Change Under Communism

After the 1956 upheavals in the Communist world, and with the open outbreak of conflict between the Soviet and Chinese regimes, it became difficult to maintain the old belief that Communism was unvaried and unchanging. Yet, no matter how much things Communist change, much remains the same. Quite apart from fundamental matters such as dictatorship, you still can’t seem to buy fresh vegetables and fruit during the long Russian winter—unless you are part of a very small privileged group. One recalls, years back, the special delight of a diplomatic reception in Moscow where you got fresh oranges and hid them in your pockets to bring home to the kids. There was some trepidation about how the secret police might view those bulging pockets, but it was worth the embarrassment. Today, 17 years later, one talks with correspondents fresh from the Russian steppes, and they still get their oranges at diplomatic parties. As a Western correspondent completes a tour of duty in Moscow and returns to sum up his impressions, there’s a depressing similarity between his story and those written during the years of the transition from “socialism” to “communism.”

Here’s a volume of essays by various s...