European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 16, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Profile Nagorski a look inside a closed society by John Windrow Magazine editor considering How ruthless repressive and powerful the government of the soviet Union is Andrew  did i Superior reporting Job there. That is until they threw him out. No Gorsli now in wet Elk s correspondent in Bonn was the Maga Ine s Man in Moscow arriving in May of i Jih. He spoke , was t  to push his reporting to  he considered the Legal limits and had a determination of find Oul Riboul soviet sol iely from people who would talk Wjt Hoot Panfi Ianiro approval r be listed until ainu. Of 1 m3, his Book about his experiences has been pah listed by Holl.  and wins no. Enlik re i list   Ivow. A  ," Nar ski said during. Re Tell inti min in Honn Lnu Lind nut How people feel .1011   did  and much More. He interviewed people who were Irvinn to work for peace fur pol lit in in i dim or trying to emigrate t Eolk who risked being sent to prison or mental  by talking in him on he iciephoik1 or in Cutini him " i he  to mental stress fur any Lor respondent he , is cheques Linn if you  done everything possible in Prou v t soviets Schnare your friends  or . I Dou l think the answer is to shul yourself off to people. Lle Tause you re hurling people to shul yourself off. My solution a is to maintain the level of disc Relin  they Tell was appropriate. 11 was their let Ision to be seen Widi me or not to meet Wilh me or nol ii they be Ihnut in through Narf want to con acl you you should in in. H s in your Ink rest too to maintain the contacts to gel a broader picture of Soviel  a  picture than the restricted word allowed correspondent who Slick to Moscow is whal Nagorski went after. He travelled to , Lithuania to see if the resistance sparked by the Solidarity Mavern enl in Poland was spreading to suppressed ethnic ind National groups in Llu soviet Union. He went to the Black sea resort of Sochi and filed on corruption and Grafl among government officials. In the provincial capital of Vul Fouada a Well known Dairy Region with no Buller on the store shelves he detailed How the Standard of living in the Small cities outside of Moscow ind Leningrad was declining because of the failures of the Soviel Economy. In Tallin Estonia he interviewed local faceless citizens caught up in passive resistance to a ossification that was erasing the area s National identity. In the Central asian Republic of Tajikistan he found that moslem areas were allowed a greater degree of religious Freedom than other sections. He  fear of raising islamic passions in areas close to Afghanistan where the soviets have been waging War for years. Bui he found no widespread discontent about the War. They the soviets May nol win hearts and minds Nagorski says but they Are very Good Al making people think there s no alternative to passive  the picture Nagorski paints of Soviel life is a Bleak one a familiar one. He describes in vital human terms the constant surveillance the ruthless suppression of dissent the intense feeling of ageless Ness people experience when they know anyone can drop out of sight and nol be heard from again. In his Book Nagorski recounts How one Man approached him and wanted to Tell his Story How he had become politically suspect was demoted and harassed. All this May seem quite banal to you the Man said i am no one important and i realize an american publication like yours will nol write about Andrew Nagarski Newsweek correspondent who was expelled from the soviet Union. Me because there Are too Many other things to write about but 1 wanted to be known i wanted you to know me. People who Are not known can. Disappear in this country without a  Nagorski exercised a in Al unwanted Power As a f or respondent in the soviet Union. A meeting or a conversation Wilh him could change people s lives enormously. In the soviet Union you can make yourself available to people who wan to speak to you he says. By reporting stories about them or even just meeting Alliese people their cases can like on More import Jacc in the soviet system. This can have positive and  Ive consequences. Some Jet locked up. Of thurs feel their co Nials helped them. At least they cannot be forgotten after they go to  positive and negative. Nagorski went to interview a Man named Adolph Muhlberg who had been trying t leave the soviet Union All his adult life. The Day Nagorski walked into Muhlberg s House two soviet officials were waiting in the living room to say the emigration visa had been granted. Others who Tonia cled Nagorski peace activists or people protesting the Lack of human rights were arrested and sent to prison Camps or psychiatric hospitals. Nagorski met with two projection Isle at Gostino the soviet state film organization who had been fired because they applied to emigrate. They Lold h Imphal while most soviet citizens were never allowed to see Western films elite officials flocked to View them Al Gostino where seating and what films could be viewed were organized strictly according to rank. Dirty Harry and no Ura size a French italian film about a dentist who used a life sized rubber doll were big hits. Nagorski filed the Story. Later his sources were committed to a menial Hospital. They were allowed to leave the country after anole or Wesley correspondent wrote a Story about them. In his Book a Gorsli does t go easy on Many of his fellow correspondents. Some of them arc ill prepared he says arriving in Moscow speaking Little or no russian. They have to rely on interpreters provided by the authorities who Are Quick to report on any malcontents who meet with Western reporters. Tie Lack of speaking the native language in the West is Only a technical difficulty he says but in the soviet Union it s i rippling. The translator works for the government and even if he does to the people you re interviewing Wilt suspect it. You re cutting off your contacts Wilh unofficial sources of  he also says reporters Are allowed a comfortable elite existence in Moscow and the number of official a lyrics dealing Wilh arms control or  relations Are plentiful assuring that correspondents will have plenty to file without trying to Contact Ordinary soviet citizens. And then the a is fear fear of a Frame up to discredit a reporter of the unknown of explosion or arrest As in the Case of Nicholas Daniloff. The . News & world report correspondent who was arrested accused of spying and imprisoned for h Days. He was eventually released sept. 29. Nagorski knew Daniloff in Moscow. There s no doubt whatever that Daniloff was set up he says. Aside from knowing him if you examine How Daniloff was arrested it was right after Gennady Zakharov s arrest Zakharov a soviet employee of the United nations was arrested in new Vork by the Fri for spying. The circumstances were set up to parallel Zakharov s arrest in new York. If Daniloff had been a spy Given the intense Kab surveillance of correspondents a correspondent who had been there five years hey would have nabbed him much  finally they nabbed Nagorski. He was accused of impermissible methods of journalistic activities and expelled after 15 months of trying to dig beneath the official statements the official lies and get his Story he was promptly expelled. I d like to go Back Nagorski says to report and to see the people 1 know. The people i miss. But in seems like a pretty academic question at the moment if they had any doubts Abou my Case before they were Laid to rest by my  editor s note reluctant farewells available in stars angst Riff bookstores. 20  Toto bar is jsb6