Rubinstein talks on "chaos" of USSR

Political Science Professor Alvin Rubinstein said last week that the United States must aid the Soviet Union during its current state of "chaos" as a first step in developing progressive reforms. But Rubinstein also said the Soviets themselves must initiate reforms if U.S. assistance is to be fruitful. Rubinstein discussed the current social, political, and economic upheaval in the Soviet Union. The only stable Soviet industry is the military, he told a small crowd in Vance Hall. In addition, he said, the fall of Communism has been followed by starvation, a lower standard of living, and mass shifts of populations caused by civil unrest. "No city in the Soviet Union has clean drinking water," Rubinstein said. "In many ways, the Soviet Union is worse than most Third World countries." Rubinstein said that the U.S. must aid the Soviet Union, because of mass migration of Soviets as well as the 35,000 Soviet nuclear weapons. Rubinstein added that the United Nations will not act if the U.S. doesn't move first. Rubinstein also said that while U.S. actions must help develop a more progressive Soviet Union, the U.S. is doing all it can. Rubinstein's fifty-minute speech began with a historical background of the Cold War. Comparing the economic and political status of both the Soviet Union and the United States at 1945 and 1991, Rubinstein showed how these former superpowers have transformed into nations financially dependent on other nations. "Today, domestic constraints dominate both the U.S. and the Soviet Union," Rubinstein said. However, Rubinstein said that in the post-Cold War era, there is a lessening of tensions betweeen the U.S. and the Soviet Union. "Rivalry of superpowers in Third World countries ended when the Soviet Union supported the United States in the Gulf War," Rubinstein said. He added that arms control now characterizes the relationship between the two nations, but the process is moving too quickly for the nations to mutually verify compliance with agreements. Rubinstein also warned that nuclear weapons are becoming more available to terrorists and smaller, less restrained countries. All they need to obtain the weapons is enough money, Rubinstein said.

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