European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 23, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Grandmothers pitch in \ to take can of the kids Wotan \ both parents Are at War. In Kazakhstan life is harsh and  by Philip Taubman new York Elmast he bold red and White slogans plastered on fences and building facades in the Central asian cily of Semipalatinsk Are True to the gospel of Mikhail s. Gorbachev of Tolore of economic management is lha Linchpin of  increase democracy the of Hora Lions May to More contemporary than hoary Calls to build communism or glory to the communist parly but they Bear no Mora connection to the drab reality of life in Semipalatinsk than their tarnished antecedents. The Urban and Industrial Center of a vast Region of nearly uninhabited Steppo in a soviet Republic of Kazakhstan Semipalatinsk re Lleces the seemingly intractable economic and social problems thai have frustrated Gorbachev s efforts to revitalize his country. Apparently be the siberian cily of Krasnoyarsk where Gorbachev was greeted in recent Days with complaints Aboul shortages of food and other consumer goods. Semipalatinsk has seen Little improvement in the Quality of life since the soviet Leader began his Campaign to change the country three and 3 Hall years ago. Like Many other soviet cities Semipalatinsk is a harsh unforgiving place thai provides citizens with new 1 amenities and subjects them to hardships thai seem All the Krueler no that Mora and More information about better living conditions in the West and even Eastern Europe 11 available to citizens once a Frontier Gateway for development of the Remote Southeastern Corner of Kazakhstan an area of empty Prairie and rugged Hills he City of 300,000 people retains a hardscrabble appearance an amalgamation of drab Concrete buildings and belching factories that seems As cold As the Winter winds that sweep across the Steppes. The residents Are not about to Rovoll or do much More than complain. They have Learned to live with Bare store shelves rationed meat crowded communal apartments endless waiting lists for telephones and cars an absence of cultural institutions and serious air pollution. But Gorbachev has stirred their expect Lions Wilhour delivering a tangible improvement in their lives a Gap that has the potential Over Lime to undermine his leadership and throw the Wisdom of his programs into doubt. For the moment Gorbachev clearly Hopes to turn the disenchantment in his favor by citing citizen frustration As evidence that Moro intensive efforts Are needed to revive the Economy. Even before the Krasnoyarsk trip the daily miseries of soviet life the Long Linos shoddy goods and meager food supplies to name a Lew wore emerging As an important theme in his criticism of the legacy of decades of rigid Rule. For Alia a Young Lex Lite worker in , and her husband Yuri the problems Are a con Slang source of frustration. The couple have lasted a bit of Western life in encounters with foreigners in Moscow and other Urban centers and they want More of what they have seen. We have a Little glasnost but no perestroika in Semipalatinsk Alia said As she walked with an american visitor on the embankment of the Irtysh River a wide shallow waterway that divides the cily. She was referring to Gorbachev s campaigns to relax controls on expression and to restructure the Economy. There s so Holte in the stores she Well on. The chemical plan and other factories make the air unsafe to breathe. There s nothing Here or Young people to  she and Yuri reported that the biggest cultural sensation of recent months was the screening of the original version of King Kong at the local Cinema. Alia makes 90 rubles a month or $143, As a seamstress working eight hours a Day live Days a week. Yuri said he was unemployed. The couple live with Yuri s Molher in a two room apartment in an aging iwo Story building that they said was in disrepair Alia said they can each buy 22 pounds of meat a month Hall thai much sausage and less Ihan a Pound of Buller when it is available which is not Ollen. Tho food problem perhaps the greatest source of frustration to soviet citizens and a continuing embarrassment to Gorbachev was apparent during several Quick walking hours of downtown Semipalatinsk the grocery store on Gorky Streel was All but closed Tor repairs leaving shoppers 1o select Irons milk eggs smoked fish Heads and Salami. The meal shortage is particularly galling to local residents because the cily is Homo to a number of meat packing plants and the surrounding Region supports a sizable Call la Industry. Similar paradoxes abound in the irrational soviet Economy where agricultural products produced in one Region Are often distributed to Consumers alter considerable spoilage in areas thousands of Miles away. Other shortages Are also visible in Semipalatinsk a downtown clothing store offered a limited variety of poorly made unfashionable attire leaving customers to pick through bins of unwanted shirts and pants. Compared to Many Scripa Talinsky residents Alia and Yuri live reasonably Well. Their apartment has indoor plumbing something missing from the rows of Delapi dated wooden houses throughout the cily. Ethnic frictions while relatively minor compared with other regions of the country have increased in Semipalatinsk As the kazakh majority has chalet Al russian domination. Residents said there was a Brief outbreak of anti russian protests in december 19b6atlcr iwo Days of rioting in Alma Ata the capital of Kazakhstan. Ii makes us uneasy to be a russian Here sometimes Alia said. The arrival of americans in Semipalatinsk in recent months a nuclear lest on sept 14 Al the nearby Semipalatinsk test Range brought americans to the cily for the first Lime has Given the Community sudden visibility but also Lesley the limits of change. The fourth floor of the Irtysh hotel has been spruced up or the visitors Wilh television Sels placed in each room and the snack bar supplied with Vodka sandwiches and pastries. The local Branch of the Kab was apparently overcome with curiosity about visiting american correspondents. Returning to the hotel unexpectedly Early from the nuclear test an american co respondent discovered two men in his room inspecting his address Book. Quickly throwing some equipment into a briefcase they bolted from the room without a word. They Haven t had much exposure to foreigners Here a soviet official from Moscow said apologetically tha incident seemed symptomatic of local limits on glasnost. The main Semipalatinsk newspaper Irtysh appears almost untouched by the Candor thai has become popular in the Moscow press. The absence of aggressive reporting hardly provokes the kind of frustration that empty stores produce and the surreptitious inspection of a foreigner s address Book does not affect local residents but they do Rell ocl a continuing rigidity in Semipalatinsk thai can have a chilling Impact. It s forbidden to talk to Loi Eigners. You know Alia said As she and her husband sough the Sanctuary of a secluded Park Bench. Sunday october 23, 1988 the stars an d stripes Page 17