IRVINE : Soviet Adviser to Speak at UCI

Georgi Arbatov, an influential political and policy adviser to three decades of Soviet leaders, will discuss the “State of the Soviet Union Today” at UC Irvine tonight.

Arbatov, whose visit is being sponsored by the university’s Global Peace and Conflict Studies program, will speak at 8 p.m. at UC Irvine’s Physical Sciences Lecture Hall. The free program is open to the general public.

Arbatov, 68, considered a well-connected political insider and a resilient survivor of shifting Soviet political tides, has long been the director of the U.S.S.R.’s Institute for the Study of the U.S.A. and Canada. The institute has been considered a major force in the development of so-called “new thinking” in the Soviet Union.

One of the most recognized Soviet faces in the West, Arbatov is a frequent guest on television talk shows and author of numerous texts. He was decorated in World War II for his service as an artillery captain in the Red Army and has been a member of the Communist Party Central Committee for more than a decade.

Originally regarded as a voice of the establishment as a close adviser to Soviet premiers Leonid I. Brezhnev and Yuri V. Andropov, Arbatov more recently has advocated economic reforms and cuts in Soviet defense spending.

For more information on Arbatov’s lecture, call (714) 856-6410.