* * *

Evenings were a convenient time to meet Soviet citizens. Several Soviet students made a habit of waiting around the lobby of our institute just at the time our classes were dismissed. Most of these, however, were primarily interested in obtaining our winter coats and dollars for exchange on the black market, so it was advisable to make friends elsewhere.

Borya is a mechanics student whom I befriended one cold night on the street. He noticed I was shivering and offered me his scarf. Enrolled in an institute of higher learning, he is exempt from military conscription. Nevertheless, he and his fellow students devote a few days each month to studies under the institute's department of war. On these days they wear green uniforms and learn how to repair jeeps and trucks. Like many Russians Borya wanted to know what American life is really like. Are salaries in the government sector lower than those in the private sector? I answered affirmatively. "Then it's true," he exclaimed, almost incredulous. "Our economics teacher was right. The American government exploits the workers even more than the capitalists do!"

Like many students, Borya is a Komsomol member not out of ideological commitment but rather because he feels that party affiliation will enhance his career opportunities. His cynicism toward the government is reflected in a joke he enjoys telling: "What is the most neutral country in the world today? Afghanistan--it's so neutral that it doesn't interfere in even its own internal affairs." From reading the Soviet press and talking with an acquaintance who had returned from military service there, Borya is fully aware of the implications of an agreement of "mutual assistance."

* * *

When, at the end of our semester it was time to leave, the wheels of our Finnair jet lifted from the runway of Moscow's Sheremetivo airport, and our group burst into thunderous applause and joyous cheers. Our euphoric outburst was a natural expression of our relief at leaving the frustrations of Soviet life behind and finally heading home. For some of us, it was also an expression of thanksgiving for the degree of liberty that American can democracy, despite serious faults, has managed to protect.