Soviet Broadcaster Would Prefer Less U. S. Diplomacy

As an audience of American students in Reno lobbed up one softball question after another recently, Radio Moscow broadcaster-spokesman Pavel Kuznetsov found himself yearning for the old days, when Americans openly showed contempt for pro-Soviet views.

“I was begging for one nasty question, the kind of questions I got used to on my previous trips,” Kuznetsov said during a recent telephone interview from Seattle, a stop on his current speaking tour of the United States.

Although he doesn’t wish for animosity, he said, the tough questions at least provided him the opportunity to help increase Americans’ understanding of the Soviet Union.

“There are still so many loose ends we are trying to tie up,” he said.

Kuznetsov hopes American callers to “Calling Moscow,” the KPBS-produced radio show he co-hosts from Moscow, will also show a little more of that old fighting spirit. The monthly program allows Americans to directly question Soviet citizens, seated in a studio at 2 a.m. Soviet time. The show has been criticized as being overly warm and friendly.

“I would like to have more questions with bite,” Kuznetsov said. “There is no fear on my end. We can handle any question. If people are overly interested in the downside of the Soviet Union, we will cover all those concerns.”

In many ways, Kuznetsov is the radio equivalent of Soviet television’s charismatic Vladimir Posner, with whom he often shares hosting chores on programs. They are the articulate spokesmen for glasnost and perestroika. Their presence in the United States, and their outspoken pro and con discussions of the Soviet system, are unarguable examples of a new openness they will go anywhere to discuss.

The openness is not complete, Kuznetsov willingly admits. “Censorship”--the word Kuznetsov used--still exists for government-run Radio Moscow in the sense that there are still plenty of questions in his and his colleagues’ minds about what they can and cannot talk about on the air. There is still no religious programming. And Radio Moscow is still far too willing to follow the lead of Tass, the state news agency, on foreign policy news, Kuznetsov said.

“We’re no trailblazers,” he said. “We are still less able on the air to come up with our own analyses.”

But Radio Moscow is discovering unprecedented freedom to cover domestic issues, Kuznetsov said. Completely free exchanges such as “Calling Moscow” and other “space bridge” shows with two-way dialogues with Americans are completely uncensored, he said, and there are no government officials standing nearby during broadcasts telling him what subjects to avoid.

“We are simply part of society, and we are no different from it,” Kuznetsov said. “We are trying to find our way in the turbulence of perestroika. We are just a small ship trying to sail these waves. We are still in the process of shaping our programs in this period of change.”

Soviet citizens such as Kuznetsov and Posner are so smooth and so assured, they tend to sound a little too good to be true, a little too much like pitchmen. “Calling Moscow” attracts the same criticism, because its Soviet guests are always articulate in English. However, the Soviet guests are chosen precisely because they speak excellent English, Kuznetsov counters, and that shouldn’t be held against them.

“Whenever a Soviet speaks good English on the radio, he is regarded as a specially trained propagandist, which isn’t so,” he said.

The only other criterion for guests, other than knowledge of the particular program’s subject matter, is their willingness to speak out openly, Kuznetsov said. He acknowledged that doubts about glasnost linger with some Soviet citizens.

“Not every Soviet is prepared to go on the air and speak their mind,” said Kuznetsov, who personally interviews and selects all guests. “If someone is afraid to speak their mind, we don’t put them in the lineup, that’s it.”

Kuznetsov learned English in the Soviet equivalent of high school. As a youth he traveled abroad to Nigeria as part of a group of Soviet military advisers. Eventually, he journeyed to Syracuse, N. Y., where he lived with an American family and attended an international broadcasting seminar. He joined Radio Moscow in 1972.

In addition to other broadcasting duties with the North American branch of Radio Moscow, he co-hosts “Top Priority” with Posner, a panel-discussion show. “Top Priority” recently hosted a panel of American journalists who were openly critical of many Soviet policies, the “most significant gain in the period of perestroika ,” Kuznetsov said.

“Calling Moscow” went on the air last March, and is now carried by 30 public broadcasting stations throughout the country, including KPBS-FM (89.5) in San Diego and KCRW-FM (89.9) in Santa Monica.

Originally, KPBS and the Soviets agreed to avoid controversial subject matter. The show was intended to be more educational than political, Kuznetsov said. But criticism helped open up the show to all issues, and recent programs have touched on more controversial issues, such as the Soviet role in Afghanistan and unilateral disarmament.

“Calling Moscow” and its controversial discussions are not heard in the Soviet Union. Radio Moscow is an external service, similar to the Voice of America, available only outside Soviet boundaries. There have been preliminary discussions, however, about broadcasting “Calling Moscow” within the Soviet Union.

Kuznetsov said such a move is possible but that several logistical problems would have to be overcome. The time would have to be switched from 2 a.m. Soviet time to a more reasonable hour for Soviets, and the show would have to be expanded to allow for translations. Radio Moscow also would have to request a time slot for the show from the Soviet home service.

“It’s just a technicality, like asking ABC to go to NBC to ask for air time,” Kuznetsov said. “It’s not a political problem, it’s a technical problem.”

Either way, it won’t happen quickly. “Calling Moscow” is committed to its current time slot, 3 p.m. on the last Friday of each month, through June.

Kuznetsov acknowledged that little changes quickly in the Soviet Union. But changes have occurred, he said, deep-rooted, permanent changes in the openness of Soviet society. American skepticism about the permanence of these changes, he said, which seem so closely tied to the fortunes of leader Mikhail Gorbachev, is not justified.

“I don’t attach that much importance to individuals and personalities,” Kuznetsov said. “I believe in trends.