
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 27, 1991                   TAG: 9103270404
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JACK ATWELL
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

RUSSIA: CHANGING FOR THE WORSE

There was remarkably little snow in Moscow this winter. January is usually the coldest month in Russia. But this year, under a bright sun and with temperatures in the 40s, even the Kremlin seemed to be a cheerful place.

The sunny aspect of the city was not matched by the mood of its citizens. Foreign visitors have often noted how infrequently Russians smile. This year they have even less to smile about.

Standing on Red Square opposite the Kremlin, the large department store called GUM was dark and its doors were locked. I was told that it was closed because it had almost nothing to sell.

At the state food stores there were perpetual lines of shoppers. There was very little to buy. After we had finished lunch one day at the Cosmos Hotel, one of my friends returned for some gloves she had left. She found the waiters eating off the plates that we had been using.

There are signs of economic distress everywhere. The state stores have nothing to offer, and the free markets that exist in all of the large cities are far too expensive for most people. My friend, Irina, is 60, and she receives a pension of 120 rubles a month. One watermelon costs 80 rubles at the free market.

The ruble is rapidly becoming almost worthless. The official exchange rate is now six rubles to one dollar. The black-market rate is 25-1. Most restaurants that are still open will not accept rubles. They want only valuta or foreign currency - preferably dollars. The ruble buys so little that many people scrounge for foreign currency any way they can. There appear to be many more prostitutes than there were a few years ago.

One thing I had never seen before in Russia was a beggar. This year they were everywhere. As soon as I got through customs at the Sheremetevo Airport a small woman with a tiny baby was tugging on my coat and begging for money. She was followed by many others.

Other signs of deterioration were thievery and street crime. I had never had anything stolen in Russia, during many previous trips. This time several in my group of 27 lost everything from jeans to cameras. Moscow had always been one of the safest capital cities in the world. This year we were told by Russian friends that there had been so many street crimes that we should only go out at night in large groups.

Russian communism has had 74 years to prove itself a failure. It has never really competed with capitalism and, even under the best conditions, it probably never could. In the long run, only private initiative and massive investment can save Russia.

But what about the near future? The hard-liners in Russia have abandoned perestroika and probably will try to reintroduce the kind of command economy that existed in the past. It is very doubtful this will be successful in restoring economic stability. Eventually the Russians will have to deal with the hard task of making capitalism work.

\ AUTHOR NOTE: Jack Atwell , associate professor of Russian and history at Hollins College, recently returned from a trip to the Soviet Union.

by CNB