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But despite the traditional xenophobia of the Soviets, many of today's young say that their dearest wish is to travel to other countries, especially the U.S.; the most popular foreign language taught in schools is English. Passion for American music is so strong that it sometimes revives détente: last June a rock extravaganza in Moscow was linked by satellite with a jazz concert in California. Natasha and some of her friends met seven U.S. college students en route from Kiev to Moscow last summer. Suspicion dissolved into excited questions on topics ranging from rock music to nuclear war. But the answers are not always trusted. Told that Americans do not have to serve in the Army any more, Leonid was skeptical.
"Obviously, they have been told to lie about it," he said afterward. "Everyone knows America is a militaristic society."
That attitude should reassure the Kremlin, for it illustrates that a Soviet youngster can be enthralled with the trappings of Western culture but still retain his deeply nurtured distrust of the U.S. Indeed, the blue jeans and the disco thump probably serve as useful vents for youthful frustrations. The greater threat facing Chernenko is not that the Soviet Union's young people are attracted to other cultures, but that the system does not provide for their multiplying needs and locks them into slots at an early age, breeding apathy and boredom. —By James Kelly.
Reported by Erik Amfitheatrof/Moscow