By ARKADI CHERKASOV
-_ MOSCOW — When Canadians refer to the USSR as
-*‘Russia’’ and to Soviet citizens as ‘‘Russians’’ to the

people here it sounds like calling Britains “‘Englishmen’”’

and branding Scotland as ‘‘England’’.

To us Russia or the Russian Federation is only one of
the 15 equal Union Republics which form the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics. But even a country which
bears this name is not mononational: in it there are 16
Autonomous Republics (each-speaking its national lan-
uage) and as a rule accounting for a hefty percentage of
Russians, as well as 5 autonomous regions and 10 au-
tonomous areas.

Russians make up a little more than half of the USSR’s
almost 270,000,000-strong population — that is, 140 mil-

lion. Over 23% of the population are bilingual, having a
good command of Russian, besides their mother tongue.
Some 5% speak fluently, apart from their own, some
Other non-Russian language of the USSR. Only five mil-
lion bilingual Russians live outside the Russian Federa-
tion, on the territory of other Soviet Republics. Yet it is
quite natural for us that in these republics usually there
are two official languages: the tongue of the indigenous
Population as well as Russian which is used as a medium
of inter-ethnic communication amidst more than 100
Nations inhabiting the USSR.

Talking to Neighbors

In Siberia and the North, although they are part of the
Russian Federation, instruction at schools is conducted
in the languages of the indigenous population. This is the
Teason why 95% of Yakutians, for instance, speak their
Native language although 56% of this 330,000-strong
Norther nation are quite good in Russian, reading
and speaking it.
In Armenia, Transcaucasus, Russians account for a
Mere 2%. For 90.7% of Armenians living there Armenian
is the mother tongue. At the same time, more than a third
of Armenia’s population knows Russian to communicate
With their neighbors in the Caucasus — Georgians and
Azerbaijanians. They also need it to talk to Russians and
€ven far away Estonians with whom Armenia has long-
Standing cultural contacts. In Tartu, the ancient univer-
Sity centre of Estonia, you will find quite a number of
Armenians studying at the local university which has

WES.

The role of languages in the USSR

Bilingualism in the USSR, a country with over 100 nationalities, facilitates communication and development. The
Soviet Union comprises 15 Republics, 16 Autonomous Republics, five autonomous regions and 10 autonomous areas.

deep-rooted links with Armenia: the great Armenian
enlightener of the last century, Khachatur Abovyan, is
known to have studied there.

In Tartu, instruction is carried out in Estonian, just as
it is done in Armenian at the Yerevan University, in
Lithuanian at the Vilnius University, etc. However, stu-
dents of other ethnic groups might attend special de-
partments with tuition in Russian.

Synchronic Translation

In Estonia where Russians make up 28% of the repub-
lic’s population and Estonians 65%, half of the popula-
tion knows Russian and 77%, Estonian. Official docu-
ments are compiled in Estonian but everyone has the
right to receive a Russian variant. Shop signs and the
names of the streets are written in Estonian with a Rus-
sian translation usually added underneath. Estonian
films are supplied with Russian sub-titles, while the films
of other republics are dubbed ones — with Estonian.

Plays in the currently fashionable Vanemuine Theatre

in Tallin are staged in Estonian but one can put on
ear-phones and listen to syncrhonic Russian translation,
as guests from neighboring Latvia do when they come to
the city on weekends. ’

The production, shops and street chats are dominated
by Estonian but inquiring visitors can always hear an
answer in Russian. In this republic one plunges into the
bilingual atmosphere from one’s early days and the
knowledge of the second language comes by itself.

It is believed here that with two languages in stock one

has a wider freedom in decision-making, choosing one’s
trade, friends, in travelling around the huge multi-
national state and having a more interesting life.
_ Since all ethnic groups and their languages are con-
sidered equal in the country, bilingualism gets rid of an
irrelevant and superfluous emotional coloring and turns
into a purely technical one while the very process of the
development of bilingualism becomes quite spontane-
ous, promoting the mutual enrichment of cultures and
Soviet peoples’ rapprochement.

—

_ Socialist countries and western bank loans

_A reader asks ‘‘why do all (our em-
Phasis) the socialist countries owe huge
amounts of money to Western banks?”’

This is a question which bothers a goodly
Number of class-conscious workers.
ile fully appreciating the concern
Shown in this question, we are of the
pinion that the question is placed too
‘Narrowly.

* * *
In examining the question of foreign

the imperialist countries are unwilling to
live in peace with socialism. And, that

| Alfred Dewhurst

a Marxism-Leninism Today

power of any country. Heavy industry
stimulates light industry and the national

socialist countries have always had to
struggle for.

Time is also something the world has
little of, as world imperialism unceasing-
ly pushes mankind toward a nuclear
holocaust. Herein, lies the necessity for
the highest rate of industrial progress on
the part of the socialist countries, even if
they must go beyond their own im-
mediate resources to purchase needed
industry-building materials and

loans made by socialist countries from
Capitalist banks, it is important to situate
Such transactions in their historical all-
Sided purpose. Lenin, the father of the
Socialist revolution, envisaged the co-
€xistence of. capitalism and socialism
Over an extended period of time, as an
Mevitable feature of the transition from
Capitalism to socialism on a world scale.
twas his view that this period could be
Sither peaceful or non-peaceful. His
POsition was that the best condition for
Path of socialism, of social progress
_ 4nd socialist construction, and in serving
interests of all working people is
Peaceful co-existence.
Lenin saw that the power of attraction

Countries would lie in socialism’s
achievements in the economic, cultural,
Mocratic and humanitarian spheres of
Social life. From the very first days of
Socialism, peaceful competition between
Socialism and capitalism and peaceful
State relations have been the basis of the
fiei88 Policy of the Soviet Union and,
Ollowing World War Two, of the other
lalist countries.
ee
At the same time Lenin warned that

en

Of socialism to the working people of all

they would persist in rejecting the idea of
peaceful competition, preferring to iso-
late the socialist countries through trade
and economic blockades and sanctions,
believing they can defeat socialism by
armed force. However, as history has
shown more than once, the imperialists
are greedy for profits and have broken
their own blockades and violated their
own sanctions. However, their basic aim
remains one of isolating the Soviet Union
and the other socialist countries from the
world community of states.

The most logical way for the socialist
countries to prevent such isolation is to
compel peaceful competition in order
that peoples and nations can determine
for themselves which system best serves
their needs and meets their aspirations.
This is a very costly road. But not nearly
as expensive in terms of human life and
material destruction that the big imperial-
ist states prefer, namely, the nuclear

arms race.
: SEs tt

Socialism can only triumph over
capitalism in peaceful competition by
building up its modern heavy industry —
the backbone of the whole industrial

economy as a whole. It provides the only
real opportunity of raising living stan-
dards and the means to ensure the de-
fence of the country. In the first socialist

state — the Soviet Union — this was

done at a forced pace, in order to over-
come as quickly as possible the disparity
existing between it and the industrially-
advanced imperialist states. The same
path had to’ be taken by the socialist
countries that have emerged since the
end of World War Two.

The objective necessity of the taking of
this path must be understood if one is to
fully appreciate why the socialist coun-
tries take loans from and establish credit
with Western banks. Peaceful competi-
tion is a powerful tool in the hands of
socialism to prevent the isolation of
socialist states from the world commu-
nity by world imperialism.

* * *

Given time the socialist countries
would eliminate the disparity existing be-
tween them and the industrially ad-
vanced capitalist countries, while con-
tinuing their generous fraternal assis-
tance to the newly-developing countries
and the peoples fighting for their national
liberation. But time is a commodity the

technique, all of which must be paid for
in hard currency when purchased in
captialist countries.

* *~ *

The socialist countries are compelled
to pay heavily for Western bank credit
and loans, especially in these times of
usuriqus interest rates. But how their
credit payments to Western banks stand
in relation to their national budgets we
have no way of knowing. Whether they
are ‘‘huge’’, as our reader states, we do
not know. Perhaps the word ‘‘huge”’ is
an unfortunate choice, for it carries the
implication of the possibility that the
loans and credit owed are unmanage-
able. However, judging by past experi-
ence and some limited knowledge of
socialist accounting control, we are con-

fident that they are manageable, taking ©

the community as a whole.
* 7 *

We in the capitalist world also have an

" active role to play in support of peaceful

competition and in stopping the nuclear
arms drive; to extend mutually satisfac-
tory trade, scientific, cultural and sports
exchanges with the Soviet Union and
other socialist countries; and to reactiv-
ate the spirit and practice of détente.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 19, 1982—Page 5