RED REPUBLIC

Miss Margaret Bourke-White, famous globetrotter and internationally known photographer, leads us through a most interesting part of Russia. We start at Baku, on the Caspian Sea, on the very edge of Asia. Baku is old and picturesque. More than a thousand years ago, it was occupied by the Arabs. 500 years later, by the Persians. But for more than a century, it has belonged to Russia. Baku is the center of one of the most important oil fields of the world. The camel plays an important part in this section of Russia. Whole caravans of these quaint animals are used for delivering structural steel, building materials, and foodstuffs to the large industrial projects. The modern apartments in the background offer a strong contrast to this primitive means of transportation. But the Russian workers are enthusiastic about the apartments because they are provided with shower baths. And in Russia, shower baths stand for culture. To the marketplace, half ancient, half modern, come the peasants of the surrounding country to sell their produce and to buy their necessities. The Soviet government maintains food shops for the benefit of the workers. Here the Soviet citizen may obtain his supplies at a very low figure. But each citizen is permitted to buy only a limited amount. The amount varies according to his rating as a worker. If he wants more than his allowance, then he has to buy it in the open market at a higher price. Before the revolution, many valuable concessions in this rich oil country belonged to England, France, and the United States. But today, the great oil fields have all been taken over by the Soviet government, which has called upon American engineers and experts to help develop the property, supervise the installation of modern machinery, and instruct the Russian workers in its operation. At first, the Russian workers marveled at the machines, which they did not understand. They made speeches about them. They even wrote poems about them, and almost worshipped them. But they soon got to understand the machine, and are daily becoming more and more efficient in handling them. Some of the oil pools stretch way out under the Caspian Sea. And in order to get the oil out, they have had to drill wells down through the water, some distance from the shore. To make this work more easy, efforts are being made to reclaim the submerged land by filling. Much of this heavy work is being done by brigades of women workers. All over Russia, husky women are doing heavy work on construction, as well as in mines and in steel mills. Incidentally, on the large Dnieper project, which we will see presently, the pouring of thousands upon thousands of tons of concrete was performed by women, under the direction of a woman leader, Comrade Zhukova, who was awarded the Order of Lenin in recognition of her splendid work. This venerable gentleman was formerly a prince and owned extensive vineyards in the famous wine country of Georgia. Prior to the revolution, he had protected several Bolsheviks by hiding them in his wine cellars. When the revolution broke out, these Bolsheviks showed their gratitude by hiding the prince and saving his life. His vineyards have all been taken over by the Soviet government, which is developing the industry on a large scale. The prince is permitted to go on living in his palace, but very modestly and as a simple Soviet citizen. He goes out daily with the workers, but is not required to do any hard manual labor. He acts as a wine expert and has gained the friendship and esteem of all his fellow workers. Here again, the women do much of the work, keeping tally of the picking and harvesting the grapes. The Georgians are very proud of their wines. And if you want to be popular with them, you must never refuse an invitation to drink with them. They follow the old Georgian custom of drinking their wine from a horn, which must be emptied at one draft. The drinker must then turn the horn upside down and let the last drop fall on his thumb to prove that he has been faithful to the ancient custom. The Georgians trace their ancestry way back to Japheth, the son of Noah. They are divided into many tribes. These tribesmen, who are bringing in their poetry, have a dialect of their own, and there are more than 800 dialects in Georgia. Why, even to take this picture, it was necessary to use four languages: English, Russian, Georgian, and the local dialect. Some of the tribes devote themselves to sheep raising. Each tribe preserves its own particular dialect and clings to its own customs and traditions. The most famous Georgian, of course, is Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin's mother lives in Tiflis, an interesting 1,500-year-old Georgian town in the very heart of the Caucasus Mountains. These are the very first moving pictures to be made of Mrs. Stalin. Permission to take them was secured by Miss Bourke-White, thanks to her tact and diplomacy. Mrs. Stalin is very proud of her famous son. She knows that he is important and that he lives in Moscow, but she is hardly able to grasp the full significance of the tremendous things that he is doing. This is the great Dnieper project, or Dneprostroi, as the Russians call it. To carry out this stupendous job, the Soviet government engaged the services of Colonel Cooper, the same Colonel Cooper who built Boulder Dam in Colorado. The genial engineer is a good sport and has consented to pose for Miss Bourke-White. He has come back to Russia to witness the official opening and dedication of this gigantic dam. Colonel Cooper is very popular among the Russians, who greatly admire the speed with which he works. Amerikanski tempel, they call it. He has successfully solved the difficult problem of harnessing the mighty waters of the river Dnieper, which since the beginning of time had been running to waste without benefit to mankind. To make this tremendous water power available, the Soviets conceived this daring scheme. And now the Dneprostroi boasts of the largest dam in the world, with a hydroelectric plant that is second to none. This is the first important project to be completed under the five-year plan. Thousands of people have come from all parts of the country to witness the official dedication by President Kalinin. Here we see Ordzhonikidze, Commissar of Heavy Industry, broadcasting to the world the glad news of the successful completion of this vast undertaking. It was Lenin who first visualized the importance of electrification. Clean across the face of the dam, you can see the huge luminous letters that spell out Lenin's famous slogan. It says, "Communism is Soviet power plus electrification." In building up a new state, the Soviets have realized the vital importance of education. These are married students going to school. In Russia, everybody studies, and Russian students are encouraged to marry. In fact, the government gives an allowance to married students, and what is more, a private shower bath. These students of both sexes are taking a medical course in a large tuberculosis hospital. After graduating, they will go out to the remoter districts to combat the great white plague and to spread habits of cleanliness in the less enlightened communities. Russians love parades. These paraders are recruited from the vast army of workers employed in factories and steel mills. The new Russia places all her hopes of achievement on these men and women. A nation of agriculturists is gradually becoming transformed into a nation of industrialists. Russia is going onwards and upwards at a steady pace. The paraders are all actors in a mighty drama that is being unfolded before the eyes of a wondering world. Farewell, Russia, and dasvidaniya. Mhm.