Word: perestroikas
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Those days are gone with perestroika. Like its trade with the former Comecon countries of Eastern Europe, Moscow's deals with Havana are now on a hard- currency basis at prevailing world prices. Under a 1991 agreement worth $3.8 billion, the Soviet Union is to deliver 70 million bbl. of oil to Cuba and, in exchange, receive 4 million tons of sugar, plus citrus fruit, nickel and medical supplies...
...Cubans have begun to look elsewhere for help. Thanks to a law on joint ! ventures, West Europeans are pouring millions of dollars into the Cuban tourist industry, building luxury oceanside hotels. The Soviets now tell the U.S. that the sooner it lifts its trade embargo against Cuba, the sooner perestroika and demokratizatsiya will arrive on the island...
...powers are a long way from agreeing on an answer to Gorbachev's pleas for aid. Though Gorbachev has not mentioned a precise sum (he did say last week that if the West could spend $100 billion on the Persian Gulf war, substantial funds should be found to save perestroika), aid on a scale large enough to be effective would be very expensive: $30 billion over five years is an often mentioned figure. The Western nations are by no means sure they either can or should spare the money. "Why give pennies to a man with a hole...
Though Gorbachev has reportedly expressed private worry about a brain drain that would leave too few educated citizens at home to build perestroika, emigration seems unlikely to take any great leap. Fyodor Burlatsky, a prime parliamentary advocate of the new law, estimates that 1.5 million people will leave for good during the first three years that the law is fully effective, not a major annual increase over the 450,000 expected to emigrate this year alone. Other estimates are that 2 million or more may leave quickly after the law takes full effect, but once they are gone, the outflow...
...have no regrets. I suffered a good deal in making my decision, but it was based on my moral principles, my political convictions. I believe what I did was right. I don't know how much use it was to society, democracy and perestroika. But I am convinced I was right...