PREFACE 21
to show how the events which led to the famine and its exploita-
tion by Moscow harmonize with the general ideology of Moscow
and the procedure of the Kremlin. I here show how, granted
the aims pursued by Moscow, the procedure adopted followed
of necessity. The fifth chapter, "Propaganda Methods/' as
well as the sixth, "The Testimony of Monsieur Herriot," are
an attempt to explain systematically the methods by which
Moscow succeeds in keeping a veil over the real position in
Russia and especially over the fate of the non-privileged
categories. The chapter on the attitude of the outer world asks
why the bourgeois states carry their respect for Moscow so
far as to refrain from action even in the matter of a purely
charitable intervention on behalf of the victims of the Russian
famine. I then deal with the problem of assistance, and describe
the struggle with the object of rendering assistance which has
now been going on for years.
I have thought it well to sketch for the reader's benefit the
contents of this book, in order that it may be easy to follow
the general outline from the beginning, and to understand why
a discussion of the causes was as necessary as a description
of the catastrophe itself.
A word should be said on the sources of this book. The
description of Russian events is mainly based on authoritative
statements in the Russian press, a press which, of course, is
entirely controlled by the State and party authorities at Moscow.
Nothing appearing in the press, therefore, can be treated as
a baseless invention.
• How is it then that the Russian press, and notably the big
provincial papers, mingle praises of the achievements of the
regime with reports on the real position within the country
which are frequently amazingly frank and even pessimistic?
One of the most experienced Moscow correspondents, Dr.
Just, answers the question by saying that "the damage can be
repaired only by means of organized public pressure." This is
in fact the correct explanation. The method of exerting pressure