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Article: Glasnost two. (revelations from Russian Communist Party files) (Editorial)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- July 6, 1992
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IN THE cavernous stacks of the Communist Party archives and the dingy halls of Russia's constitutional court, a process is under way that is as important to Russia's liberation as the glasnost of Mikhail Gorbachev's first years. The openness that enabled the Soviet Union to admit the crimes of Stalin and discuss the dissatisfactions of daily life remains essential today.
The original glasnost loosened the tied tongues of the press and the people and uncovered some horrors of the past. It shone light on the previously undiscused privileges enjoyed by the elite. But glasnost only went so far. It struck at individual abuses but never allowed examination of ...