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102 PROBLEMS CONFRONTING RUSSIA
any practical action of theirs in that country. Be that as it
may, it remains true that the British commercial world must
be ready when the great opportunity comes at the cessation
of hostilities ! Agencies in Russia should already be
appointed, and provided with adequate information regarding
the necessary requirements of the Russian market ;
addresses of prospective customers should be supplied;
catalogues in the Russian language should be drawn up,
with quotations of prices, c.i.f., in the Russian currency, etc.*
This must be done before peace is concluded in order that
operations may be begun immediately war is at an end. To
prepare for this contingency it is necessary not to wait for
special boons and advantages in the form of preferential
treatment by Russia, but rather to anticipate a less
profitable issue, for instance, such as the realisation of the peace
programme which the Soviets are advocating—namely, that a
separate understanding with the Customs should not be
concluded ! In such an eventuality Great Britain and India
would have to fight German commercial rivalry in Russia
on equal terms. But, even so, British and Indian enterprise
had the great advantage of being able to prepare for this
emergency when the Germans were excluded from Russia.
By the time that general peace is declared British commerce
should be firmly established in Russia, and in order to
accomplish this no great difficulties need be surmounted, for,
as the Indian Pioneer Mail of September I, 1917, very aptly
puts it : "A very large party in Russia is impressed with
the necessity of definitely severing the German connection."
When I published a letter in the Times of India, in
which I advanced a proposition that trade relations
between England and Russia hoped to receive a new
impetus to the benefit of both countries, this view met with
cordial sympathy, and I received a series of interesting
letters from private individuals and Chambers of Commerce
in India concerning the manner in which it was thought
Indo-Russian trade could be improved. For instance, the
Indian Merchants Chamber and Bureau expressed their
* See chapter ix.
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