European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 07, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Saturday. December 7, 1985letters to the editor soviet style by Alison male associated press s Oviet citizens wit complaints about consume services or their Bosses orthoses who want to confess Skinner agony will Likely do at least one thing write n letter writing a letter is a Way of me in the soviet Union where the bureaucracy nets Only on written directives and demands Handwritten forms and statements of baffling complexity for something As simple As issuing a traffic ticket with the Telephone to a ctr capricious and still underdeveloped the letter is the Ordinary i i in s Chinnel to the remote1 officials who Are Nouv i by responsible for every aspect of daily life some of the . I who petition the bureaucracy Addrece themselves directly to the ministry court or Othor authority responsible for their sphere of complaint others write to newspapers which sometimes set off on Public campaigns by publishing letters on a particular Issue. As the writer s Union weekly literary Gazette found out last year Many letters May go unanswered for weeks or months As each bureaucratic department tries to blame another for the writer s problem. Although the Law requires that every letter be answered some complaints simply go unread and Are handled with a Standard and wholly irrelevant reply. Unsigned letters May be ignored. Such Anonymous letters Anonym i Are often used to defame an unpopular supervisor or neighbor. In line with the glasnost or openness advocated by Mikhail s. Gorbachev since he became the communist party s Leader in March the ruling politburo has denounced unsigned letters. Grudges now Are Suppo and to be aired openly in Runny cases that Means a Letler to a newspaper every newspaper has a depart int to Deal with mail which at some National papers exceeds 1.000 letters a Day at the daily Trade Union newspaper trud for example a whole department of lawyers is assigned to answer letters from any the paper s 15 million readers who seeks help in wringing Perrons or other benefits from the bureaucracy. The new Call for open discussion Means readers letters often Are a starting Pont for Public Dircus or action to improve service sometimes the d cushions arc in re from above. In the conent by pinot a m. Cd Dicely a i f.,i. it i1? \ i in or. Raj i he govt n nor t Campa in no Jung in the piers Somo incr. or lottery ro.,p? r which Haw Noi been d sculpted and of an Exchange of of
