THE STRUGGLE OF THE NATIONALITIES 127
What is particularly interesting is Gikalo's statement that the
fight against nationalism in White Russia began with what is
called "a case of pure nationality politics"—that of the teacher
Stepura, who had been locally forbidden to speak Russian to
his wife. The case showed that "everything was not in order in
the White Russian party organization; when5 early in 1933,
we began investigations into this matter, we found it necessary
to take decisive measures. As in the Ukraine^ so here we were
too blind to perceive the manoeuvres of the ckss enemy even
as late as 1933. Now he has been crushed in a number of fields;
but that is not enough."
Particularly interesting is Gikalo's description of "twenty
days5 experiences in December 1932" (the consequence of
Moscow's "declaration of war" in the December decree).
The experiences show that "when the Bolsheviks proceed on
Bolshevik lines, they know no obstacles. ... In twenty days
more grain was collected than in the previous three and a
half months. . , ." By January i the plan had been fulfilled
106 per centj to say nothing of the potatoes^ butter, hay, etc.,
collected. It is easy to imagine the methods by which the grain
was taken from the peasants if such quantities could be collected
in twenty days in the middle of winter.
Parallel to the collection of grain the famine1 was accom-
panied by the fight against nationalist movements, and more
especially against the local Jewish minority—of which I shall
speak again later.
On April 3 the official Swiss News Agency, whose reports
are based on reliable sources, mainly official, published the
following item: "It is reported from Soviet Russia that the
peasants are once again practising sabotage by slaughtering
quantities of cattle. In the Kostjukova district alone more than
15*000 head were recently destroyed. There are similar reports
from other parts of Soviet Russia. The Minsk Orka explains
1 The famine in White Russia is described by Hany Lang in the Jewish
Forward* New York.