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The Man Who Came to Dinner

A Leningrad cabby

Don’t ever underestimate a
taxi driver. Not a Leningrad
one, anyway. On a rainy Sun-
day morning Peter (a Musco-
vite) and I got into a cab.

“Drive us around Leningrad
a bit,” instructed Peter, “show
us a few of the sights, and end
up at the Hermitage.”

The driver looked like an or-
dinary sort of bloke, well muf-
fled against the chill raw wea-
ther of a mid-March day. He
knew a lot about Leningrad, we
discovered. He had defended it
during its 900 days of siege. He
was one of those special people
— all Leningraders qualify —
who performed acts of: heroism
as if it was as ordinary as driv-
ing a taxi.

Limited space prevents re-
counting all that he told us.

“Now,” said he, “see those
two one-story buildings?”

We nodded, and looked at the
two one-storey, yellow buildings
Opposite each other on a corner.
They looked old.

“Well, the City Council was
going to tear them down. But
the church intervened. The
church said those houses are
historical, and they are. At the
time of the Decembrists, 150
years ago, news got out that the
revolutionaries were being tak-
en from Peter and Paul Fortress
where they were imprisoned,
and that they would pass right
between these two houses. The
church ‘posted lookouts, and
when they were sighted, being
herded along by the tsarist po-
lice, the signal was given, and

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a special church service began
for the prisoners”.

He let out the clutch, and we
drove on.

“See that
there,” he asked.

We were all attention.

“A church stood there, not so

_ long ago. It was slated to come

down to make way for new con-

struction. But Pavlov heard
about it.

“You know who Pavlov was?”
he asked.

We nodded.

“Pavilov’s grandfather and
father were married there. Pav-
lov was christened there. He
proposed that three days after
his death, it should come down.
His funeral was held there, and
three days later work began on
tearing it down.”

He then drove us to what was
obviously his greatest pride and
joy — Leningrad’s new housing.
It’s like driving through a forest
of buildings. The scene is dra-
matic. Everything is raw, as new
construction goes up like mad.
The housing problem is being
solved.

“But”, he grumbled, “we
didn’t use up aljl the money
available for housing. We could
have done more, but there’s a
shortage of workers to do it: in
our country.”

Yes, that was some taxi dri-
ver. His son is an engineer.

—W.B.

"c Tribune

West Coast edition, Canadian Tribune.

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Editor—MAURICE RUSH
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new building

Mr. Nixon! STOP

Diverse sections of Canadian people
are taking mass actions for peace, call-

ing for the end of U.S. imperialism’s

war against Vietnam.

This week’s peace actions blend with
similar struggles all over the world, and
are an expression of international soli-
darity and support for the valiant Viet-
namese people who are in the front line

_fight against U.S. imperialist aggres-

sion.

In the words of the Appeal adopted
at the Moscow Meeting of Communist
and Worker’s Parties, in 1969, “In fight-
ing to defend their homeland the Viet-
namese people exercise the sacred and
inviolable right of all peoples to self-
defense. Their struggle for freedom
and independence evokes the deep re-

ct and admiration of all nations.
heir staunchness, heroism and confi-
dence are an example and inspiration
in the struggle against imperialism, for
eace and for the liberation of peoples
rom exploitation and oppression. By
defending their homeland, the Viet-
namese people simultaneously fulfil
their internationalist duty and serve
the noble cause of world peace. In this
most just struggle of the Vietnamese
ople we have been.and shall be firmly
linked in solidarity with them.

“The heroic struggle of the Viet-
namese people against U.S. aggression
is a key component of the world-wide
battle between socialism and imperial-
ism, between the forces of progress and
those of reaction.”

Elsewhere in this paper are carried
reports and decisions of the Stockholm
Meeting of Vietnam. These decisions
are vital for the success of the struggle
for peace in a period of growing poli-
tical and moral isolation of aggressive
U.S. imperialism.

The main direction for us during

these few intensive days is for an end

to Canadian complicity in Vietnam —
for Canada to demand, an end to U.S.
imperialism’s war against Vietnam; for
an end to the sale of war material to
the U.S.A.; for an end to all university
work for the Pentagon; for-an end to
the testing of chemicals and other ma-
terial for the U.S. war machine; for an
end to U.S. bombing runs and training
in Canada.

Peaceful co-existence

The policy of peaceful co-existence as
the cornerstone of state policy became
a reality in this century when the for-
eign policy of the world’s first socialist
state was elaborated by its leader, V. I.
Lenin.

Every country erects its own for-
eign policy upon a particular corner-
stone, which decides its aim. Reflecting
the central contradiction in today’s
world — that between socialism and
capitalism — the cornerstone of the for-
eign policy of the imperialist countries
is anti-Communism — the reason for
NATO, NORAD, SEATO, the arms
race, the curtailing of world trade, and
all the rest of it.

The foreign policy of the U.S.S.R. and
the socialist countries firmly rests on
the principle of peaceful co-existence,

the conception developed by Lenin!
it is possible, with the emergent
socialism, for the two differing $0
systems to co-exist without war.
Never did this conception mean 0@
ing the right of peoples to fight)
their liberation from imperialism %
to change their social system. Nevel™)
it deny the right of peoples to del
themselves when attacked by impel
ism, as do the peoples of Vietnam 4
the Arab States. Nor did it deny"
need for the ideological struggle. |
Peaceful co-existence does not mt
that the nature of imperialism)
changed. The possibility of its rea
tion rests on the fact that the bali)
of forces in the world has chang
favor of peace and socialism, not 01”)
perialism. ’

The struggle for peaceful co-
ence is an anti-imperialist st
Marxism-Leninism abominates walt,
the barbaric, dehumanizing, violent)
pitalist system. Opposition to imp”
ist war, and a struggle in suppol
colonial and national liberation are”
tral Marxist-Leninist commitmen

The theories of both the ultra-
and the ultra-Left attack the prilt
of peaceful co-existence. It is wh
they merge — in denying the poss!
ty of imposing peace on the imp
ists — although they start from dil")

ent points of view.

Man is moving towards the end)
the Twentieth Century. It will be.)
century in which man places imp)
ism in chains and ends the scour#
imperialist war forever. The 20th
tury will be known as the Age of $0)
ism. a

Keep West German |
hands off nuclear art)

British Defense Minister, Denis g
ly, is reported to have once again § ale
that NATO would have to use i ih
weapons in the event of a Soviet 4
on Western Europe. ab

This hawkish position of right*;)
Social Democracy is the voice and Y
of British big business and of: U: as
perialism. In recent years repre
tives of Great Britain and Wes!
many have met on humerous occa
to develop their policy on this QU’
The purpose is to put nuclear dev
in the hands of West German an
chists, proof enough that the neW
ernment of Willy Brandt has som? |
to go yet. fh

The threat of aggression in oe i
comes from U.S. imperialism 0
West German monopolies — t# 7
NATO. Long ago the Warsatl N
countries proposed meetings Witt,
TO countries to conclude pacts He
aggression, mutual disarmame?” gi
to establish nuclear free zones } gh
rope. At the recent historic meet re
tween the German Democrati¢ ¢ Gel
lie and the Federal Republic 0 gtd
many, the same theme was recent |
by the representatives of the .
Democratic Republic. «ft.

But (for how many times?) ah
wing Social Democracy continue; gi
ing the role of betrayer and ham
en for the monopolists.

Bt