By BERT WHYTE

How do Soviet people spend
their leisure time? Much of it in
intellectual pursuits, according
to a survey made here.

The average working week is
39.4 hours. As their free time
has increased from year to year,
Soviet citizens spend more time
reading newspapers, magazines

,and books, visiting exhibitions,
museums, theatres and cinemas,
viewing television. Millions also
attend evening schools or take
correspondence courses.

* e *

Canadian, American, Soviet
and Japanese experts attended

the recent 15th session of the’

international commission for
fur-seals in Moscow. They dis-
cussed measures to preserve and
increase the seal population.

* * *

Everyone who comes to Mos-
cow visits the Kremlin and that
inevitably includes taking a look
at the Tsar’s Bell, the biggest
in the world. It is over 18 feet
high, almost 21 feet in diameter
and weighs 200 tons. Yet it has
never been rung. In 1737, while
workmen were preparing to
hoist it up to the belfry, a fire
broke out, and when firemen
poured water over the hot bell,
it split and a “chip” of 11 tons
fell out.

Do women live longer than
men? Yes, in Europe and Ame-
rica: But in Asia men live longer
than women, according to the
Soviet magazine Sovremennik.

% * *

Young people from 87 coun-
tries study at the Patrice Lu-
mumba University of Peoples’
Friendship in Moscow. Estab-
lished in 1960, the university is
open to students from Asia, Af-
rica and Latin America. They
Teceive a stipend and free hostel
accommodation, plus two-way
fares. To date the university has
trained some 3.000 snecialists

Sixty of Ukraine’s hardiest

sportsmen took part in the republ

from the developing countries—
doctors, engineers, agronomists.
tk * *

A Soviet periodical reports
this anecdote. When Karl Marx
was living in London in the
1870’s he received a letter from
Brockhaus, a Leipzig publisher.
“Dear Herr Doctor,” it ran.
“You are already 18 months be-
hind schedule with the manu-
script of Volume Two of Das
Kapital which you have agreed
to write for us. If we do not re-
ceive the manuscript within six
months we shall be obliged to
commission another author to
do this work.”

* * *

Expansion and modernization
of river fleet operations in the
USSR was discussed at a recent

conference in Moscow. By 1975 -

river boats will transport some
380 million tons of freight an-
nually. In Siberia, where rivers
are the main transport routes,
more ships will operate on the
Ob, Irtysh, -Yenisei and Lena
rivers. :

* * *

“Meeting Mars” is the title of
a new popular science’film de-
voted to the flight of the auto-
matic inter-planetary stations
Mars-2 and Mars-3. The film
makes use of cartoons and com-
posite photography to show the
landing on Mars, while pictures
transmitted from space give de-
tails of a giant sand ‘storm on
the “red planet.”

bo Bo *

Pollution of lakes and rivers
kills fish. Soviet scientists are
working hard to purify inland
waters, and have considerable
successes to their credit. As a
result of building industrial filt-
ers, the Volga and Ural rivers
have been become cleaner lately,
and so has the Caspian Sea. This
means more sturgeon, and more

sturgeon means more caviar.

a a.
ie’s

first kayak races on the swift-flowing waters of the Teterev River in

Zhitomir province.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MAY 22: 1972—PAGE 10 _

PRAGUE—On May 9 the peo-
ple of the two nations united in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Re-
public—the Czechs and Slovaks
—celebrated the 27th anniver-
sary of the liberation of their
country with domestic peace and
bright prospects for the future.

After their liberation in 1945
from Hitler fascism the Czecho-
slovak people did not continue
on the pre-war road, but under
the leadership of the Communist
Party carried out a number of
fundamental measures which
changed the character of the
country,

Nationalization of heavy in-
dustry, banks, foreign trade and
other sectors of national econ-
omy and land reform were
among the most important mea-
sures taken at that time.

When in February 1948 the
working people achieved victory
by legal means, the socialist
road of Czechoslovakia was con-
firmed with final validity. The
revolutionary program in the
field of internal and foreign pol-
icy has been consistently car-
ried out.

During the past 27 years,
Czechoslovakia has achieved
many remarkable _ successes.
Great difficulties had to be over-

come in the period after World .

War II. At that time the indus-
trial production was only one
half that of 1937. New factories,
towns and villages were built.
Industrial production, the basic
factor of the economy, in 1971
was seven times, 1937, and its

—

Soviet Army

liberated Prague on May 9, 1945.

: Czechoslovak young peo

structure was completely chang-
ed. Engineering and metallurgy,
which in 1938 were less than
25% of total production, now
account for more than 40%.
Farming is now fully based on
the socialist methods of pro-

: ,
ay

ple are sure of the future:

fe
duction, which create. bE i)
able basis for the appl
the modern large-scale

tion on a high level.

Personal consumption Ro
creased three times ay i;
years 1948-1970. Alm af
million people move —
flats. was!

The socialist syste™ yet
sured full equality ih
the wide development °” 4
of national minorities | i
abled all citizens 1 nat
their education free of A

By adopting a federal
ture which provides
ity and sovereignty nash)
nations, true harmony gi

established in the
state. on ab
The crisis throug we

Czechoslovak society f
‘1968-1969 was over gf
the assistance of th + fi
Union and other socialls” i!
and the Czechoslovak P gi
again set new tasks #
tives.

ROME — Italy’s Communist
Party has increased its vote by
over 530,000 to 9,085,927 in the
General Election, increased its
percentage of the vote from 26.9
to 27.2 and its seats in the
Chamber of Deputies from 177
to 179.

The results announced May 9
by the Interior Ministry in Rome
put an end to all the speculation
that Italian Communists were
going to suffer a defeat,

In the Senate, the Commu-
nists’ percentage dropped from
30 to 28.4 and the number of
seats fell from 101 to 94. This
was the result of the Party’s
electoral agreement with the
Proletarian Socialists, who lost
ground.

The Christian Democrats,
while remaining the largest par-
ty, with 12,943,675 votes, lost
ground and had its percentage
reduced from 39.1 to 38.8 but
its seats in the Chamber of De-
puties increased from 266 to
267, while in the Senate they
remained the same at 135.

Wins in South

A first analysis of the poll
shows that the Communist Party
strengthened its position in the
big industrial towns like Milan,
Turin and Genoa, and has won
back votes and seats in the
south, Sicily and Calabria, lost
in the last elections in 1968.

The Communist gains have
been made in the face of the
most hysterical anti-Communist
campaign for many years, with
the various ultra-left groups and
the Manifesto group creating
confusion by presenting them-
selves with symbols similar to
the Communist Party’s hammer
and sickle.

In the election, the Manifesto
group polled only 223,000 votes
and got no seats, nor did any
of the ultra-left groups,

The Proletarian Socialists
(PSIUP) lost ground and, as their
percentage of the poll fell from
4.5 to 1.9, they lost all their 23
seats in the Chamber of Depu-
ties.

Another big loser was the

ri

Right-Wing Liberal party a
lost nearly a third ©
falling from 31 to 2: aot

The extreme right-W
tion between the ma
and the neo-fascist 1t@ ast |
Movement (MSI) int) frat!
percentage of the P® 1,
to 8.7, its votes to 2° fof!
seats in the Chambet gd
to 56, and its seats 19 d
from 13 to 26. cid!

The Socialists and ° dl)
mocrats roughly mall” 99 #
position with 61 wnat
respectively in the Z
33 and 11 seats in th

ic
Lenin in ate’
DAR-ES-SALAAM _ag5!
works of V. I. Lenim “isp
into Swahili, are 0M & pf
the capital of the © qr¥
republic of Tanzani® il?
tional library here i, e
different Swahili 14MB gs |

4

of Lenin’s major Wh