Soviet Union: Growls from a Wounded Bear

Moscow angrily rejects Western inquiries about Sakharov

Near the end of two days of meetings with Soviet officials in Moscow last week, Australian Foreign Minister Bill Hayden finally broached the diplomatically ticklish topic. He asked his counterpart, Andrei Gromyko, for information about the health of Andrei Sakharov, 63, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient who is believed to have begun a fast on May 2 to gain official approval for his wife Yelena Bonner to receive medical treatment outside the Soviet Union. A look of irritation and anger flickered over Gromyko's dour features....

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