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University Daily Kansan, April 29, 1982
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Dissent strong in Russia,prof says
By JIM LEHNER Staff Reporter
Although Americans have only become aware of Russian dissidents in the last two decades, there always has been political dissidence in the Soviet Union, William Fletcher, director of Soviet and East European studies, said yesterday at the University Forum.
Fletcher said the Soviet Union had a long and strong tradition of underground publications and literature.
"In the field of Russian religion, there always has been dissent such as Letters from Heaven," which is what the letters produced by dissenters," he said.
However, he said that people who threatened the government during Stalin's reign were silenced by the
government, which sent them to detention institutions.
"The people in the prisons of Russia were said to outnumber the Bantists in America."
He said that because of this treatment Russia had a huge percentage of illiterates during Stalin's reign.
"While the people were in prison, the Russian government gave them nothing to read," he said. "Once Dalin died in 1963, there was a huge religious revival caused by a prison scandal. The KGB, or the MUD as it was referred to back then was monitoring the prison system."
Fletcher said dissidents became better known in the '60s and '70s because of two reasons.
"One reason was that the advent of new technology made it easier to produce things. Dissidents would be able to steal something like a Xerox
machine and work out of their homes.
He said that because the dissidents were able to print more reference books, the nation's literacy rate improved as well as its citizens' knowledge about the government.
Fletcher said there also were more dissidents because of the influence that the western media had on them.
"Up to the '60s, the U.S. media had been relatively silent on Russian problems."
He said, however, that the Soviet government responded to the dissidents in the '60s and '70s by enlarging the prison system.
Fletcher said that dissidents today in Russia were very dormant. "It's not a very exciting country right now for dissidents."
Proposal sent to city commission Industrial development plan OK'd
By STEPHEN BLAIR
Staff Reporter
The 65-item plan, which was prepared by the city-county planning department, will be considered by the Lawrence City Commission.
Staff Reporter
The utilities that the plan would provide to the proposed Kaw Valley Industrial Park north of the city would be provided by the city's cities for new industries, Hank Booth,
The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission last night unanimously approved a plan that required the state to spend through 1988 on public facilities.
The plan, entitled the Capital Improvements Plan for 1983-1988, included about $3 million for utilities to serve a new industrial park north of Lawrence, and $33,000 to build a new terminal at the Lawrence Municipal Airport.
chairman of the planning commission, said recently.
"When our people go out to show industrial grounds, we're in very bad shade." Booth said.
Martin Dickinson, president of the Chamber of Commerce, which had asked that the utilities be included in the capital-improvements plan, said he hoped the park would attract certain kinds of industries.
"We would hope for industries that are non-polluting, and that would not lead to the need for increased police and fire protection," Dickinson, who is also a KU professor of law, said. "You would hope for an industry that would give something to people in terms of skills and employment."
Another project that is important in
attracting new industries is a new airport terminal, Dickinson said.
The present terminal is understated, he said, and because it is the first thing that a businessman sees when he comes in to the office, he usually attent to the city wears to a job interview.
The capital-improvement plan also designates more than $2 million for a proposed purchase and renovation of the building. House into a performing arts center.
Before the planning commission approved the plan, an official of a council that coordinates social service agencies in Douglas County asked the commission to work toward making the projects finance jobs within the county.
"The official, Jim Schircuit, president of the Council of Community Services," said. "We do have a lot of people in this neighborhood at work and at risk because of that."
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