr ip s o f t he ir vot er s f rom a hopele s constItuency to sway th eresult in a possible oneElec tions are under th e cont ro l of an Electoral Commission, an o body elected for th e duration of th e elections from t h e mainbody of th e existing soviet. Each soviet ha s its ElectoralCommission. Moscow's has 25 members, who supervIse th e elections an d see that they are carr ied ou t democratically.


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WHO RE THE C NDID TES ome people h ~ v e been unde r th e misapprehension that thereIS only one candIdate at Soviet elections-that he is always amember of th e Communist Par ty-and that an almost compulsoryvote results in his unanimous return. I f such were th e case Soviet Democracy would indeed be a'farce. The a ct ua l position is very different, although it is no talways easy in t hi s coun try to grasp th e truth from th e limitedknowledge and: unlimited misinformation which ha s been available.

Anyone 18 years of age an d over may be a candidate if nominatedby some group of people l ike a trade union branch, co-operative,COI?munist Party group, / youth club, cultural organisation, aregIment or group of soldiers, or a factory. The re a re u su al lyseveral nominated by different bodies for th e sam,e area._Membership of Communist Party is in no wise obligatoryIn fact CommunIst Party Central o ~ m i t t e e has u rged members to gIve equally loyal suppo rt t o non -Par ty nominees whocame forward a s th e people's choice. Quite a high percentageu.sually a b o u ~ 35 pe r cent . -of those elected to t he village, town,CIty, Repubhc an d Supreme Soviets ar e no t membe rs o f th eCommunist Party or th e Young Communis t League.Th.ere ar e many election meetings for each electoral area,formIng a number of eliminating rounds for th e several candidates who may have been put forward.

Fo r instance a candidate may be pu t forward by a local factory n ~ t e r by housewives from a block of fiats. There -may also beretIrIng member who seeks re-election. Often these candidatesare pre.sent together on th e same platform at pre-election meetings.P ~ r t i n e n t (and of ten imper tinent ) questions are asked of th e

n o : r ~ l l n e e s fo r office regarding thei r pas t work, their qualifications,theIr r easons for standing, an d so forth. On th e basis of th e c ~ n d i d a t e s replies and t he general impressioncreated at such meetIngs, th e chances of th e candidate to goforward to the ac tua l elections ar e either strengthened or w e ~ k e n e d .One of th e candidates may s ta nd head and shoulders above th eo t h ~ r s in al:>ility, and some of th e nominating bodies may withdrawt h ~ I r candIdates, transferring their support to th e better man.

~ h ~ s p r ~ c e s s of selection of th e best candidates goes on until thereIS InvarIably only one candidate lef t - the o ne who h as won th eJacking of. greatest .number of indivi uals and public bodiesIn th e prelImInary meetIngs an d discussions.Be.ar in mind that these ,discussions ar e very earnest ones, withnothIng barred-no law of libel or anything else prevents th eelectorate from probing th e weaknesses of possible representatives.

Th e ~ l e c t i o n proper-the actual polling ~ a y i s often a matterof puttIng-an almost unanimous seal upon th e public choice whichhas resul ted f:rom this examination Df candidates.4

idney an d Beatrice Webb i n t he ir oviet ommun sm say ofthis process .. Candidates are nominated, discussed, and either successively eliminated or carried

~ o r w a r d t o t he final vote. This is usua lly unanimous (or more strictly what in EnglandIS c a l ~ e d nem C? f1 . a fact which hasof tenled t o t he inference that there has been no real. e X e I c I S ~ of C h ? I ~ by the e le cto a te . On the contrary, the procedure is one of elaboratepre1:L?l mary Sl tmg of the. nommations by various, of ten many, successive votes at thepreVIOUS meetmgs, by WhICh the less popular candidates have been eliminated.make sure that th e elected Deputy IS representative, he isoblIged to poll at least 51 pe r cent. o f t h e t ot al electorate (not ofthe. vot es cas t only) and failing this, th e election must b e he ldagaIn. .Although there is this provision in Soviet electoral law itwould seldom if ever appear to be necessary for polls approaching100 pe r cent . a re usual ly found. .Such ~ l e c t i o ~ s ar e c o m p ~ r a b l e t? th e way in which manydemocratIc bodIes-trade unIons for In tance-choose their executive commi tt ee s. Candida te s do no t come f orwa rd on a Party

ticket fo r they ar e al l of one mind regarding th e main objective,an d are chosen on the ir ab il it y to advance th e well-being o f t hebody to which they belong. .T M ND TE

Candidates do no t 'succeed on dubious promises to keep downth e ra tes (as if that were a criterion of service) bu t on theirwillingness an d ability t o c ar ry o ut t he wishes o f t he people. Th ecandidate has no e le ct ion address - i t s th e other wa y round,for th e electors make known their requirements to th e candidate.These requirements are legion, an d come to th e candidate in th eform of inst ruc t ions f rom fa cto ry o r public meetings. Allthese instructions-collectively kn own a s the Mandate - a retabulated, granted priority according to urgency.

F rom th e instruc ioJ 1S to candidates in a recent MoscowSoviet election (and there were close on 100,000 such instructions we learn that 595 enterprises (400,000 electors) ha d asked for moreretail stores; 80 organisations requested t h ~ t goods traffic-shouldoperate at night to relieve congestion; an d 49 requests ha d comein fo r bett e r and cheaper laundry services.Here a re some of th e items to be undertaken by th e Moscow CitySo viet a s a r es ult o f p op ul ar demand: th e development ofindividual a ll otment s; t he supply of radio an d telephone toeverf house; swimming-pools every district; reduced pricesfor CInemas an d theatres; th e delIvery of goods to houses; diminution of traffic noise; th e introduction of permits for motor-cycles.Elected Deputies ar e no t allowed to tre at election promiselightly-they must strive to fulfil them. The sections an d departments of th e city government examine th e items in th e Mandatean d estimate which are capable of ful fi lmen t. Dec is ions on al l th e instructions must be given-as to whether th e proposal isfeasible, and i f not, why not. At regular intervals th e departments

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Const itu tion a lways refers to local organs o f S tat e power.The l s s l ~ s s na ture of Soviet society makes possible this unanimitybetween th e administrative an d executive bodies at a ll s tages,a nd t he people wh9 e lect t hem.

Tbilisi294,044519,175

19361939

IT WORKS OUTHow does this work o ut i n practice ?The overnment of Moscow Moscow is governed by th e MoscowCity Soviet (usually abbreviated to Mossoviet). is a bodywhich is responsible for carrying ou t th e orders an d functions ofth e central authori ty- the Supreme Soviet-so far as theyrelate to Moscow, an d at th e same time has a great deal of localautonomy and initiative. t is fa r fr om being just a b ranchoffice of th e Kremlin.Th e full soviet numbers over 2,000 Deputies. Th e numberfluctuates according to th e popul at ion. Len ingr ad an d Moscownow e le ct o ne deputy for every 3,000 voters.

Most Soviet towns are growing rapidly an d their citizens aim tokeep pace with this g r o w ~ h in the ir r at io o f representation.Here are some figures showing thirteen years of growth:Moscow Leningrad Baku Gorky2,029,425 1,690,065 453,333 222,3564,137,018 3,191,304 809,347 644,116T PLENUMThe whole body ofDeputies- the plenum-is th e supreme organof legislature for Moscow. As Kaganovich points out: - The soviet is a permanently functioning legislative organisation which controls andsupervises not only the enterprises belonging to the city, bu t all other economic activitycarried on within its territory.This plenum mee ts e ve ry s ix or e ig ht weeks in sessions whichmay last several days. It s usual hours are 5 p ~ m until midnighto accommodate i t s members ,who ar e al l workers. The membersof th e soviet (with exceptions mentioned later) are unpaid for theircivic duties, though they ma y be paid as employees of th e soviet.Th e plenum is no t just a rubber s tamp to approve th e decisionso f th e presidium, but is a working body with considerable powers.Speeches seldom exceed te n minutes each- the plenum decidinghow long each speaker shal l be allotted. prior rights of speechexist an d th e r ank and file ha s equal opportunities with members. of th e presidium.

T IRT RIDGESTo take concrete instances-when th e Moscow Soviet decidedto make Hunters Row one of th e city s main thoroughfares, theydynamited th e ol d property to make way fo r th e new. 0 landlords shed tears either of sorrow because their rents were gone ,or of jo y because th e compensation ha d made t hem r ic h f or life,The same with Gorky Street , where some buildings were destroyed,an d others moved back thirty feet, whilst th e hospi ta l was swunground through 90 degrees to get the sun.

publish a report of progress, an d each Deputy i s obl ige to meethis constituents at a public meeting, usually once a quarter, togive an account o f his stewardship.REC LL

Deputies who cannot or will no t carry ou t their obligations ar esubject to recall, an d new members elected i n the ir place. Thisrecall c an b e effected by a two-thirds majority of th e electorate;or by a majority decision th e commi tt ee o r s ec ti on o f whi chth e offender is a member. The committee mus t t he n justify it saction to th e e le ct or at e. Such a device keeps Deputies on theirtoes an d is a cure for incompetence or bureaucracy.Tremendous interest is shown in local elections. So much sothat sceptical people i n thi s count ry cannot believe that votes ofnearly 100 pe r cent. can be ar rived at without compulsion. Yets ;lch results come, no t from pressure an d regimentation, but fromth e electoral- procedure just described, together with a very rea linterest in th e mach inery o f democ ra ti c governmen t. The re isnone of th e apathy which is such a deplorable f ea tu re o f some ofou r elections. Such phrases as What does it matter who get s i n,they re all ou t for t h e ~ s e l v e s ar e no part of Soviet elections.Thi s h igh c iv ic s ense i s illustrated b y th e figures for th e l o ~ lgovernment elections of December, 1939, when 1,300,000 Deputiesha d to be cho sen. O ne million five hundred election committeeswith total membership of over 7,.000,000 were formed, andin te res t among th e electors resulted in a poll of 92,812,237 froman electorate of 93,547,797-99.21 pe r cent. This is made possible because polling-day is holiday; pollinggoes o n f rom 6 a.m. until m id ni gh t; a nd one may vote eventhough absent f rom home.

W O RULES POne of th e problems of democracy is that of devising a systemof government which, besides being th e bes t tool fo r th e jobof gett ing th ings done, at th e same time ensures that ultimatepower rests with th e people r a t h e ~ than with their representatives. All Power to th e Soviets was a revolutionary slogan of 1917which became fact , an d power is s ti ll in th e h ands o f th e peopleth rough their elected councils of people o f the ir own kind .Each s ov ie t c an b e over-ruled by higher soviets ( th e t own byth e district an d so on ye t each soviet elects an exec-q.tive which isanswerable to th e whole soviet which is an werable to th e people,who have power to elect an d recall.Elected bodies ar e liable t o i n te r fe r ence f rom above an dbelow, bu t actual practice there is remarkably little frictionbetween local an d central government an d th e public.The outstanding feature of Soviet administration is th e integration of all national an d local goverrlment bodies. This is such thatoviet l aw never uses th e term local self:government, bu t th e

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oscow i tse lf has grown so large that it is now administered ina rather similar way to London. To make government lesscumberson t he re a re now 24 Dist rict s , each with its own localsoviet, which are elected concurrently with Mossoviet on th e samefranchise.These 24 Districts have between them 6,000 elected Deputies.Together with Mossoviet this means that th e government ofMoscow is th e responsibility of over 8 000 elected representatives.Th e plenum of each of th e Moscow Districts (which resembleou r Borough Councils) averages 250 with a pres idium varyingf rom s ev en to ten. In addition t he re a re also tw o or three substi tute candidates. These ar e a feature o f most soviets,an d consist of likely people for soviet office who ar e getting- aschooling in th e business of administration by filling up gaps

occasioned through illness etc., among th e elec ted Deput ies.Such people ar e often t he runners-up to the successful candidatea t th e elections.

As in Mossoviet, p re si di um membe rs a re . u su al ly e ng ag edfull-time as paid heads of Dist ri ct depar tment s. They meet as apresidium once a w ee k. /n interesting cross-section of th e Moscow District Sov ie ts i sobtained from th e last available figures of their composition. Ofth e .6 000 Deputies 2,040 were women, 3 502 were workmen, 1 486were higher employees of th e municipality, 236 were Re d Armymen, 184 were students, with 527 miscellaneous persons.

The under numbered 876 whilst 3 ,340 wer e between26 an d 40 an d 1 719 were over 40.

Detailed administration is largely in th e hands- of th e Districtovi et s, whi ch , l ik e al l soviets, are permit ted to deal with al llocal needs provided such activity is in harmony with th e workof higher authorit ies an d with th e tasks delegated to th e Districtsfrom Mossoviet.They have about a dozen administrative departments - education, heal th, housing, etc., and are also responsible forcontrol of th e local trusts which cover s uc h t hi ng s a s road con-

struction, public feeding an d local indus t r ie s . .Ultimate financial control o f t he District s activit ies is vestedin th e Moscow City Soviet, ye t Districts are free to undertake ag re at n umbe r o f activities without seeking sanction from above.In th e ev en t of a District exceeding i ts budge ta ry allotmenthowever, there would be an enquiry and maybe curtailment o f i t sexpenditure.Problems requiring adjustment arising between th e Districtsan d Mossoviet a re d ea lt with by th e presidium of Mossoviet, orfailing this, th e Mossoviet plenum, which is th e focal point o f al lMoscow an d district interests.

When the Moscow an d Volga Rivers were linked by canal, th e,river at Moscow rose over nine fee t a nd mad e t he existing bridgestoo low for n av ig at io n. To overcome this, thirteen new bridgeswere built simultaneou;sly in one year an d n in e mon th s. (Whenth e new Water loo Bridge was built over th e Thames, more timethan this was spent in th e preliminaryarguments between propertyowners, lawyers an d tax-payers.ISPOLKOM ND PR SI IU

From th e plenum there is elected a k ind o f executive committee,known as th e Ispolkom. I t meets only three or four times a yearwhen an y special business requires its attention. It s main functionin Moscow is th e selection of fifteen members from the, plenum whowill form th e real m u n ~ p l leadership. These fifteen ar e knowna th e .presidium.This presidium carries on th e day-to-day work between meetings

of th e plenum. Of th e fifteen, th e chairman, three vice-chairmen,a nd t he secre tary are paid a nd th ey devote their whole time toth e work.. The -remainder of th e pres idium are usual ly paid officials of th esoviet-heads or officials of munic ipal under takings. The re isin this a wide difference between th e Russian an d t he Britishpractice. The difference between th e elected councillor an d th epaid professional official so evident in u local governmentdoes no t exist in a soviet. Many o f t he members of t he sovietsare at th e same t ime paid employees of th e government of whichthey form a part.Russians think it more illogical that we should ba r municipalemployees from election to th e Council but at th e same time

allow heads of private firm.s who may have business dealings withth e municipality to become aldermen an d councillors.The supreme executive-the presidium-has full authprityt o c ar ry o ut th e policies of th e plenum an d to put it s plans intoeffect. Such activity gives it a considerable amount o f initiative.

I t is often t he b ody which draws up detailed plans of th e work,an d mee ts a lmos t continuously. Every few days there is ameeting of th e fifteen, but th e five paid members have informalcontact between meetings.The presidium has no sub-committees, bu t to facilitate t h e wor k ea ch membe r t ak es ch arge of cer ta in t asks , a lt hough th epresidium remains collectively responsible. The head o f a depart

ment-say gas or electricity-who wanted a question deciding,would go first to the p re si di um membe r who ha d made thatdepartment his special concern.Whenever a particular questio:g. is being discussed by tpresidium it is usual to invite t he h ea d o th e service affected toattend an d participate in th e discussion.

OS O DISTRI T SO l T

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ir E. D. Simon, in his os ow in the aking says .. The relations between the ci ty soviet andthe district soviets in Moscow seem to meadmirable and could scarcely be improved. On the one hand, Mossoviet lays down thegeneral principles of pOlicy, and has full pOwer to see that they are carried out; on theother hand, the diRtrict soviets are not only entrusted with a large amount of administrative detail, but they are alsoencouraged and expected to exhiLit a corJ.siderable degreeof svontaneous initiative . . . . At every point the districts are given an oPpOrtunity to statetheir case . . Thepettifogging jealousy, fruitless conflict, and sense of self-importance on the part of minorbodies which have done so much to frustratethe government of London have in Moscobeen subordinated to the widerneeds of t he dt y as a whole.

MINISTR TIVE STRU TUREThere seems to be very l i tt le indeed which is NOT th e concernof local government in th e Soviet Union. epartments Mossoviet ha s thirteen departments (akin to ou rGas Department, Rates Department, etc.) engaged i n t he administr ,tion of services. They deal with Public health; Roads an driver b an ks ; E du ca ti on ; Finances; Town planning; Construction projects; Veterinary needs; Land; City trading

(stores, cafes, restaurants, price an d quality inspection, locationof shops) ; Housing allocation; Social insurance; Parks and greenbelt; Below street-level work (sewers, cables, e tc.) . ivisions In addition t he re a re nine management divis ions, a lsoadministrative, chiefly concerned with the pontrol an d supervisionof th e activities of t he man y outside Trusts which car ry outwork all over th e Sov ie t Union . Th e Div is ions cover Localindustry; Telephones; House. management; ,Construction;Building inspection; Transport; . Savings bank an d credits;Arts; - ~ n t e r t a i n m e n t s ; Broadcasti:q.g ; Postal service an dewspapers.The work of departments an d divisions often merges,a lt hough the . spvi et has it s own d ir ec t l abou r ava il ab le for ~ o s tundertakings, there are occasions when bigger units .are. i n v o l v ~ d In bridge-building fo r instance, th e Bridge Trust WIth It s sp ecHl1knowledge, equipment, an d trained w orkers would be called i ll todo th e work.Trust s a re bodies formed fo r specific tasks an d of ten opera teover a wide area-some are local an d some are All-UniQll Trusts.They have their.own budget, personnel an d plan 1 work.

providing goods an d services :within th e bounda:ies of a locl;t l~ o v i e t they do so in concert WIth th e local authorIty.Sections Who instructs an d controls th e divisions an d departments ?Ultimately they are answerable to th e presidium of. th e sovieto n b eh al f of th e full soviet, but th e day-to-day gUIdance an dinstruction comes t6 them from their o p p o s i ~ e number in th eovie t p lenum. These opposite numbers a re t he sections orcommittees of th e plenum. .Mossoviet is divided into 25 sections which a,re similar in a wa yto ou r municipal .committees , a l though t he y h av e ra th er lesspower since th e soviet pres idium has executive cont rol over th(3sections.10

There is a s ec ti on f or each of the following :-Building ;Housing; Schools ; Roads , bridges an d river banks; Agriculture;Fuel Finance Defence; Anti-aircraft defence; Motor an dhorse traffic; ~ l i c health; Railvtray transport; Main drainage;Culture ; Local trading; Tramways; Public feeding; Communaleconomy; S e w a g e ~ lighting, parks an d green belt; Court,.prosecution, police a nd fi re; Local industry an d Co-operatIves;Homeless children; Communication; Metro (Moscow s underground railway); a nd t he Eliminat ion of Adult I ll iteracy.Each Depu ty must belong to a section (unpaid) a nd may choosewhich he prefers, but is discouraged f r ~ m j o ~ i n g more t?an oneon th e grounds that one will be enough I f he IS to do th e Job well.We have to remember that these Deputies a re no t moneyed gentstaking up municipal affairs as a hobby in retirement, bu t workerswho have limited time fo r their civic duties.What ar e a Section s duties? t is required by law to concerni ts el f w it h p lans of work in it s own particular branch, g i v i n ~ it sconclusions t9 th e plenum an d presidium on th e reports It. receIyesfrom th e department with which it is concerned. A seytIon s Jobis to inspect, inquire, ,advise an d propose. t h as n o ~ o w e r topend mon ey o r wield other executive power.. Such thIngs areth e province of the Depar tment concerned, whIch acts under theautho ri ty o f the presidium. . ,The relations between a section an d i ts Depar tment are usual lyquite c o r d i a l ~ The presidium is dil; posed to e ~ c o u r a g e the. s e ? t ~ o n sto recommend, complain, d eman d, or adVIse. The p r ~ I d l u mdecides on al l such things-yet final authority rests WIth th eplenum i n t he e vent o f an y disagreement. .Sections vary from 40 to 600 members accordIng, to t he pOJ?ularity or otherwise of th e subject dealt with.. Th e full sectIonmeets for one or tw o evenings every m o n ~ h an d elects a smallbureau or commi tt ee to c r ryon th e day-to-day work. The

u s ~ a l humber is si x of whom th e chief official of t he relateddepartment would one. This commit tee elects a c h a ~ a nvice-chairman, an d a paid secreta.ry, an d meets two or three t I m e ~a week to prepare agendas a nd a ct as th e stimulating force tosection. . TIVISTSThere is another category of people associated w i ~ h Soviet l o ~ a lgovernment-the Activists. This th e name gIven to pubhcspirited men and women who voluntarIly attach t h e m s ~ l v e ~ tovarious sections in order to assist th e e lect ed Deput Ie s In the Irwork., Such activists may attend th e meetings of th e section tothey ar e a t tached and ma y join i n t he discussions, but, no t beIngelected persons, have no vote.

t ha s always been th e aim of th e Soviet Government to encourage wider participation in th e country s af fai rs . . Every


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Disc ussinu farm problems with one of the work brigades of a collective farm

cook must learn to govern was one of Len in s axioms in th eearly days following th e Revolution, a nd t he widespread development of activists is a move towards increased civic responsi-. bi li ty among Soviet citizens.Fo r instance, th e Public Health Section of Mossoviet numbers600 bu t as many as 1 000 activists join t hem t o assist with thei rtasks, an d visi t homes an d hospita ls, checking th e fulfilment ofdecisions, bringing grievances to l ig ht , a s well as contributingvaluable suggestions in th e discussions. A t th e same tirpe, suchactiv is t s are gaining valuable experience a nd t he y prove to be afruitful recruiting ground fo r future e ~ e t o r l candidates.

COUNCILS OF AlDAno th er v ol un te er movemen t whi ch h as eme rg ed in Sovietmunicipal life is th Council fo r Aid in Restoration an d MunicipalImprovements, which ha d a spontaneous origin in Kiev. Thisn ew f orm of local initiative consists o f men an d women whoseknowledge, experience an d popularity ca n influence th e speed ofreconstruction.Each member o f t he Council of Aid-many of them celebritiesan d professional people-has been allotted a street or area wherethey supervise and assist th e -r epai r o f p rope rt y, th e planting of

12

The Plenum of t Moscow ity Soviet in session These Deputies were elected by more than 99 per cent ttotal constituents

trees, and the organisation of transport. -Volunteer teams ofworkers are tackling th e damaged houses, whils t men, women an dchildren h av e got together an d planted 11,000 trees an d 40,000shrubs to beautify Kiev.Every Kiev resident is being asked to contribute a minimum of

fifteen hours per m onth in restora t ion work, which is regardedas a matter of considerable honour. Many exceed th e requested15 hours, for here is a task which is much more exhilarating thanth e often monotonous voluntary fire-watching of th e w ar years.The mov emen t h as s pre ad to Moscow where volunteers have-already planted one an d a quartermillion shrubs an d trees, laid ou t

11,000,000 square feet of flower beds, an d repaired damaged fencesand roadways.LOCAL GOVERNMENT TASKS

There is nothing in Soviet law to sa y that anything is outsideth e scope of a local authority. At the s am e time t he re is noabsolute autonomy-each soviet body can be over-ruled by th ebodies higher up . Any unit of government may have it s plansmodified by a superior body, bu t in actual practice there isconstant contact an d exchange of information between th e several13


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bodies, an d projects would no t ge t beyond th e suggestion stagebefore it was intimated that such activity would no t be viewedfavourably.A Soviet municipality ha s therefore greater powers of initiation,in a much wider field, than it s counterpart in England, bu t is no tso autonomous in regard to an y o f i ts activities.Some of th e sections an d departments parallel ou r own municipal .committees, but t he re a re o th er s a s ye t outside th e sphere ofEnglish local government.Le t us look at some o f t he Soviet services an d see how theycompare. The Publ ic Feeding Sect ion for instance, have we no tou r British Restaurants? We have, ye t in many instancesmunicipalities ar e seeking to destroy their own work in thisdirection because it is alleged to compete with priva te profit.But t he Publ ic Feeding Section in Moscow continues to grow.To supply be tte r and cheaper food to th e people it is establishingmore restaurants, increasing th e vigilance of food inspecto andestablishing more municipal food production.MOSCOW S RE D

Robert Dunderhill and 'Villiam Hayward. who are by appOintment the commonbakers of the town, do not supply a sufficiency of hread, t o t he great inconvenience othe inhabitants; they are therefore fined. the former fourpence, the latter sixpence.'So sa y th e Court Rolls of Arundel Castle for th e year 1082 A.D. Longer bread queues in London. Housewives ear ly, morning search. Shor tagepersists.So sa y headlines in our newspapers in 1945. Both feudalisman d capitalism appear to have experienced difficulties. ButMoscow s municipal bakeries have solved th e problem. Moscowhas 28 mechanised bakeries tu rn ing out 10 varieties of white an dfive varieties of rye, 1?read, an d 30 varieties of rolls-6,500 tonsevery ,24 hours. And all t ur ne d o ut u nd er s uc h wholesomeconditions that Mr. G orge Roberts, an official of our baker sunion said uP9n his -retwp- ::---:- , ..I certainlylook forward to t he daywhensuch conditions and such workmanship wille found n the baking industry ofthis coUntry too.To take another instance; th e Motor an d Horse Traffic Section in Moscow is n ot j us t t he hackney carriage committee-it ha s afleet of municipal taxis, organises transport for school children, has .a municipa.l furniture removal service, runs coach tours, providesholiday t ransport -and al l without priva te profit, a nd r un withgreat efficiency, or there are, 5,000,OOO'people will know th e reasonwhy.Then there ar e of course th e services with which we a re qui tefamiliar-heat , light an d power.I t may not, be long e f o ~ e a bright Moscow schoolboy can recathat gas , coa l, oil an d electricity were methods of securing heat,light an d power in th e dark ages B.A.- Before th e Atom, an dmay recognise a piece of coal in ,a museum. But perhaps we cantalk ,about Moscow s 'electrici:ty without making th is booklet tooou t of date. .

14;

ELECTRICITYSince 1936 th e Moscow power system has been th e biggest inEurope, with a n o utp ut of over 4,000,000,000 kilowatt-hours.The . o ld mun ic ipal power station is now dwarf ed by t he g ia ntstatIOns of Kashira, Shatura, an d Sta linogorsk which now supplyMoscow with a million kilowatt-hours more than was consumedb y t he whole of czarist Russia, an d twice as much as is consumedby the whole of Denmark. A new hydro-electric station now

~ i n g built on th e Ok a River near Kaluga (95 miles from Moscow)WIll soon supply Moscow with an additional 100,000 kilowatts.The basic sources of Moscow s electric power is peat, low-gradecoal, an d water power. Many square miles of peat swamps a refound around th e city.

HE T ND POWER ST TIONS municipal d e v e l o p m ~ n t which has g rown apace i n t he Soviet

Union is that of providing heating a nd h ot water direct----laid onto houses , factories, l au nd ri es , e tc . S uc h a s er vi ce i s usuallyinterconnected with th e supply o f electricity, for th e Soviet Unionis using t he h ea t previously wasted as a by-product of electricityprOduction. The ordinarYI condensing steam-electricity powerstation ha s a very low thermal efficiency an d loses at least 70 pe rcent. of the heat generated. In 20 years of research Sovie tscientists an d engineers have given many Soviet towns an d ci t iesL e ~ r i g r a d i n p r ~ i c u l r ~ heatin.g and ho t water service l a id on at .low c o ~ t No ind iv idua l boilers o r s to ve s are necessary-juStturn on ta p or radiator an d there is ho t water or warmth a s an dwhen it is required -

SThe production an d distribution of coa,l gas is no t nea rl y sohighly developed in th e Soviet Union as it is i n t hi s country.Many houses in Moscow are without it a nd mus t rely upon oil orwood s toves . 'Bu t th e Moscow, Soviet is now engaged upon a spectacularprojectwhich will change all that. A pipe-line to rival ou r cross-channel Pluto is in course of constr ctio to bring natural gas frQIDth e oilfields of Sara tov to Moscow-a distance of 482 miles. I t

will cross 90 i v e ~ s an d five lakes, 13 railway tracks a,nd 14 roads.I t 'is scheduled to be finished in December, 1945. Already shafts have been drilled to 2,000 feet. One shaft alone suppl iesall th e industrial an d domestic r e q u i r ~ m e n t s of th e c i ty ofSara tov A special municipal body has come into being-Mossgastroiwhich wil l handle th e enti re project f rom laying th e pipeline an derecting th e gasholders to installing th e street mains an d domesticfitting s. As a result, Moscow will have five t imes more ga s thanit ha s at present.

Other cities ar e adopting th e same idea-Lvov is alreadysupplied, and Kiev is soon to follow.15


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W TEROne- of th e scarcest things in Moscow used to be a good drinkof c lean cold water. Lack o f adequate suppl ies , reservoirs an dfilters, and t he consequent fear of typhoid or other contaminationled t o t he boiling of al l drinking-water, making it very unpalatable.Less t han hal f t4 e people ha d a water supply at al l in Qld Moscow.Some ha d spr ings whi ls t o thers ha d barrels o f wa te r delivered.Water engineers estimated tha t Moscow wou ld req uir e175,000,000 gallons a day by 1937. That was just about th et ot al amoun t flowing through th e city in th e River Mo,scow.Such a population a s was anticipated would empty th e river an dmake shipping rather difficult.Stalin pointed ou t th e solution, by suggesting that they bringth e River Volga to MoscDw-and in 1937 this suggestion became a reality. The Moscow-Volga Canal brought an abundance of wateran d also increased Moscow s impor tance as a shipping. centre, forit has now become th e Port of Five Seas.The Moscow-Volga Canal has brought an abundance o f waterto Moscow and b y 1940 ha d increased to five times it s previoussupply. t also brought more e le ct ri ci ty a s th e water surgedthrough five hydro-electric stations._Moscow now uses 250 million gallons o f w at er p er da y or gallons pe r head, whereas it used to be 12 gallons per head (beforeth e war Ber li n u sed 30 London 48 gallons pe r head per day).Large reservoirs have been built 15 miles away capable of holdinga year s supply an d the waterworks now have a total possibleou tput o f 490,000,000 gallons per day .

HOUSING N R NTWith cities an d towns growing so rapidly, with more an d morepeople wanting a be tte r s tandard of housing, with al l th e war-timedestruction, with priorities on labour an d material in so manydirections, t he t as k of housing th e people is a big one. Yet it istackled i n t ru e Soviet fashion a nd th e local government housingallocation an d house building departments a re two of th e busiest.Most Soviet ,dwellings belong to th e State or th e municipality,or a trade union o r co-operative or som e pu bli c bo dy . Some areprivately owned. One may ge t a five-year loan at pe r cent. pe rannum wi th which to build one s own house, bu t one can neverb y th e land upon which i t s tands -a ll land belongs t o t he peoplean d canno t be bough t or sold. However, one can obtain a leaseof years for a brick building an d of 50 years for a wooden one,and,the right to occupy th e site can be sold or t ransfer red toanother person.Few bu y their own h o u s ~ s for there is complete security oftenure without ownership, and the r en ts a re very reasonableindeed. Ren ts a re low because they ar e IlDt charged to yield aprofit but only to recover building an d maintenance charges.

Ren ts a re p ay ab le monthly in arrears. They are calculated according t o t he t ype o f house, th e renter s salary, and the numberof his dependants . By law, rent cannot exceed one-tenth of ahousehold s income. t is more often between two an d five pe rcent. The size of house o r numbe r of rooms allocated dependsupon th e size of one s family-the cubic capacity allotted varyingfrom town to town according to th e amount ayailable.Serving soldiers have a reduced rent of 80 kopeks pe r squareyard p er mon th (only l iv ing space is reckoned, no t kitchens,bathrooms, etc.).Certain categories have p rio ri ty . Pe op le w ho work home,ar ti s ts , doc tors , wri te rs , holders of certain Awards, an d peoplewhose health requires it are allotted. more .space, whilst in th emunicipal re-housing schemes, people with rheumatism or tuberculosis must be th e first to be removed from damp or basementdwellings, and th e aged an d infirm who have difficulty with s ta i rshave priority for ground floor rooms.

TR NSPORTThe old droshky with it s unhygienic upholstery: a nd i ts evenmore unhygienic padded driver are now museum relics in Moscow.In their place have come buses, ~ x i s and tube trains. 1934 th e Moscow mlmicipality owned 364 buses an d 33 trolleybuses an d there were no tube trains. By 1940 these ha d grown to1,300 buses, 580 trolley-buses an d 40 mi le s of th e Metro-Moscow sUndergrqund.Leningrad Soviet cannot embark upon a ~ t r o being almost a sinterlaced with canals an d r iv er s a s Rotterdam, but it has widemodern streets which can accommodate bus an d trolley-bus transport.Th e foregoing account of some of th e activities of th e MoscowCity Sovie t could be duplicated in miniature for most other citiesan d towns in th e Soviet Union, b ut t he Soviet local governmentwhich does exhibit a measure of difference is that of th e country side-::-the administration of th e village sovie t, or selosoviet as it is

called.N THE VIL G SThere are various types of farms a few ind ividual farms,State farms, far ins owned by a factory for th e supply of produceto it s dining-rooms, an d collective farms.The local government, whether it be of an indiviClual village, oran aggregation of villages in a collective farm, is th e village soviet(or SeI6soviet). t is responsible for th e management of th e ffiJrmas well as th e wider interests with which it is concerned as a localauthority.The 250,000 collective f arms now account for 97 pe r cent. ofth e agricultural land, an d their local government. concerns th emajor ity o f the people of th e Soviet Union.A collective farm is an aggregation of several villages, an d

17


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varies in size according to the d ist r ic t an d main crop, from twelveto nea:rIy a thousand families (average 82 families). The averagesize of a collective farm (kolhoz) is 1,300 acres, bu t they ar e muchlarger in th e grain districts.The land is given to the collective fo r ever ---i t may no t besold or rented, an d each household has an additional plot 'of landvarying from to 2 acres, a certain amount of farm stock,an d a house. . . _Local government i n s uch a communi ty is vested in a generalmeeting of al l th e members, which elects a chairman, auditors,an d a farm-committee or boa rd o f manag er s. S uc h a committee

is in fu control of th e farm s f inance. Co-operat ives in t:qe SovietUnion also have autonomous control o f the ir own finances.MO EL RULES FOR VILL GES. A se t of JY [odel Rules drawn up by farm workers for th e govern ment of agricultural units was approved by higher goverD.n;lent

bodies in 1935 and they have formed th e basis of fa rm communitygovern:rnent since that date. The generalmanagement ofthe artel (farmco-operativeor collective) shall be vestedin the general meeting of the artel members, and, i n t h e intervals between meetings. inan administration elected by the general meeting. This general 'meeting is the supremeorgan of administra.tion in the arteI.So say th e Model Rules, and t hey la y d0'Yll th e duties o f thi sgeneral meeting as being- to elect a chairman an


12/15

produce, etc., bu t in re turn they have many ad ;antages-technicalan d scientific aid mechanised e qu ipment on loan, in su ranceagainst ba d harvests, etc., assured to them by th e Soviet State.The wor k o f local government is inextricably bound up with th eordinary work o f t he village, an d it is difficult to see where oneends and t he other begins. Both th e farm and t he local soviet ar eequally concerned in th success of each enterprise.One of th e strong points of local government, especially in th e village, was stressed by Beatr ice Webb in an in terview:-

Assuran e of performance she said. i s to be found ratherin freedom of criticism unrestrained by law of libel. The importance of free and constant criticism has beenas greatly undervalued as its existence has been underestimated. Failure. even 011 thepart of a village soviet. is sure of investigation.W R OES THE MONEY OME FRO P

Almost th e first question people ask when confronted with along list of successful soviet enterprises is. Where do they findal l t he mon ey ? Collecting th e money an d spending it is a ll part o f t he plannedeconomy of th e Soviet Union. Broadly speaking it works in th efollowing way. Every government body from that o f t he smallestvillage to th e Supreme Soviet ,makes ou t a shopping list of th et hi ngs i t- requires in th e forthcoming year, an d an estimate ofwhat t hey will cost, together wit h a n estimate of it s own outputof weal th in goods an d raw materials.Each local government body passes on its list of requirementsand es timated cost to the next highes t author ity , which goesthrough th e list, approving or disapproving the submi tt ed plansand estimates. I t t hen. adds it s own requirements in goods,services and money to the list an d passes it still higher. Thusvillage an d town p ass t he ir p la ns to th e District oviets, tlieseveral boroughs of l a r g ~ cities pass thei rs to th e City Soviet,th e Districts and cities pass them on.to th e various Union Republics,who submi t thei r compc site plans to th e upreme Sovie whichadds i t s own requi raments .Here they ge t final approval. . Everything is approved whichis in th e best interests of all an d does no t conflict with th j annualand five-year p lans o f th e State Planning Commission.Then th e process goes into reverse a n d as th e lists ofrequirements were piled up t hr ough t he various organs of government to th e top, so now authori ty to spend th e allotted amountspasses down through th e same b c d L ~ s r i g h t down to th e village.ot al l th e required money is passed down-but authority tocollect taxes an d retain a portion. For t he oviet Uni on h as nospecial tax-gather ing machinery other than th e local authorities,who ar e entrusted with th e gathering of all revenue due from theirarea to t he Supreme, Republic an d local budgets.A cer ta in per cent age o f thi s they retain for their own needs,

o f t e ~ augmented by substant ial grants r subsidies f rom higherb


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War Tax was in troduced in Decelnber, 1941, an d applies to allbetween 19 an d 60. I t is a form of additional income ta x an d iscollected monthly at source at th e following rates: annual incomesup to 1,800 roubles pa y 120 roubles pe r year , be tween 9,600 an d10,800 pa y 1 ,020 ; . above 24,000 pa y 2,700 roubles pe r year-i .e. ,between 7 pe r cent. an d pe r cent. I t applies to collective an dpeasant farmers, who pa y from 150 to 500 roubles pe r yearaccording to th e farm s prosperity. Persons exempt from th e wa rta x ar e Service men an d their families, invalids, men over 60 andwomen over 55. Persons of mili tary age bu t exempt f rom servicepa y a 50 pe r cent. h ighe r tax.Mass Loans in it iated in 1928, designed, l ike ou r War Savings, tosoak up surplus purchasing power, particularly fo r th e wa r period,b ri ng in about 10 bill ion roubles a year. They bea r i n t e r ~ s t atabout 4 pe r cent., ta x free, ma y be borrowed upon up to 30 percent. of the ir value, an d redeemable on demand in cases of direneed. They combine lottery features such as th e option t o t ak e State Lot te ry tickets in lieu of interest as it falls due.. .

These loans ar e a source of a great deal of revenue fo r th e localauthorities. Fo r instance, ou t of th e 9,000,000,000 roublescollected i n t he 1940 L o a n ~ 50 pe r cent., of all urban subscriptionswent to the Union Repub li cs who pas se d on 50 pe r cent. of it(25 pe r cent. of th e whole) t o t he local soviets. Of th e loan moneycollected in th e villages, 90 pe r cent. of it was kept by them fortheir own use. Moscow retains 1pe r cent. of State Loanscollected in it s area.The Soviet Governmen t has found no reluctance to invest inth e several War Loans-a good s ig n of confidence-as will beseen f rom these figures. The 1942 Loan called for 10,000,000,000roubles an d was over-subscr ibed 125 pe r cent. in 10 days; th e1943 Loan o f 12,000,000,000 was reached in one day, an d in sevendays ha d reached 20,000,000,000; th e 1944 Loan of 25,000,000,000roubles ha d reached 28,064,170,000 roubles in s ix days.Thi s was 10 pe r cent. of th e entire Soviet budget for that year,an d was subscr ibed to by 72,000,000 citizens. Defence Fund A unique feature of Soviet f inance is th e amountreceived in voluntary contributions-gifts-to th e nationalexchequer, amounting to a lmos t a s much as th e ta x receipts.I t was 20,000,000,000 in 1942 an d has steadily increased. I t maybe some years before OUR Income Ta x people ar e working overtime i ss ui ng r ec ei pt s f or voluntary c on tr ibut ions . Such giftscome from individuals, churches, collective farms, army units, etc.Lotteries State-sponsored lotteries for special needs-roadbuild ing for instance-are quite a popular feature in. th e SovietUnion an d during th e wa r have brought in 7,000,000,000 r o ~ b l e s

LO L DDITIONSThe foregoing ar e th e main sources of State finances in th e SovietUnion, and they reach th e local au orities in such a,,:m,ounts a s will

enable th to carry out their part of th e p lan tha t is, theirplan as.aP:rroved or modif ied by higher soviets in conformitywIth th e DIstrIc t , Republic, and All-Union plans . The moneycomes t hem both from local collections of taxes due, an d grantsfrom hIgher bodies.

In addition, a local authority o ft en has a local income o f i ts wn . Moscow has a mot or ca r t ax , a collective farm will havet Icke t-money from i ts own cinema an d so on . Then there is analmost universal culture ta x a local levy which must beexpended on cultural needs a playing field, theatre or c lub, e tc .Income from local sources is tending to increase, with lessdependency upon grants f rom highe r soviets. In 1935 less thanone-third of local budgets was der ived f rom loc al s ou rc es an d itha d risen to nearly a hal f by 1940.

LO L LO NSTown or country s o v i ~ t s ma y seek authority to raise a loanf or s ome local venture-a waterworks or hospi ta l, etc.A town would get such a loan from a special depar tment of th eState Bank-Tsekombank-which grants shor t -te rm loans up tofive years at 3 pe r cent. pe r annum, an d long-term loans up to40 years at 1 pe r cent. pe r annum for municipal developments.Big enterprises l ike th e Moscow Metro, th e Lenin Library, orth e A c ~ d ~ I r of Science ar e no t looked upon as local governmentresponsIbIlItIes bu t a re p ai d fo r by th e State.A village wishing to borrow money ma y do so from anotherState Bank d e p a r t m e ~ t t h e Selhozbank-which specialises inlong-term credIts to agrIculture. In 1944 this bank advanced over265,000,000 r oubl es f or rehabilitation work, an d in 1945 ha sloaned 350,000,000 for th e purchase of new c att le a nd home an dfarm buildings.

HOW DOES IT COMP RE WITH OURS. adequate comparison is no t possible here , but one or twopOInts ar e worthy o f notice.

We appear. to h av e t oo many local bodies-many of them .toosmal l for theIr ~ a s k s The re a re 62 County Councils, 83 CountyBorough CouncIls , 309 Borough Counc il s, 572 Urban Districts475 ~ u r a l Districts, 7,000 Parish Councils, an d 4,100 Parishmee tIngs for an area a hundred times smaller than th e SovietUnion.The s q u a b b l e ~ amongst ~ h e s e ~ o d i e s regarding their rights ar e f o ~ n ? In th e SovIet UnIon, where no local activity is

u tr v ~ r e 8 If It does no t conflict with th e general interest.place of apathy in local government, th e Soviet publicpartIcIpate to a wide degree an d there is close contact betweenelector an d elected.

23


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Who s Who in the Red Army.ByE. G. Burroughs.Wilfrid Roberts, M.P., in Russia.Woman in Soviet Society. ByMaggie Jordan.Writers and Readers the SovietUnion. By Charles Snow.4d

Soviet Russia: A Syllabusfor StudyCourses. ByJoan Thompson,B.A.SovietUnion: For Boys and Girls.By Alex Page.

3dBritish-Soviet Relations and theFuture. By R. Bishop.Poland s Case. By StefanLitauer.Red Army Men and their Dependants.By EleanorFox.Religion in the Soviet Union. Bythe Rev. StanleyEvans.Salute the Alliance I By Reg.Bishop.SovietMillionaires. By Reg. Bishop.Soviet Russ ia Bui ld l Again. ByJ. G. Kekwick.The Soviet Countryside. By Joan. Thompson , B.A.

s

dCo-operatives in the U.S.S.R. By, E st herH enrott e.France,Britain andthe SovietUnion.By FernandGrenier.Great in Peace: Great in War.By GordonSchaffer.Grigg, Goebbell and Private Smith., By D. N Pritt, K.C., M.P.How the U.S.S.R. il Governed. Byth e Rev. StanleyE vans.Hitler s Death Warrant. By Rev.Dr. HewlettJohnson.p O l a ~ ~ J r d the Peace. By G e o r g ~

_Polish Conlpiracy. By George Audit.Soviet Health in Wart ime. ByDr.Eva Black.Soviet Schools Today. By DeanaLevinAdd Postage : 1d. in 1/-. btainable from Russia Today iterature Dept.

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