European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                T Evengus a nest had its limits byjoe Hiams United press International munching a slice of pizza alongside la Moscow River dining Al a floating French restaurant or Reading about How Alexander Solzhenitsyn is a terrific writer Moscow just in t whal i used to be. Resuming Aller a 21a-year absence one finds More people have cars. Ira Lilc is heavier but food is scared and the lines to buy it Are longer than Ever. The soviet Union is still a communist society. That is not going to change under Mikhail Gorbachev. Elections might open to have More than one candidate but All will be Good parly members. Mcdonald s May soon have an Rullel on Gorky Streel and american style pizza is popular Bui Tor Ordinary soviets these Aro rare and extravagant ideals. Glasnost. The Freedom to discuss soviet problems openly is she most highly visible change. The brutal Stalin Era is being aired with a vengeance. Open debates on formerly forbidden works of writers such As Solzhenitsyn and Boris Pasternak and Art exhibits that would never have been shown two years ago Are startling results. Announcing a new exhibit in Moscow including previous secret letters of Dic Lalor Josef Stalin the news Agency Tass says on View Are Tare photographs and manuscripts of Boris Pasternak Marina Tsvetaeva and other famous writers and poets whose works were banned and subjected to attacks from official critics. The fact thai the exposition has keen mounted reflects the processes of democratization currently under Way in soviet  thousands land in line for up to five hours at Moscow s youth Palace to see a show by soviet artist Llya Glazunov. Hyped in the press and praised by soviet officialdom it features two huge collages depicting historical and religious Chara Clors one shows the 20th Century and features portraits of Lenin Christ Stalin. John f. Kennedy the beatles. Mick Jagger Albert Einstein Solzhenitsyn Adolf Hitler Mao tse Tung and a prominent blonde nude depicting a moral decline. However glasnost goes Only so far. Moscow news recently praised Solzhenitsyn s work singling out a Day in the Lite Ollivan danish victim As a political  a great literary event and a spiritual and moral  Tass said afterwards hat the publication in the  . Of works by Alexander Solzhenitsyn brought out abroad is nol planned so  ii is obvious that with glasnost and perestroika Cal rupturing Oltha Economy corns problems. Whal has perestroika achieved you ask a Soviel he Point s to a Block Long line at a produce store. That s perestroika he says. Economic writer Yuri Stepanov explains that too much attention is being paid to consumer goods while the Ood problem has became the most acute problem of soviet society not enough attention has been Given to this area until recently,1 he says. The funds Tor the development of its material and technical base were allocated As a Rule after All other allocations were  even to Moscow has become More cosmopolitan. Outdoor cafes Dot City streets. Cooperative restaurants featuring foreign cuisine like Indian and italian Are a must for the soviet version of yuppies. Bui the International restaurants Are expensive. With an average salary of 200 rubles $320 monthly they Are nol exactly designed Lor the working class the Backbone of Soviel society for foreigners the Choice is even More appetizing a japanese re Laurant in the  hotel and a floating French restaurant in a Large yacht in the adjacent Moscow River but packs an awesome punch in the Wallet. An excellent dinner for two can Cost More than $300. Then there is american pizza run by . Soviets got a Watts of american pizza from a Mobile pizzeria the result of b joint venture be Tami Muht Jersey company and the .. Entrepreneurs from a Large truck that sets up business at Gorky Park or in the Lenin Hills or outside a foreigners hotel. Ii is or the Western palate the real thing thin crust melted cheese and spicy extras. At purely soviet locations Consumers pay in rubles Al foreigner oriented Biles Ilia hard currency Only. Pepperoni onions sausage or jus Plain cheese the pizza is sold by the slice or whole. But at $2 a slice it s not much of a bargain. In Poland humor is a Way of survival by Rolf soderl1nd United press International a ought rain fell on the parking lot where Aman was repairing his Rusty Polski Fiat common scene in Poland where people have to put up with second Rale products that keep breaking Down. For a West european who has corns to Warsaw about every other year since the 1980 social upheaval briefly brought Hope of True Reform Hitte has changed today the smell Al Warsaw s Owecie Airport for example where passport officials in military uniforms carefully scrutinize new arrivals. 11 reeks of stale old furniture and cheap cigarette smoke. In the streets dust from heavy Industry mixes Wilh the Sharp odor1 of Fulfur dioxide and Lead from Tow Quality soviet gasoline fumes spewing from the exhaust pipes of obsolete engines. Open signs of poverty Are still there in the capital of a stale whose social system was supposed to be Superior to the Market Economy of the West. Now the communist ideologists Are trying to Reform the Economy but people Are not ready to make sacrifices for a government thai has lost credibility. Walling in a parking lot for a taxi you get a Chance to develop some of he stoic philosophical patience that is a Musl for anyone who has to line up for hours to buy food. More foodstuffs Are available now than several years ago when grocery store shelves in this european heartland were nearly bars due to Lack of supplies and hoarding. But nol even precious ration coupons will buy Many poles meal today. One notable change is that one Dollar Poland s unofficial currency is now Worth Over 2,000 Loties on the illegal Black Market up from 7dq Loties two years ago in an inflationary backward Economy where the official currency won t buy you much anyway the Greenback can Only Rise. Inflation theoretically unknown in a communist state now stands at 60 percent according to official figures. At a recent emergency meeting of the communist party Central committee to Deal with the latest unrest in Poland one speaker threatened to go to the Hack Market and change Loties for dollars so he could buy toilet paper at the nearest Western currency Pewee store. Toilet paper is Seldom available in supermarkets. Even at the pews where the government Sells Western goods for Western currency to teed ils $39 billion foreign debt it is a rarity. In the parking lot half an hour passes and still no taxi. The Man working on his car puts on a Raincoat against the drizzle. Across the Road is an Aulo repair shop its name painted in Bleak red on the Bland Concrete Wall a Mechanic saunters across a Yard full of Potski fits in need of repair a military Van and a dirty truck rumble by on Iho bumpy Asphalt Road. Two taxis Speed past their Drivers Blind to attempts to Flag them Down although they carry no passengers. As time passes it becomes like one of those intellectual movies where tiny details push the Story slowly toward an end the director is still struggling to invent. Or perhaps like a bizarre comedy by Jacques Tali. Humor is a Way of survival in a system that everyone agrees is impossible. Behind the parking lot is a group of five Story apart men houses partly hidden behind Trees. Ii is one of the better districts in Warsaw but balconies Are cracking and chunks of Concrete Are missing from the Walls. A Little girl stares out the window Over the empty Concrete playground a Rusty slide in the Conler. There is a sense of apathy stemming from a feeling that nobody is going to fix the problems because most citizens have gone Inlo pm Igracia new Netrina or inner emigration. The taxi never did come. A Type Market manager Marks up Gooda from an official Price list Paga 16 the stars and stripes sunday october 23.1988