Visiting Russians Compare U.S., USSR

Russian tourists visiting Cambridge this week spoke last night on topics ranging from "peaceful coexistence" to the beauty of America women is an informal panel discussion in Harvard Hall.

The Soviets are members of a party of 21 Russians currently on a tour of the eastern United States sponsored by the Experiment is International Living.

Yuri Eichenko, a mechanical engineer who is a leader of the group, spoke about Soviet youth, saying that young people is Russia "live well, work and study hard, and show great optimism." He urged "peaceful coexistence" while the USSR raises its standard of living to equal that of the U.S. and commented that "history and time will prove who lives better."

Asked if it is necessary to prove communism "better" than capitalism, Michael Kuhtarev, a journalist for Kemsomeiskaya Pravda, replied with an old Russian proverb: "Each bird praises its own lake. We think that our lake is very good. We like it. Therefore we praise it." He remarked that most Americans have a poor understanding of communism.

In a lighter tone Telman Rzayev, a radio engineer, expressed his admiration for the "very many beautiful girls" he has noticed in the U.S., adding that "we also have beautiful girls."

In answer to a student's question, the journalist Kuhtarev said that the "capitalist newspaper New York Times is not available in Russia, and will be sold there only when it begins to report objectively about our system." When asked if he believes in freedom of the press, Kuhtarev noted that the New York Times is a very thick newspaper and "would require special airplanes to bring it to us." After a member of the audience suggested the international edition of the Times, printed on ten pages of thin paper, the Russian said he could not answer this question.

The Soviets will remain in the Boston area until Sunday, when they will by to Dayton, Ohio, Following short visits to Washington. D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City, the group will return to the Soviet Union in the second week of December.