Beasts in Cassocks: The Crimes of the Heads of the Russian Greek Catholic Orthodox Church in America/Chapter 26
CHAPTER XXVI.
I Land at the "Che-Ka" (Extraordinary Commission)
Since I was no longer with the active army, I was appointed manager of the factory, which had formerly belonged to my uncle, M. A. Dudikoff, in the district of Lipovetz, Government of Kiev. A couple of weeks later, in the same month of October, Kiev was recaptured by Petrula and the Poles. Governments came and went at the rate of almost three a day. I worked at the factory all the time, most conscientiously. In Janray, 1919, I was taken ill with spotted typhus and spent six weeks in the hospial. One day, Platon's friend Lubinsky and Siemashkevich came to the hospital. They passed my cot, transfived me with their glance, but did not stop, apparently in order not to give themselves away. At about two or three steps from my cot. Lubinsky said to Siemashkevich: "That's he." Both of them had also found positions with "Sovnarchoz" (Council of People's Economy). I understood that Platon's men were following me.
On February 6, 1919, the Soviet Armies once more cleaned Kiev of the Poles and Petlura's Bands. I was still a patient at the hospital when a Soviet Committee came there. Colonel Muravyov approached me, introduced himself, and asked whether I was Dudikoff. He also inquired of the nurse whether I could sit up. She replied, "No." Then turning to me, the Colonel asked: "Were you arrested and. if so, why?" I replied that I had been arrested and had reason to believe because of an order and false information furnished by a certain person. "Yes, we know," said Muravyov. "And who is this person, isn't it Platon Rozhdestvensky?" I confirmed this, and Colonel Muravyov reassured me and told me that most of the documents in my case against Platon were with the General Staff. "Well, don't worry, Dudikoff," he said, "we will find the Metropolitan for you."
Soon afterwards I was discharged from the hospital and went back to my post. I was warned that I had a number of enemies among Platon's followers, and that they were circulating false rumors and doing all in their power to harm me. I knew who those enemies were. They were the very same psrsons who had, togther with Platon, obtained my signature and sent assansins to kill my children; the same persons, on whose false evidence I was arrested; the same persons, two of whom had come to see me at the hospital.
When I returned to the factory, I found that there was no money in the cash-box, and there were no funds from which to pay the workmen. I telephoned to the "Sovnarchoz" and they told me to call for the money, also that they had set apart 18,000,000 rubles for my pay roll. I went for the money by myself, without guards and took along my own 3,500,000 rubles. I arrived at Kiev in a phaeton, which was stopped by two bandits—one wore a mask, the other was so rouged and powdered, that his make-up looked like a mask. They levelled their revolvers at me, and took my money and my gun. As they were making their getaway, I began to shout. Four soldiers came running to my aid and fired at the robbers. One of them was killed on the spot, the other escaped. The soldiers found my money on the man they had killed, took it off his body, and led me to the Lukianov Precinct Police Station. I was released the next day by the manager of the "Sovnarchoz." My money was returned to, me, and the robbery entered on the station blotter. After this, I secured guards, and having received the 18,000,000 rubles in Petlura notes returned to the factory. The workmen refused to accept Petlura money, and sent me back for imperial rubles. I went back, exchanged the notes, secured a guard, and left for the factory. We reached the station safely, but no carriage had been sent to meet us. To walk with such a sum of money, at night into the bargain, would have been sheer madness. Petlura's bands were only three versts away on one side and the Poles seven versts on the other. My guard suggsted that we spnd the night in a nearby inn, and I acted upon his advice. We ate some dry bread as black as earth and went to sleep, both in the same room. I put the valise with the money unded the bed, and no matter how hard I tried to keep awake, I was so tired that before long I was fast asleep.
When I awoke the next morning I immediately took my valise from under the bed. It looked as if it had not been touched, but when I opened it I was horrified—instead of notes there was sand. My guard was fast asleep. I awakened him, showed him the valise, but he was not perturbed. He said: "Fine work." Following this I was arrested, and put into prison, but soldiers soon came, opened the gates, and set all the prisoners free. About twenty minutes later, one of those who had originally arrested me, met me and asked: "Why are you roaming here? Weren't you arrested?" I told him what had happened and he ordered me to follow him back into prison, but before I could move he was shot on the spot by a soldier of one of Petlura's regiments. Soon after that Petlura's troops were driven out, I was re-arrested and taken to the "Che-Ka" (Extraordinary Com-