Word: sakharov
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...Kremlin officials were disturbed by Sakharov's bold behavior, they did not show their concern. Indeed, Soviet authorities went out of their way to signal a truce with the country's leading human rights activist. When asked at a press conference if Sakharov might be punished for his Afghanistan comment, Yuri Kashlev, a senior Soviet Foreign Ministry official, responded mildly, "I do not see anything bad in this comment by Sakharov. Indeed, our leadership has stated in the past on many occasions that we seek to resolve the problem of Afghanistan as soon as possible." As if to reinforce that...
...Sakharov and Bonner were instantly surrounded by foreign correspondents as the couple stepped off the overnight train from Gorky at 7 a.m. last Tuesday at Moscow's Yaroslavsky Station. For the next 35 minutes, Sakharov patiently fielded questions on the chilly platform. Remarkably, few police officers were in evidence. Usually, any public appearance by a Soviet dissident is well attended by uniformed and plainclothes police, who try to intimidate journalists and passersby. This time no attempt was made to disrupt the impromptu news conference. Nor was there any police stakeout at the couple's tiny seventh-floor apartment on Chkalova...
Still unanswered were questions about Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev's reasons for freeing the couple. When Gorbachev phoned the Sakharovs in Gorky on Dec. 16 to invite them to return to Moscow, he offered few clues. "Gorbachev is a shrewd man, and we may not know yet how shrewd he may have been in this case," says a Western diplomat. "Even if Sakharov takes up where he left off, it is worth...
Certainly Sakharov's release offers Gorbachev some immediate advantages. It eliminates an obvious source of friction in the Soviet leader's dealings with Western politicians, who want Moscow to improve its human rights policies. The move ensures that Sakharov, who at 65 is in delicate health, will not die in exile, a politically embarrassing prospect. Early last month Soviet Dissident Anatoli Marchenko died in prison of a brain hemorrhage following a hunger strike...
...Sakharov's release seems in keeping with Gorbachev's calls for glasnost, or openness. That campaign was evident as the Soviet media promptly reported a major methane-gas explosion that claimed an undisclosed number of lives in a Ukrainian coal mine. Beyond such candor, Gorbachev seeks what he has called a "fresh voice" to provide criticism in the one-party Soviet Union. The Soviet leader may hope that Sakharov will play that role. If not, Sakharov's views may conveniently get lost in the din of glasnost. Gorbachev may further hope that Sakharov will give Moscow's lagging reform agenda...