Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site decwrl.DEC.COM Path: utzoo!lsuc!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-elwood!simon From: simon@elwood.DEC (Product Safety 237-3521) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion.jewish Subject: Re: Soviet Jews Message-ID: <853@decwrl.DEC.COM> Date: Fri, 31-Jan-86 18:12:19 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.853 Posted: Fri Jan 31 18:12:19 1986 Date-Received: Thu, 6-Feb-86 21:57:45 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.DEC.COM Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Lines: 101 Xref: lsuc net.politics:3164 net.religion.jewish:1799 >Is there anything that we can do to help more people leave the country? Actually, not much can be done. The Russian government, however much it needs Western grain and hi-tech, continues to claim that Jewish emigration is the Soviet internal affair. Or they lie that there no more Jews in the Soviet Union who want to leave. And the "refusniks" are those who had access to the military secrets. Of course in some cases the pressure from the US officials can help, and the example of it could be the visa for Sakharov's wife, Yelena Bonner, to visit the US. On the other hand such a pressure is the only way to help the people out of that county. The back side of the problem is the people themselves. Many refusniks do not want any attention, they want to keep low profile. Like me, who was fired from my job (not to work there is crime punishable by law), I didn't want the police noticing me and asking questions about my job. Some people are afraid that if they are considered by the authorities "troublemakers", they will never be allowed to leave exactly for that. Please keep in mind that the Soviet Union is the country without law, the government actions can not be contested. >Could you tell us about the Nomenklatura? Nomenklatura is a phenomena unknown to a democratic society. It is a bunch of people who got to some level of power. Once getting there, they get all the benefits: High salaries, good apartments, special grocery distributors, cars, sea resorts and anything you can think of. And because of that they depend on each other. And they cover each other. So once they get there, they are there for good. Unless a major turmoil happens, which wasn't the case for almost 70 years, until last year when Gorbachev took over. >What do the Russians think of Gorbatchev? Is he going to liberalize >the Soviet Union or is he prisonner of the system like all the others >members of the Polit Buro? What is his past? Did he have to >get dirty hands to access to power? Unfortunately, I cannot say much about Gorbachev. I left the Soviet Union four years ago. But one thing I am sure about is that the structure of the system is such that nobody can get there getting dirty hands. That's the system itself. >I post this just having seen portions of the "A Citizen's Summit", an hour long >discussion between Americans in Seattle, WA, and Russians in Leningrad. It was >moderated by Phil Donahue (in Seattle) and a Russian television man, Vladimir >... (I don't recall his last name). When at college, and working for college Young Communist League organization (was still too stupid at the age of 18) I know how meetings like that get organized by the Russians. The participants are selected very carefully. They are told what to say in various situations. They are told what to answer. ("Never mind Jewish emigrations, what about racial discrimination in your American cities!"). From my previous article you know that it is impossible to resist, one has to say that. It is not a secret for you that many clergy is cooperating with authorities and KGB, so you saw them also in the hall. Having lived 30 years in Moscow I did not see a single priest anywhere outside of a church, and there were a few of them at this meeting! When in the previous articles I referred to "useful idiots", I talked about people in the US who organize such meetings. Did you noticed that the Americans criticized a lot the US and were very careful about saying something "wrong" about Russia? Did you also notice that the Russians did exactly the same: criticized the USA and did not say anything bad about the Soviet Union? Can you imagine a country where there is not a single problem exists?! What a great place for the Soviet propaganda! The Soviet moderator, Vladimir Pozner (sp?), is a guy who knows America very well, he was born here, lived many years in New York, one of his parents is American. (There was an article about him in the Boston Globe). When on ABC Nightline show, where he is a frequent guest, he defended downing of the Korean airliner ("it was a spy plane"), Olympic boycott by the Russians ("the US government organized anti-Soviet demonstrations and doesn't do anything to prevent terrorism against Russian athletes"), etc. He and Phil Donahue, what a match! >I, for one, would like to >know more of the atrocities that the Russian government commits against our >brethren. It would be very educational for all of us; more so for those who >have not heard any of the horror stories. There is a lot to tell, but it already got too long. Next time. --- Leo B. Simon Digital Equipment Corp. 333 South St. Shrewsbury MA, 01545 (617)841-3521 DTN 237-3521 Mail Stop SHR-4/D26 UUCP ...decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-elwood!simon ARPA simon%elwood.DEC@decwrl.ARPA You realize of course that all of the above does not have anything to do with my employer.