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WATER- VENDING
machines abound inside Soviet cities. For one kopeck
(1. 3 cents), a machine dispenses a portian of clear, effervescent water;
for 3 kopecks a customer can have a citrus-flavored version the Russians
ca// limonad.
Paper cups are not used in the resource-conservative country.
A clear drinking glass is available at each machine. After each use, the
customer rinses the glass upside-down over a tiny spigot. Westerners
might consider such a practice " unsanitary. " But one thing is for certain
- the Soviet Union is not being buried under a mountain of waste paper
and other so/id trash.
der. l t was from European soil that
the great Nazi scourge was un–
leashed upon the Soviet heartland.
T his is the reason why Moscow is
pushing so hard to achieve its objec–
tives at the o n-again. off-again Eu–
ropean Security Conference (ESC).
Number one goa l of the Soviet
negot iators a t the ESC is for a ll Eu–
ropean s tates to uncondi tionally rec–
ogn ize the " inviolabilit y of
European border "; to at last give a
s tam p of official a pproval to the So–
viet Unio n's "buffer zone" acquisi–
tions in Eastern Eu rope a l the
conclusion of World War 11.
The terms "European security"
and " inviolabi lity of European bor–
dcrs" crop up repeated ly in official
Soviet literature. Al the airport in
Kiev.
I
picked up a pamphlet trans–
lated into English entitled
European
Securi1y and Peking's l mrigues.
In
it
the au thor ftai led away a t China's
"bclligerence and intractabili ty.' '
The Chinese. according to the book–
let , are trying to undermine détente
in Europe. accusing Moscow o f
merely seeking the confirmation o f
the sta tus quo there in order to con–
centra te larger m ilitary forccs
against Ch ina.
The Technology Gap
Caut ion in the East, security in
the West - these comprise an inter–
twined two t hirds of the Soviet
Union's basic world posture. Butthe
third factor - the need for Western
trade a nd technology - may be as
critica) as the first two combined.
During the decade of the 1960's,
the Soviet Union slipped further
and furt her behind the rapidly ex–
panding economies of the capitalist
world. The situation became so criti–
ca! that by the winter of 1968-69, a
c rash research project was commis–
sioned by the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union to open-mindedly assess thc
deteriora ting situation.
The reports indica ted that the So–
vie t economy had become grossly
inefficient - its productivity was
low, its quality of manufactures
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