Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcvax!kth!draken!tut!santra!lupu!arttu
From: arttu@lupu.hut.fi (Arttu Pekka Laine)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Computers in the Eastern Bloc
Message-ID: <22953@santra.UUCP>
Date: 19 Jun 89 00:42:46 GMT
References: <2717@ndsuvax.uucp> <135900010@cdp>
Sender: news@santra.UUCP
Reply-To: arttu@lupu.hut.fi (Arttu Pekka Laine)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Lines: 62

In article <135900010@cdp> usagdr@cdp.UUCP writes:

>In general, ownership of PC's in socialist countries is limited to official
>organizations, research institutes, universities, hospitals, large economic
>enterprises and, of course, the government.  In the GDR, for example, the
>average citizen can usually find a low-grade commodore at a second-hand store,
>but IBM-compatible PC's are very difficult to obtain.
>On the other hand, I've heard that recently officials in the Soviet Union, 
>Poland and Hungary have begun to allow private citizens to import PCs directly
>from the West.  The one obvious limitation is, naturally, valuta (hard 
>currency).  An $800 PC would simply be unobtainable for the average citizen.

One finnish computer-shop is making nice sales selling PC's to Estonia/USSR.
The owner I personally know, has every day aprox. 2 Estonian clients buying
PC's. The manager is having little difficulties when he is looking for
exact info of exporting computers, but still it is legal to sell those
8086 / 8088 based models to be exported. When dealing with 80286's , I'm not
sure if those are accepted by CoCom and U.S.A , and I think Russians couldn't
buy those anyway becouse of higher prices.

( Btw, Finland is not a full member of COCOM , but we are fully following all
technology exporting limitations to USSR ).

Estonians have a permission to import goods worth of approx. $800 USD when
returning to USSR. So it is possible to buy cheap PC clone with low
expansions. 286 and 386 based are far too valuable to be imported to
USSR legaly, and I think 386 is banned by COCOM and 286 with math-chip as
well, but not with out. Regulations will change all the time so I'm not
sure of the current regulations.

Valuta problem is then another thing to worry:

Estonians are allowed to exchange certain amount of Roubles to
western-currency to be used for living etc.
But that amount is so small that defenetly it's not possible to buy allmost
anything special, I wonder how they are able to stay with that money
at Helsinki, which is very expensive city to live.

Of course there are ways for Russians to have western-curency, ( methods will
be left for student as exersice .. :-)  ).

What I've been noticing, common way to get valid- currency is 
taking a job for a few weeks at Finland, and this applys for Estonians as 
well. Of course to be able to stay aboard from Russia for that time is
another problem, but that is possible to do as well, with connections and
_good_ luck at USSR.

And think, when a guy takes a job for 2 months, earns 20 000FIM (=$4900 USD),
buys a cheap PC, and then goes back to home, having $4000 USD and PC.
You know, somebody is allways swapping no-Roubles to Roubles, with
ratio like 1 USD = 4.4 Roubles.

I sure is possible to collect western-money at USSR as well, but It'll
take time and Roubles. Still that technique is used as well.

I've just ordered one COCOM cataloque of banned goods to USSR, and when I get
it in few days, I'll post those regulations concersing PC's.


Arttu Laine | Helsinki University of Technology, dept of Computer Sience
              INTERNET:  arttu@hupu.hut.fi
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