|
The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from Russia in 1919 by Arthur Ransome: that is being said in Russia by non-Bolsheviks. This man,
in spite of the presence of many Communists in the carriage,
did not disguise his hostility to their theories and practice,
and none the less told this story. He said that some of
the Russian troops in the Archangel district refused to go
to the front. Their commanders, unable to compel them,
resigned and were replaced by others who, since the men persisted
in refusal, appealed for help. The barracks, so he said, were
then surrounded by American troops, and the Russians, who
had refused to go to the front to fire on other Russians, were
given the choice, either that every tenth man should be shot,
|
