20
PARTISAN REVIEW
socialism or democracy. I don't want to go into that now, because I
think we want to hear from the dissidents rather than to hear a de–
fense of an action that does not require any defense.
VASSILY AKSYONOV: I'd like to add that those who oppose us
are neither right, nor left, nor center.
WOMAN FROM AUDIENCE: The question about the possibility
of a peace movement in the Soviet Union was put in the wrong way.
Why should they demonstrate for peace and against war when for
sixty years they've been told that their government wants nothing
but
peace? Of course, this was nothing but a cover for the Soviet govern–
ment to conduct almost continuous diversions and international ter–
rorism and expansionism. So it's one big lie that they've been putting
out for all these years, and it seems that they have been successful,
especially if people in America can believe that such a movement
would be allowed in the Soviet Union. Of course they want peace,
but they want peace
on their own terms!
WILLIAM PHILLIPS: What do the dissidents, individually or col–
lectively, think of American foreign policy - assuming there is one–
and what do they think America should be doing that it isn't doing?
PAVEL LITVINOV: American policy toward the Soviet Union has
to be consistent and shouldn't change with changes of administra–
tion .
It
is most important that the Soviets get the right message from
a strong and consistent American government; and American policy
has to be strong - Americans have to be strong - in order to stop the
progress of Soviet expansion. This is the only way it will be arrested.
Also, since President Carter started to stress human rights in Ameri–
can foreign policy, I hope all later presidents, regardless of party,
will take the same position. This is important for the people of the
Soviet Union, who, rightly or wrongly, have an image of America as
the leader of the free world, and of the American president as the
spokesman for the free world.
If
the Soviet people know that America
cares about what's going on with them, this can make a difference. It
can boost the morale of people in labor camps and mental hospitals;
they would know that there are some people who are not allies of
their hangmen .
But it also is important for Americans . Very often in this coun–
try I hear people say "We Americans have a good life, we have
houses, and automobiles, and televisions-we don't want to change
that! But at least Russian people have some ideas . Americans don't."
I've heard that so many times, it irritates me, because America has
