MOSCOW'S ATTITUDE 169
secuted and banished kulaks will always form one of the most
terrible chapters in Russian history.1
Thanks to such methods it became possible to turn the
persecution of these unreliable elements into an important
economic measure; these modern slaves naturally became the
source of the cheapest labour for the Soviet Government, With
the help of the banished kulaks the exports of timber, etc.,
could be enormously increased, and at the same time those
dumping prices made possible, which at the time created a
sensation all over the world. A most striking illustration of this
combination of "punishment" and economic exploitation is
to be found in the banishment of thousands of Ukrainians and
others to the north-west of European Russia to complete the
canal from the White Sea to the Baltic. This was a magnificent
piece of work, and Moscow has utilized it for propaganda in
every direction; but its completion will always be associated
with the destruction and the sufferings of banished "enemies
of the State55 from the Ukraine.
The so-called "special transfer" of peasants from the south
to the Far East and elsewhere, where they worked for the State,
fells under the same heading. Formally, at least, this measure
differs from the banishment of the kulaks; for in this case the
transfer was effected simply in order that the peasants should be
enabled to work in regions where land and opportunities awaited
them. In reality, however, the fate of these settlers was no
better than that of the persons who were banished to the north.
Latterly, however* the struggle has attained gigantic dimen-
sions, partly by reason of the developments among the nationali-
ties described elsewhere, and partly through the rise of Stalin's
personal dictatorship. The Moscow regime is now employing
a new and effective method of getting rid of its enemies—
destruction by indirect means. This is based upon the pecu-
liarities of the Russian class and rationing systems. This is the
1 Cf. Das tibert&nchte Grab previously mentioned. Also In Wologdos
weissen Wdldema by Alexander Schwarz: Akona, Hans Herder.