Since Gorbachev and his government launched the “Perestroika” reform, dissident movements and flows of people in the Soviet Union have attracted greater academic as well as practical attention. Yet, studies of these questions remain uncultivated, and few such studies exist in Japan. In order to clarify the current state of dissident movements and flows of people in the Soviet Union and to understand the degree of maturity of Soviet society, this article first surveys the different streams of the dissident movements, locating Sakharov and Solzhenitsyn in these streams. The former was exiled to the city of Gorki and later released, whereas the latter remains exiled outside the country. With this comparison in mind, the author then considers the questions of freedom of residence and of movement in the Soviet Union. Finally, the issue of Crimean Tatars, who have been exiled as a whole ethnic group, is considered in relationship to Perestroika.
Sakharov, who acknowledges Marxist-Leninist theory as the legitimate ideology of the Soviet state, demands democratization and reform of the government. In short, he is a reformer within the regime. Solzhenitsyn, by contrast, is a true radical reformer who denounces Marxist ideology itself. One of Sakharov's demands has been liberalization of the people's freedom of movement and residence.
Unlike the constitution of a capitalist country such as Japan, the Soviet constitution does not grant freedom of residence, movement and choice of occupation, or the freedom of emigration and denaturalization. As is well known, every Soviet citizen is required to carry a passport. One's choice of occupation, residence and movement, both international and domestic, was severely restricted, even after a 1974 reform slightly simplified the passport regulation. In August 1986 the immigration law was revised to liberalize somewhat the Soviet citizen's access to international travel after the beginning of 1987. Historically speaking, the Helsinki declaration of 1975 led the Soviet Union to take some measures to liberalize the freedom of residence and movement in the 1970s. But in the late 1970s and early 1980s, intensified international tensions caused a tightening of the Soviet borders. With the Perestroika since 1985, restrictions governing residence and domestic and international movement have been somewhat loosened.
In June 1945, at the same time as several similar autonomous republics of Soviet national minorities, the Crimean Autonomous Republic ceased to exist, and the Tatar people were exiled to other areas. This Stalinist misatke was criticized by Khrushchev and the Tatars now demand to return to Crimea. The Soviet government has tried to allay Tatar dicontent by giving them a certain degree of cultural freedom, but it is doubtful if this policy will succeed. The current government will sooner or later be tested on this question too. On the whole, however, the Gorbachev regime seems aware that Perestroika inevitably requires granting more freedom of movement to the Soviet people.
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