Evening star., 1960-10-02

SSS'etoIy ot Stute. ne nos JUST fe.
turned from visit to the Soviet Union.
----->-------------
1t xss again my reaction when I
rSAAhed to Leningrad after q
five-year absence.
The big challenge Is not the
military-it is the intellectual and
economic.
We must not delude ourselves
about the general standard of
living in the Soviet Union. That
standard Is not as high as Ameri-
cas-. Even Premier Khrushchev
does not claim Russia viii equal
our living standard until 1870. But
hours of work are decreasing and
the availability of consumer goods
is increasing.
The people jamming the streets
of Leningrad, RuSsia's most
Western" city. seem very "West-
ern" themselves. The young peo-
pie look like American high
school youngsters. Clothes may be
more drab but the crowds are
youthful and animated. They give
no comfort to those American
orators who like to speak of them
as q people ground down by pow
erty and slavery.
The most immediate reaction of
the returning visitor is that Len
ingrad has definitely recovered
from the ravages of the 900-day
siege during the war. Rebuilt and
redecorated, 1t bears out the de-
scription Of the Intourist pamph-
let which is stuffed into the hands
of arriving tourists: "One of the
youngest and most beautiful cities
of the world"
City Without Litter
1t is city without litter-trash
baskets dot the streets. It is a city
without automobile horns-noise-
less. The people are proud of it
and take good care of it. And the
people themselves are trained to
be polite, Two youngish women in
the subway got up to offer their
seats to me and my companion,
a man Of 10. They seemed sur
prised when we refused, and heSi-
tated to sit down again. So-called
"hooliganism," which was getting
a lot Of attention when I was in
Russia five years ago, now seems
well under control.
Everywhere new apartment
houses are going up. I was told
that $4,000 to 10000 new apart
ments are scheduled for this year.
The roofs Of residential buildings
are crowded with television aerials.
There are 10 new movie houses.
(American films such as "Lil,"
War and Peace" and '"The Diary
Of Anne Frank" are hits0 There
are more and better shops, cafe
teriaS and ice cream parlors than
when ] was last here. Very good
grocery stores are open until mid
night, selling caviar, chocolate and
meats. And there is no better
chocolate in the world than the
Russian.
The people are especially proud
Of their new subway system, which
has been operating for about five
years. The subway stations are
Spectacular-shiny, ornate, bril-
liantly hghted-and built deep
underground for ideal air-raid
shelters. The stations are dedi-
Gated to various propaganda OBJ
jectives-their platforms are deco
rated with mosaics and great
bronze sculptures depicting Soviet
prowess in war, labor and tech
nology.
Propaganda Everywhere
The incentive system is In full
swing and aimed at greater and
greater productivity. Outside the
big Kirov ornaments factory are
q couple Of blocks Of huge pictures
Of award winning workers. The
top award is "hero of socialist
labor" and some workers have
won this twice. The prize winning
workers get preferred treatment
on vacations and at the sanatoria.
All this propaganda is constantly
focused on production. There is
no consumer propaganda. This is
just the opposite emphasis from
the United States, with its heavy
use Of advertising to stimulate
consumption.
But other kinds Of propaganda
do pervade the city Of Leningrad.
The newspapers, magazines, radio
and TV are all devoted to what
the government wants the citizens
to hear. So too are the youth
organizations, the museums, the
labor unions and other institutions
OF Soviet life. So drenching is the
propaganda impact that it has a
most oppressive effect on many
American tourists.
This propaganda barrage re-
minds visitors all to clearly that
the Communist challenge is still
the challenge Of ideas. And Com
munist ideas are gaining strength
all the time within the USSR as
economic gains become more Wis
ible, and as Soviet workers and
managers become better educated.
more completely indoctrinated and
better trained for their jobs. This
is the true measure Of the COM
petition we have to face.
Some will interpret evidences
Of improved condition for the con-
sumer as more terrifying than
gratifying. Others believe that a
rising standard of living in the
USSR is major protection
against an aggressive act Of war.
Important it is. believe, for
Americans to realize that life is
not as drab and sordid in the
Soviet Union as some orators tell
us 1t must be in a "slave" economy,
Here are some Of the ways in
which Soviet consumers are bet