Folium Librorum Vitae Deditum. Jaargang 5

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The Book in Russia
Russia's most powerful weapon - not a secret.
A report
by
Frank Glenn^*)

In het laatste Septembernummer van de ‘Antiquarian Bookman’ was het verkorte verslag van de Amerikaanse boekhandelaar Frank Glenn over zijn bezoek aan Rusland opgenomen. Het leek ons belangwekkend. Wij zijn blij door de welwillende medewerking van de schrijver en van de uitgever van de ‘Antiquarian Bookman’ in staat te zijn, het verslag hier af te drukken.

A few months ago it was my good fortune to be invited to join the first large group of Americans to go behind the iron curtain since it was dropped. In a previous chapter many of the difficulties connected with getting there were recounted. The unpleasant experiences, however, were soon forgotten after we left Prague.

We boarded a Russian plane for the trip. A few observations about the plane might be of interest. Its interior resembled one of our old and now out of date pullman cars - much mahogany and plush. No food was served except cold sandwiches. The hostess was the most attractive woman we saw in Nowcow with the exception of the Ballet dancers. There were no seat beits and smoking was permitted on the take-off and landings.

Our first stop was at Vilna where we went through the usual government immigration and customs and where we were served dinner. The airport was immaculately clean, the food was good and the service courteous. The immigration and customs officials were efficient and courteous. Our baggage was not opened going into Russia or coming out. In fact, in 32.000 miles which I covered on this trip the only time it was inspected was by our own officials at Anchorage, where they really did do thorough job.

We arrived in Moscow at one-thirty in the morning and had considerable difficulty in obtaining transportation into the city. The airport is very modern and at this hour was crowded with travelers. Planes were arriving and departing every few minutes.

*) Reprinted from ‘Antiquarian Bookman’, Vol. XVIII, No. 13, and from a typewritten manuscript with the kind permission of author and publisher (Sol. M. Malkin).

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The four-lane highway leading into Moscow is beautifully landscaped on both sides.

The hotel rooms were clean and very comfortable. The plumbing, however, was not what might be expected to be found in a hotel only twenty years old - the bathtubs were of about 1900 vintage and this goes for the other fixtures in the bathroom. The only fault we could find about our visit te Moscow was the food -there was plenty, but cabbage soup and cold chicken are not gastronomic delights to Americans with jaded appetites.

Every courtesy was shown us and we were permitted to go where we wished, take all the pictures we desired. We were furnished transportations - usually in the Russian counterpart of our 1952 Packard, copied right down to the ashtrays. (Since leaving Moscow it is reported that the designer of this car has been dismissed by the Russians and is in disgrace for lack of originality in design.)

Before going further into this report (which is very much abbreviated) I should like to make it very clear that I am not now, nor ever have been a card carrier of any kind except in such organizations as the American Legion of which I have been a member for almost forty years, and various luncheon and service clubs. I am not now, nor have I ever been a Communist sympathizer. I am not a member of any organization remotely connected with politics except a couple of Democratic clubs here in Kansas City, for which membership I make no apologies. I am saying this here tot set the record straight for what I am going to report later on.

It must be confessed that I expected to see what most Americans would expect to see in Russia - dirt, poverty, ignorance, starvation, huts for housing, in all, a primitive civilization. What we encountered was almost the exact opposite.

We found a city bustling with activity in practically every field - be it manufacturing, the arts, the theater, athletics and education. And it is in the field of education and the part books play that I can give some impressions, having been in the book business the greater part of my life.

But before going into this, I should like to mention that the group visited the Zis Automobile factory - where we saw trucks coming off the assembly line every three minutes. While they were not as modern as ours, they appeared to be very sturdy. This factory also makes refrigerators and bicycles. The latter are said to be 450,000 per year.

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We also visited the Kremlin and we were quite impressed by the fact that they had preserved their great collection of jewels and objects of art. I for one was under the impression all this had been destroyed or confiscated or sold. Also with the very effective showmanship in the arrangement of the displays. It is one of the greatest collections of jewels and art objects in the world.

A visit was made to the Agricultural Fair which was, as are most other things in Russia, on a very grand scale. This is a permanent exposition and all the Republics of Russia are represented. Each has its own large building where their products are exhibited the year round. This fair covers 580 acres, beautifully landscaped with many fountains playing. The lighting effects are very impressive. There are numerous other buildings for showing progress in machinery, electronics, agriculture, animal husbandry, etc.

A visit was made to a Collective farming community where we found a wedding being celebrated. Our visit was not anticipated for the officials of the Collective were out of town. Certainly the buildings and houses were not on a par with those of our villages, but were adequate. I visited two homes and found in each a radio as well as television and the furniture was adequate.

One of the outstanding experiences of the trip was a tour of the famous Lenin Library (the largest library in the world). I had been asked by several library clients to explore the possibility of exchanging duplicate books and periodicals; hence I had with me letters of introduction to both the Lenin Librarian and the librarian of the University of Moscow. Fortunately for me I had the pleasure of meeting a Harvard professor the first day I was in Moscow. He had just written a book, published by the Oxford University Press and which was somewhat critical of the political set-up in Russia. He had served at one time, five years with the American Embassy in Moscow and spoke Russian fluently. He went with me as an interpreter.

I was graciously received by the Director of the Library who called in several assistants, who evidenced considerable interest in my visit. Agreements were quickly reached for the exchange of books and periodicals.

The director asked me what my particular interest was in the field of books and what I would like to see. I naturally told him I should appreciate the opportunity of seeing their rare books and manuscripts. He asked me to return three days later and arrangements would be made for another visit. As an evidence

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of the cordial reception I had, on leaving, the Director accompanied me from the fourth floor of the new library building to the front door.

Returning three days later with four members of our party, we were met at the appointed hour by the Director who took us immediately to the Rare Book Department. There the librarian in charge had arranged an exhibit of their rarities (over two hundred thousand volumes in this department). Emphasis was placed in the exhibit on the breadth and depth of their collections. There was considerable emphasis on printing as an art. The exhibit ranged from a second edition of Dante to Walt Disney. They had complete collections of such authors as Mark Twain, Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, George Bernard Shaw, Sir Walter Scott and many others. It was rather interesting to find that Mark Twain was one of the most popular authors in the various libraries. Almost two hours were spent in going through this section of the library. We were then taken to the manuscript department. It took fully thirty minutes to walk from the rare book section to the Manuscript department which houses some two million items.

We were introduced to the department head who showed me first, the original manuscript of the Alexandrian Gospels - the oldest manuscript in the library. This was written in 1092 in ancient Slavic and is in a perfect state of preservation with the exception of a bit of evidence of worm action on the last two leaves. It is a Crown 8vo of 176 leaves. The original binding of boards is still intact. We were shown many of their other very rare manuscripts and were just inspecting a rare manuscript Chronicle, when the Director came into the room and announced that he would like to make a presentation to me of an exact reproduction in every detail, even to the binding, of the Alexandrian Gospels. He wanted me to have it as a memento of my visit to the Lenin Library and in recognition of my interest in their library and my appreciation of their collection. This reproduction was made in 1912 and only five copies were prepared. Three of them had been given to other libraries in Russia, one they were going to keep and the last one was for me, and would be the only one in America.

Certainly this was most unexpected and I had difficulty in recovering my composure enough to make a proper response. I doubt if I did very well.

To give some idea of the importance of books in Russia today,

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the following figures will be of interest:

There are in the Lenin Library upwards of 17,000,000 volumes together with upwards of 2,000,000 manuscripts. There are in the University of Moscow, with its 23,000 students, another 5,000,000 volumes. There are 262 other libraries in Moscow in various colleges, academies and schools - as well as large collections in some of the various manufacturing plants. Each plant has its Palace of Culture and as further illustrations of the interest and importance in books, the Zis auto factory which we visited, has 492,000 volumes. Of these, some 40,000 are children's books.

Not only did we see books everywhere, but there was evidence of great use being made of them. It was not uncommon to see men and women, boys and girls, standing up waiting for space at a table to work, or read. Some of the reading rooms would accommodate as many as 1,000 readers.

The most modern equipment was to be seen in the University of Moscow. The library is departmentalized and high speed escalators are used to deliver books from the 32nd floor on down. When the books called for by one department or another reach their proper destination, they are automatically released on a ramp without any slowing up of the escalator.

The Director of the Lenin Library furnished me with the following figures which will be of interest:

There are in Russia and the sixteen Republics, soms 368,000 libraries.

During the past five years, 56,000 new titles have been published each year. Book production in the year 1955 was approximately 1,500,000,000 volumes. In addition to this of course, were the many periodicals in various fields.

There are an average of one bookshop to each 10,000 families and from my own observation, they are well patronized. In fact, it was difficult to get up to the shelves for the crowds and in two instances we had to line up to get into the store. Certainly there is a definite mental hunger manifested there.

Prices of books are high according to our standards, but this did not seem to deter the buying public for I had seen at least 600 volumes in one of the Community farm homes and at least 900 in the other.

The implications to be drawn from the above, if one reflects on it very long, are frightening, to say the least. Certainly books and education are playing a great part in Russia's program and it may be that Bulganin was not giving out a propaganda statement when

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he said, ‘We are not interested in building a reserve bank of gold, but we are interested in building a reserve bank of brains and when the history of the last half of the twentieth century is written, that nation with the largest bank of brains will emerge as the leading nation.’

I have come tot the conclusion that books and education are the two most powerful weapons Russia is employing in their program for world domination, and when one reflects on what will be produced by this bank of brains being so rapidly built up during the next ten, fifteen, or twenty years, it gives one cause for apprehension as to our own educational program and I wonder if we can keep pace.

With our attitude toward education and educators, it is doubtful if we can even catch up. Here our teachers and professors are among the lowest paid of all - while there, professors and teachers are the highest paid. As an illustration, the Academicians receive the highest salaries of any in Russia, approximately 40,000 to 50,000 rubles per month. This is equivalent to 10,000.00 to 12,500.00 dollars per month. Heads of banks are paid approximately 2,800 to 4,000 dollars per month.

The Aero Digest of August, 1956 gives a report of the Subcommittee for Special Investigation for the Armed Services on Education, in which report they state that during the last 50 years the percentage of high school pupils studying algebra in America has dropped from 52 to 27%; those studying geometry has dropped from 27 to 13%; those studying physics from 23 to 4%; those studying chemistry from 10 to 7%. The United States with 7% of the world's population is responsible for 1/2 the world's production at the present time. Twenty years from now if we are to maintain this percentage we must produce 40% more than we are today - but as the figures quoted above show, this will have to be done with a decreasing number of scientifically educated men. Russia is graduating on the average of 63,000 trained scientists a year - we are graduating 23,000 on the university level.

I am convinced our own greatest enemy is not only the educational program in Russia and China - but our own smugness based on our refusal to recognize the powerful forces being developed there.