European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 31, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Above Linos like this one at a Moscow perfume store seem to be everywhere and Many citizens Are complaining. At right Dimitri who would t give his last name called for new leadership. Speaking out in . By no Mzeigler Irah outdoor writer gone in the  when soviets had nothing but Praise it it1.ist in Public for i hi1 glorious works of the Sot  revolution. The people we me1 were As critical ind eager to speak out As anyone you would meet on the Street in the United states. Nearly everyone acknowledged that under Gorbachev there is More Freedom of speech. The brutal suppression of dissent seems All but gone. " i Here is a democracy now said Ivan Bozhinov a 23 year old student at Leningrad University. Nineteen year old Polina Belikova another student agreed. Five years ago we never speak about politics she said. Then it might have meant interrogation a ruined career or even imprisonment As an enemy of the state. Now students often have political discussions with their professors. Only occasionally did we encounter someone who would talk at length but then decline to give his or her last name. After More than 70 years the old fear of the Knock on the door in the night the one Way trip to the gulag Dies hard. The opinions expressed covered a fairly Broad muscovites gather in Pushkin Square to debate National and International issues. Political spectrum. This is amazing in a country that Only a few years ago ruthlessly enforced the philosophy that there is Only one Correct View. Most of the people we talked to favored the changes made by Gorbachev but few were Strong in their support for him personally. When asked what they thought of their president most were noncommittal or used the English phrase  Many said the changes he has made Aren t enough and such discontent seemed to Cross professional and educational lines. Among those we met support for the communist party was nonexistent. Many were disillusioned with politicians and with the system in general. In Leningrad 19-year-old Andrei adj nov a student at the Leningrad electro technical Institute said he likes Gorbachev More than other top politicians but does t like any of them very much. He called perestroika Good but not very and said More changes must be made. Kyrill Solon Ian 20, a student at Leningrad University was More negative about the soviet president. I m not sure i like him he said. I think we need another  in Moscow s Pushkin Square the traditional gathering place for political debates we met Alexander Kononuk a plumber who said he does t like Gorbachev or any  Kononuk called perestroika an ideological Bluff and asserted that there Are still Many political  Dimitri a specialist for robotic machinery in Moscow said he wants new leadership but not to Speed up change. He favors Igor Migachev Gorbachev s most formidable conservative opponent. When asked who else he likes Dimitri said Nicholas ii the last Czar. His reason is that the soviet Union was a great Empire then. Natasha Akhmetova our i tourist guide in Moscow has mixed feelings about the process of change. It has Many Good sides perestroika glasnost Freedom. But it also has some bad things All the shortages crime is  but she expressed optimism for the future and support for Gorbachev. Belikova said things Are better but Only in some ways. It is True we can discuss some things. There is much More criticism. But i Don t think it is right to be Happy Only with  she said socialism and communism have failed and must be scrapped because it is not useful to make some changes in the system. I think it must be eliminated because it is the general source of our  As for the communists she had a harsh and unequivocal prescription for change i think the party now is in a state of agony. And i Hope it will collapse. All of my friends think the same  a visitor gets the feeling that the country is on the threshold of monumental change or collapse. For ironically the dramatic improvements in political freedoms have been paralleled by an equally dramatic deterioration in the Economy. Both in Moscow and Leningrad people spoke of fewer goods deteriorating Quality longer lines. On Gorky Street Moscow s fifth Avenue people stood in line for meat that most americans would t feed to their dogs. The lines were longest at those few stores that sold Western products Estee Lauder and Christian dior on Gorky Street. Outside a store for imported shoes on Moscow s Mira Prospect was a three Block line that Akhmetova said was permanent. It s part of the  but the world class line was at the new Mcdonald son Pushkin Square. And the Black Market the most reliable source for scarce consumer goods is flourishing. Akhmetova said the attitude of Young people is that change can t come fast  impatience with the rate of change and guarded Hope for the future were characteristic of nearly All of the Young people we met. Perhaps Belikova said it Best i Hope it the future will be a time when things turn to the right Way and people will be Happy Here and the culture will be reborn. And Hope it will be a time when people will be Happy to stay  but for some the Hope is tinged with apprehension. And a few like Solon Ian Are pessimistic i have Little Hope about it he said. I Don t think things can be changed  a few fear that the conservatives under Migachev will regain control. If that happens it will be like stalinism was said Bozhinov. 8 stripes Magazine May 31, 1990