Word: peredyshka
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When George Bush took office in January 1989, Gorbachev was in retreat. But was it permanent or tactical? Was perestroika in fact part of a larger strategy of peredyshka -- a "breathing space" that would allow the Soviet Union to reconstitute itself as a more efficient, disciplined and formidable adversary? What about Gorbachev himself? Was he Prometheus or Proteus? And even if one gave him the benefit of every doubt, who, and what, would come after...
...West witnessing a true perestroika, or restructuring of the Soviet system, with a diminished desire for expansion, or merely a peredyshka, a breathing space, during which Moscow wants to rebuild its economic might without any real change in its long-term geopolitical objectives...
Gorbachev's refrain of glasnost and perestroika also raises the specter of another Russian word, peredyshka, the old Leninist notion of seeking a "breathing space" by making temporary accommodations so that the revolution can eventually roar forward with renewed zeal...
Such worries about Gorbachev's ultimate goals involve another Leninist byword: peredyshka (breathing space). Both Lenin and Stalin were adept at justifying tactical retreats and temporary accommodations when these suited Soviet aims, only to return to the global struggle when conditions ripened. "The No. 1 question," says James Schlesinger, "is whether Gorbachev's new thinking is intended simply to achieve a respite, a pause, so that the Soviets can repair their economy; then in ten or 15 years go back to the ideological conflict...
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