Soviet Policy Initiatives Examined at Conference

Since coming to power in 1984, Mikhail S. Gorbachev has implemented a wide range of successful programs to improve the quality of life for Soviet citizens, scholars said yesterday at a conference analyzing the Soviet premier's leadership.

The conference, which is sponsored annually by the Russian Research Center and the Nieman Foundation, discussed Gorbachev's social and political initiatives, including those in education, science and technology, and alcohol abuse.

"The concept of Glasnost is exciting, and it shows the possibility of dynamics where there have been no dynamics for years," said speaker David E. Powell, a fellow it the Russian Research Center. "It is wonderful for the Soviet citizens as it allows them access to cultural experiences they have been denied and brings them more in touch with the world and the Westerners."

Entitled "The Soviet Union Under Mikhail Gorbachev: On the Road to the Summit and The Seventieth Anniversary of the October Revolution," the all-day lecture series was held to promote contact between the academic and journalistic worlds and to inform journalists of the state of U.S. relations with the Soviet Union, participants said.

Nearly 100 people attended the conference, which was organized by Marshall I. Goldman, associate director of the Russian Research Center and held in the Faculty Club.

Great advances have been made in combating illiteracy in the Soviet Union, according to Walter D. Connor, a fellow at the Research Center and professor of Political Science and Sociology at Boston University.

"There is now compulsory schooling; the urbanpopulation is being much better educated; thereare special schools for math and sciences; andthere are even special schools where all theteaching is done in English or Japanese," Connorsaid.

Gorbachev has also significantly reducedalcohol abuse in his country, Powell said.

Since the Soviet leader introduced a 1985program to cut down on drinking, legal drinking inthe U.S.S.R. has decreased by about 50 percentHowever, illegal drinking--which constitutes 25percent of the nation's alcohol problem--hasincreased by 40 percent, according to Powell.

"Since Gorbachev's reform, life expectancy hasincreased, and there have been fewer birthdefects," largely as a result of a decrease inalcohol consumption, Powell added.

Gorbachev's strong support for Sovietscientific research is closing the technologicalgap between the two superpowers, according toProfessor of the History of Science Loren R.Graham, who also holds a teaching position at MIT.

Graham said the issue of technology and scienceis "of central concern to Gorbachev, because nocountry can keep superpower status withoutconstant improvement in these areas."

Although computer production is increasing inthe Soviet Union as a result of Gorbachev'sinitiatives, microcomputers are still notavailable for personal use in the Soviet Union, hesaid. The government gives priority to schools andgovernment offices over individuals and wants todeny citizens the means of easily printingunderground papers, Graham said.

These new Soviet policies raise many questionsfor American scholars, according to Mark N.Kramer, a Kukin Fellow at the Center forInternational Affairs. "You need to ask ifGorbachev will be around to implement his program,if it will work, how the Soviets will adapt, andif it is in our interest to have Gorbachevsucceed," he said.

"Some experts argue that it is in our [U.S.]interest to have a revived economy, while othersbelieve that if the economy revives, there will bea base for military expansion," Kramer said