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Tomsk at the time of which I speak, from July 1st to
October 7th, no less than 30 cases of murder and robbery,
and during another period of three months 58 crimes of the
same kind had been committed!
I have already alluded to the spread of demoralisation
in Siberia caused by the exile system. Another feature of
this is the existence of organised bands of thieves and robbers
under the direction of head-men. Thus there are special
organisations for coining, stealing, and robbing. Sometimes
the police themselves have been found to have a hand in
the matter. The brodyagi are employed by these
organisations, and receive part of the booty as wages for their
work. Thus security to life and property becomes so small
that merchants hardly dare to visit certain regions without
an armed escort. How can commercial progress and
industry thrive under such conditions?
The general state of barbarism and brutality which reigns
in consequence of the exile system has also extended to
the authorities, which, after all, is only what might be
expected. One instance of this I may here quote on the
authority of Yadrintseff. The director of the imperial gold
mines at Kará, one Demidoff, in order to elicit the details
of a case of murder, once tortured the wife of the murderer,
who had voluntarily accompanied her husband into exile,
and on whom the director therefore had no right to inflict
any kind of punishment. Then he also tortured the daughter
of the murderer, a child of 11 years old. Pinioned and
suspended in the air, the poor little girl was flogged from
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