127. Memorandum From Secretary of State Shultz to President Reagan1
In addition to my extensive discussions with Gorbachev, Ryzhkov and Shevardnadze, I met with several individuals and groups, as I have done before, including a group of refuseniks and others whose right to emigrate has been denied. I also called on Andrey Sakharov who spoke vigorously and movingly of the abuses which are still occurring here but also recognized and complimented the positive changes which have taken place.
My last evening was spent in one of the new “cooperative” restaurants with six prominent Soviet intellectuals from various fields of endeavor. A story by the poet present epitomized the attitude of all of these men. He recounted to us how on a trip to the US in 1979 he had been shaken when he saw a film at the Air & Space Museum of the wonders of the world—with the exception of the Soviet Union—from the air. (The Soviet Government does not permit foreigners to take aerial photos of the USSR.) He realized to his horror and shame [Page 785] that the Soviet Union had cut itself off from mankind and become a “blank spot” on the map of the world.
These intellectuals spoke eloquently, and frankly, about perestroyka, of their hopes and fears, of their recognition of the human toll caused by enforced isolation, totalitarian rule and Stalinist terror, and of their determination to find a way out, to create a more humane society. Things cannot change quickly here: institutions must be reformed, new legislation drafted, mind-sets altered. That will take time. Gorbachev and his supporters face a long slog.
The Soviets with whom I dined are excited and inspired by perestroyka but they are also realistic. And they are worried. The economist acknowledged the difficulties of moving to a market oriented economy and implementing price reform but maintained that could be managed over time. The playwright spoke of a “tremendous battle” over how to approach the past but pointed to the recent rehabilitation of Bukharin as an indication of the change which has occurred. The historian warned that without the elimination of Stalinism, the foundation of the present system, no fundamental change would occur. The cinematographer and the poet opined that only creating a tradition of “absolute openness” would enable the Soviet Union to transform itself into a more productive and more humane society.
I was struck and even moved by the clarity with which these men understood the defects of their society. But I also detected an anxiety that the task of reform might prove unmanageable because of long and ingrained habits and widespread resistance. Nevertheless, if these men are representative of those who are pressing for reform, there exists a real commitment among key intellectuals to change and a determination to keep working at this staggering but historic task.
- Source: Reagan Library, Shultz Papers, Memoranda for the President (01/47/1988–02/08/1988). Secret. There is no indication on the memorandum that the President saw it.↩