Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 13, 1990 TAG: 9003133225
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES HIGHER EDUCATION WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Gerasimov, also chief press secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense, will address the successes and failures of Gorbachev's wide-ranging reform program - one that gives Soviets unprecedented personal freedoms but has failed to produce basic food and consumer goods.
According to a university statement issued Monday, Gerasimov likely will focus on:
Guarantees the Soviet Union's liberalization policies will continue, thus reassuring U.S. corporations that any investments in Soviet markets will be assured.
Changes U.S. policy-makers may have to make to accommodate - even facilitate - glasnost and perestroika, the buzzwords most often associated with the political and economic reforms.
Evolution of the Soviet military as it watches Eastern European countries loosen their ties to Moscow and pursue their own course of political development.
Ways that U.S. young people, such as college students, can respond to the changes being wrought in the Soviet Union.
President James McComas, calling Gerasimov "an important figure" in the Soviet government, said the 8 p.m. speech in Burruss Hall "will be a good opportunity for the Virginia Tech community to gain an insight of the events taking place across Eastern Europe."
"His visit also underscores the commitment, . . . Tech has to bringing to campus speakers of national and international caliber," he said in a statement. Gerasimov's appearance is sponsored by the university's Distinguished Speaker Series.
Gerasimov's speech will be preceded by a news conference, officials said.
Before joining the Foreign Ministry, Gerasimov was editor of Moscow News, which is published primarily for foreigners. From 1972 to 1978, he was a correspondent for the Novosti Press Agency in New York. He also worked as an international relations reporter for Trud, or Labor, and as editor of both New Times and World Marxist Review in Moscow.
by CNB