At Parliament House in Canberra on 25th June 2018,
Liberal Senator Eric Abetz launched an English
language translation by Regina Share of the book
written by Stasys Jameikis entitled, "Only Eleven
Came Back." A Lithuanian survivor's account of
transportation and life in one of the Soviet Union's
"re-education" camps.

The account follows one group of 1,505 people who were
sent to the Archangelsk region in the Russian Archtic
as forced labour in June 1941.

After thirteen years, only eleven of those people survived,
hence the title of the book, "Only Eleven Came Back."
Fellow Lithuanian and Tasmanian, Dr Al Taskunas, who
started the Lithuanian Studies Society at the University of
Tasmania, and whose father was in the same group of prisoners
recently published an English translation of the book.

Prior to Senator Abetz officially launching the book, Dr Al
Taskunas spoke to an audience comprising members of the
local Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian Communities, interstate
visitors, diplomats, and a large group of Government Senators,
and told them of his personal story and its connection with
what was revealed in the book.

In his presentation Dr Al Taskunas emphasised the message that
we, the Baltic communities, did not simply escape the
deportations and occupation of our countries to seek a better
life in Australia.

We came to seek freedom.

In his summary, Senator Abetz encouraged all his fellow Senators
to purchase the book, not only for themselves, but to circulate
it as gifts to others so that the important message in Stasys
Jameikis' testimony, and Dr Al Taskunas' observation on the
fight for freedom is not only spread to a wider audience, but
preserved into the future.

Dear Foxy,

I wish there was a 'like' button on OLO :)

Love,

Joe

mhaze, the Romanovs and their ancestors simply sowed the seeds of their own demise. Revolution is the child of discontent, and discontent on a massive scale was evident in Russia long before Lenin came to power. Although the conditions in Russia were right for violent revolution the Russian proletariat was totally powerless, it lacked the necessary educated leadership and organization to insight revolution until the Bolsheviks provided that, and made a successful bid for power in 1917. The ruling class, a very small minority represented by the Czar, had maintained authority, and absolute power through the oppressive brutality of the state.
In such a society there is no place for moderates, only the radical prevail. What do the violent radicals like the Bolsheviks do? They murder and imprison people on a grand scale, that is an inescapable fact.

"Which brings us to the charming Paul1405 who thinks the murder of the Romanov kids was just to be expected because of the actions of their ancestors."
The short answer mhaze is yes. I am surprised it took the violent Bolsheviks as long as it did to murder the Czar and his family. Do you believe they were not going to do that, eventually?

"Its from the Pauls of this world that these murderous regimes draw their foot-soldiers" mhaze, wrong, you would be at the head of the queue given the right conditions, because you appear to be a person who lacks the necessary understanding and moderacy, and is easily lead.

Dear Joe (Loudmouth),

I really needed that. (smile).

Big hug.

Dear Paul1405,

There were two revolutions in Russia in 1917. The first was in February and deposed the Romanovs. The October Revolution by the Bolsheviks was not against the Romanovs. They had already been deposed. After the February Revolution there was an attempt to set up a democratic state with the elimination of censorship and political prisoners as there was under the czars. The slogan of the Czarist government was orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality. The Bolshevik Revolution was not against the Romanovs. It was against democracy. Marxism replaced orthodoxy, and autocracy was restored as were censorship and political prisoners. In a real sense Bolshevism was a restoration of czarist tyranny with a new ideology and a new management.

My father's brother was a Bolshevik. He was arrested by the czarist police. My father was already in the USA, and he brought the rest of the family out in 1921. His brother was quite happy to get out being cured of Leninism by four years of it.

Paul,

I "would be at the head of the queue" because I'm "easily lead."
Oh dear! Logic not a strong suit I see.

Paul, nowhere do I argue that the revolution wouldn't have taken place given the hardships suffered by the Russian people as a result of the shellacing the Germans were giving them on top of the deprivations they suffered as a result of the inefficiency of the Tsarist state. But the revolution which overthrew the Tsar occurred in February 1917 and was followed by an attempt to institute a democracy.

Lenin and his cohorts were terrified of this prospect since they stood no chance of attaining any sort of power under fair elections. So they sought to undermine the Kerensky government which was struggling to survive in the midst of the chaos of a revolution and a losing war.

That the Tsar would be ultimately executed was a fair bet. I've not disputed that. But there was no likelihood that his family would be killed as well. Remember that when other European monarchs feel (Charles in England, Louis in France) their children were left unharmed.

But as explained above, Lenin had different motivations and intended to usher in a merciless regime that brooked no opposition and treated all those in the wrong class as enemies to be destroyed irrespective of sex or age.

The executions of the Romanovs was really just the first example of the brutality that Lenin was to usher in. Russia suffered through that brutality for 70 years of Soviet rule and really hasn't recovered to this day. They and the world would have been a vastly better place had the Bolshevik revolution not taken place or failed.

but those who simply shrug at the deaths of the innocent children (and remember the girls only avoided being raped before being executed because of traditional communist inefficiency in organising the executions) as they try to excuse anything the communists did, demonstrate where their humanity really stands.