Secretary Dulles and his massive diplomatic staff can't seem to get anywhere with the hard-bitten Russians, but a lone Winthrop House student seems to have touched a soft spot in some Moscow official's icy heart.
Curtis C. Kaufman '54, an amateur radio ham, last month wrote a post card in Russian to Radio Moscow asking for its schedule of broadcasts to America.
Yesterday he received the following answer in English:
Dear Sir: Thank you for writing. In compliance with your request we are sending you a copy of our winter schedule of programs beamed to North America. If you have any questions about life in the Soviet Union, please let us know. We reply to listeners' questions every Saturday and Sunday in Moscow Mailbag at 9 p.m. EST. We also invite your music requests. Wishing you good listening. Sincerely yours, Radio Moscow I. Petrov, Letters Dept.
Enclosed was a Winter Schedule of Radio Moscow's "North American Service" and a picture postcard showing a giant skyscraper.
After examining the letter yesterday, Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, research fellow in the Russian Research Center and an expert in the Soviet Internal Security system, dispelled doubts that the letter really was from Radio Moscow.
"This fits in very well," he said, "with Russia's year-old policy of seeking greater contacts with students abroad in an effort to change their conception of the USSR. It should not be viewed as a hint at any softening in the Russian regime or foreign policy, but simply a cold-hearted campaign to change outside views without really changing policies."
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