American History In Video: Princess Alexandra Kropotkin
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin from Chronoscope (Columbia Broadcasting System, 1951) 14:47.
 see more details
|
 Transcript
|
 View Thumbnails
|
 Embed/Link
|
 Print
|
- Transcript
- Clips
200 LW 007
Frank Knight The world's most honored watch is Longines. Longines watches have won ten World's Fair grand prizes, 28 gold medals and more honors for accuracy than any other time piece. Longines, the world's most honored watch is made and guaranteed by the Longines Wittnauer Watch Company.
[sil.]
Frank Knight It's time for the Longines Chronoscope. A television journal of the vital issues of the hour. A presentation of the Longines-Wittnaeur Watch Company. Maker of Longines, the world's most honored watch and Wittnaeur, distinguished companion to the world honored Longines.
Frank Knight Good evening, this is Frank Knight , our guest on the Longines Chronoscope this evening is Princess Alexandra Kropotkin , a direct descendant of the first Czar of all Russia . Her father was exiled from Czarist Russia because of his liberal views. Princess Kropotkin return to Russia in 1915 , live there through the early days of the revolution and it was her fate to be imprisoned by the communists. In time, she escaped to America , and has since worked for the liberation of her people. May I present Princess Kropotkin . Our co-editors are Mr. William Bradford Huie , editor of The American Mercury and Mr. Henry Hazlitt , political economist and associate editor of Newsweek Magazine. The opinions express are necessarily those of the speakers.
Henry Hazlitt Princess Kropotkin , ah, Secretary Acheson , testifying on June 26, before a Congressional Committee said that America's quarrel today is not with world Communism or with the dictators in the Kremlin but with old fashion Russian nationalism. He said and I quote, it is clear he said that "this process of encroachment and consolidation by which Russia has grown in the last 500 years from the Duchy of Muscovy to a vast empire must be stopped." Now do you agree with that statement of the issue?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin No, I never agree with Mr. Acheson in(ph) anyway. That's a matter(ph) of valiance statement and I think we are the bad one.
Henery Hazlitt And what do you think is wrong with it, ma'am(ph)?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well ah, after all, ah, the way in communism, that(ph) the President Mahmoud that wouldn't be Russian nationalism, imperialism it'll be a country where there was some kind of perhaps democracy for the people.
Henry Hazlitt Well, do you think that this ah, view of the subject tends to ah, consolidate the Russian people with Stalin instead of recognizing the fact that a lot of them are oppose to the Stalin regime.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well, 80 percent is suppose to be opposed and probably more. And I don't think that there were(ph) many Russians as oppose to communist or in the least interested in expansion, territorial expansion or anything of the kind.
Henry Hazlitt What, what is the evidence? (crosstalk)
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin That's not the danger.
Henry Hazlitt Yes. What, what is the evidence ah, that you see at the third(ph) up, that percentage of the Russian people that are opposed to Communist regime. (crosstalk)
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Oh, that's a long story to go and of what ah, one considers as the, the why one considers its 80 percent, it's about that, one, he has that from people who will, who've escaped from Russia , from the quantities of prisoners from their many sources of evidence that all we could bring(ph) connected by various groups now despite the good deal of evidence.
Henry Hazlitt What do you think is the main thing that can be done to take advantage of that situation? We have the potential Allies in Russia ?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well, anything is propaganda of course. Such as being carried on ah, perhaps accentuated of(ph) propaganda by various radio, free Russia and so on. (crosstalk)
Henry Hazlitt Ah, Princess Kropotkin ... (crosstalk)
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin That is playing quite a part already. I guess(ph) the... (crosstalk)
William Bradford Huie Pardon me but ah, I think the American people would like to hear something from you about actual life in Russia and one of the things that we hear a great deal about a Russian secret police. Now, in America where nobody is afraid of a policeman. The average American finds it hard, finds it difficult to believe all of the stories we hear about the effectiveness of the Russian police. Now, how, how is it possible for the Russians secret police to exert, cause such terror among the people.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well, first of all, it's a quantitative thing. You'll see ah, under the Czars, the secret police, the Okhrana ah, was ah, personnel of about 5,000 people. In Russia today, there are over two million ah, (inaudible ) and they, they agents and so on, that's the Russian Communist secret police and- (crosstalk)
William Bradford Huie Yes, and how many, how many people, how many Russians would you estimate have been put in concentration camps?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well, that estimate varies, it varies from 12 to 20 million people.
William Bradford Huie And how many were in, in the pri-, po-, how many political prisoners were then in average year under the Czar?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Oh, they've, they can(ph) never exceeded much over 50,000. (crosstalk)
William Bradford Huie I see.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin That was the prison and in exile and so on. You see, you asked how it's possible to have been instilled so much terror. First of all, there is incredible poverty and so much difficulty and energy goes into every little thing that people need for everyday life. Secondly, there's, ah, a, a horrible system of spying on one another which the communism managed to develop. (crosstalk)
William Bradford Huie That's a refinement, that's a refinement. (crosstalk)
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin A morale(ph) leprosy.
William Bradford Huie I see. And that's something that's new in the police system.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Oh, yes, there was, there were people who denounced status and who ah, spy(ph) but not like it is now.
William Bradford Huie Let me ask you, ah, it, once a, a Russian is put in a concentration camp, is there any hope of release? Do they release any of them to come back home.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Sometimes some get out. After they come out, they usually, only allowed to live in certain places, certain towns. Most of them come out in such a fearful state that they have finished anyway, they come out to die and very few do get out of concentration camps whether they're on(ph) concentration camps, they're prison camps. But then the whole of Russia is a prison camp, practically anyway. (crosstalk)
Henry Hazlitt Princess Kropotkin , this certain facts which, to a lot of American wouldn't seem to jibe with this belief that the large majority of the Russian people are oppose to the regime. For example, they fought very well against Germany , the ah, North Koreans, the ah, Chinese communist are fighting very well. They're not surrendering in mass to ah, the Americans in Korea . They seem to have a very good morale. And if the satellites have that good morale, wouldn't be a good supposition that the Russians soldiers would have an even better morale.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Russians have always fought well. They're never been cowards, that's a trait of the Russian people. But you've also got to remember that a great many of the younger people who were born under Communism. They don't like the regime, they would welcome something different but when it comes to fighting an enemy, they will fight for any kind of government. They always fight but during World War II, an enormous number of Russians went over and formed even a battalion in Germany to fight back against Russia . They all hope that the Germans were going to liberate them. And if the Germans had behave decently to the Russians, they would've had a tremendous number of volunteers as it was there were many(ph) a million.
Henry Hazlitt So you think of our, of propaganda were right and our treatment were right, if we ever did get involved in a war, why we would have wholesale desertions and there would be a quick ah... (crosstalk)
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin I know(ph).
Henry Hazlitt ...collapse of the regime, there perhaps?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Possibly yes, ah, I certainly think that propaganda when it reaches the Russians and a great deal of it does now ah, has an enormous effect. And also if they knew what was going to happen to them. Ah, for, for instance ah, I don't know if you know this ah, new word that's used "Not for a(ph) deserters but defectors". But now, there were, in '48 and '49 , they use to come over to the American zone 50, 60 a day. Now, there were only two and the reason for that is that nothing special has being done for them. They don't know what's going to happen to them if they do desert, and come to the American zone.
William Bradford Huie Well Princess, I'd like to ask you just a few questions about the nature of the underground and how we can make it more effective. Now, when I read ah, Gorky and Dustriasky(ph), I got the impression that the Russians were a natural conspiratorial people. That there was always a, a, a large group that was against the government and militantly so. Now, today is there such a group exist anywhere in Russia .
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Not as a group because it's impossible for people to meet together and to talk, to discuss anything. Ah, you'd be either liquidated or in a prison camp if you had ever even thought of writing a story about the terrible tempered Mr. Stalin .
William Bradford Huie Yes.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Which you did.
William Bradford Huie Now, well, ah, is there, is there a potential underground?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Yes, there is. And. (crosstalk)
William Bradford Huie You know. And, and, and, and has(ph) the ways when which we might encourage it. Do you think that our propaganda is effective now?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Not as effective as it might be. First of all, there's a religious underground and that really does exist. Ah, I think that there are quite... (crosstalk)
Hmm.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin ...a few things to be done to step up propaganda. (crosstalk)
Henry Hazlitt But what about the Voice of America?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well. (crosstalk)
Henry Hazitt You think it's effective?
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin All up to a point, all the ah, all the radio stations which are carrying news into Russia are effective. Unquestionably, they're reaching many people. But I do think, that they might ah, perhaps liven up this stuff... (crosstalk)
Henry Hazlitt Yes.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin a little bit. It's a little bit dull. (crosstalk)
Yeah. And you know what.
Henry Hazlitt As a final question, I'd like to ask you Princess Kropotkin , what do you think we could do now to drive a wedge, what's the first step we could take now to drive a wedge(ph) between the Kremlin and the Russian people.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin Well, I'm going to give you a peculiar answer. I think that if the representatives of the Kremlin in this country were treated to a little social hostesses(ph) than instead of being invited to dinner parties if they were ridiculed a little. And that went back on the radio, I think that, that might have quite a little effect.
William Bradford Huie And so you would say and summing up ah, Princess. You would say that there is a potential underground and if properly encouraged, it can be very hopeful for the western world.
Princess Alexandra Kropotkin I think so. I think it can be the most hopeful thing in the world because it's probably the only way out of the war.
William Bradford Huie Yes. Well, thank you very much for being with us.
Frank Knight The editorial board for this edition of the Longines Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huie and Mr. Henry Hazlitt . Our distinguished guest was Princess Alexandra Kropotkin . The little black mounted magnifying glass that the watch maker holds like a monicker in his eye is called a loop. After years of observing watches of all times new and old, the man with the loop becomes an excellent judge of watches. And we're proud of the fine letters about Longines Watches which come to us everyday from long established watch makers. A typical communication reads.
The quality of Longines watches is beyond compare. As an experienced watchmaker, the fine workmanship commands my admiration. After years of observation of Longines and other watches, I am convinced that no watch gives so much satisfaction as a Longines nor last so long.
Frank Knight Yes, indeed. The man with the loop knows why Longines watches have won ten World's Fair grand prizes, 28 gold medals and so many honors for accuracy in fields of precise timing. Superlative quality through and through makes Longines the world's most honored watch.
[sil.]
Frank Knight This is Frank Knight inviting you to join us again next week for the Longines Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour. Broadcast on behalf of Longines, the world's most honored watch and Wittnauer, distinguished companion to the world honored Longines. Sold and service by more than 4,000 leading jewelers from coast to coast who proudly display the emblem agency for Longines-Wittnauer Watches.
Produced Under The Supervision and Control of CBS Public Affairs Directed by ALAN R. CARTOUN
Frank Knight This is the CBS Television Network
200 LW 008
No clips to display.