The much publicized release of a handful of wellknown Soviet prisoners of conscience has led some to speculate that a basic change in Soviet policy is forthcoming. But just because Gorbachev engages in a telephone conversation with Andrei Sakharov or allows a cancer patient to leave with Armand Hammer. we in the West should not leap to a premature conclusion about the nature of Gorbachevs repression. Yuri Orlov was allowed to emigrate but the Perm Labor Camp. where he was incarcerated for years. remains open and its sordid business is thriving. The release of Natan Sharansky reduces the number of Soviet political prisoners by one but Gorbachev could release one prisoner a week and still have an ample supply of bodies well into the next century. The first full calendar year of Gorbachevs rule. 1986. saw a significant regression in overall Soviet abuse of human rights. Only 914 Soviet Jews were allowed to leave in 1986. one of the lowest totals since the beginning of the Brezhnev era. New emigration guidelines were proclaimed with great fanfare last November but a close examination reveals that these guidelines would only affect a handful of the estimated 400.000 Soviet Jews desiring to leave. Under Gorbachev. harassment and intimidation of those who have applied for exist visas continues unabated. For the thousands who simply desire to leave the Soviet Union. Gorbachevs "openness" is a tragic irony.
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emigrate emigration visas