Soviet Perceptions of the United States by Morton SchwartzReview by: Paul DukesThe Slavonic and East European Review, Vol. 58, No. 3 (Jul., 1980), pp. 475-476Published by: the Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School ofSlavonic and East European StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4208121 .

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REVIEWS 475

subject of much controversy since the seventeenth century, when the question of which dialect should be used as the basis for the translation of the scriptures into Estonian had arisen. Arvelius' main concern was for the poor state of the language, which in his view did not enable the Estonian peasantry to grasp concepts which might lead them to a better life. It was the duty of enlightened people such as himself to cast their light into the darkness 'zur Befbrderung des Wohlseyns seiner Brfider beizutragen'. In such a way the enlightened German upper class might help bring their Estonian brothers to a higher spiritual level.

The three principal chapters of this book examine Arvelius' philological studies, and his didactic stories and handbooks. The final chapter con- siders his critical article on tolerance, written in answer to Wekhrlin's assault on the priesthood. The book may be of passing interest to students of the Enlightenment in the German-speaking world, and it is an inter- esting contribution to the history of the Estonian language and literature. London DAVID KIRBY

Gati, Charles (ed.). Caging the Bear: Containment and the Cold War. Bobbs- Merrill, Indianapolis and New York, 1974. XXVi + 228 pp. Biblio- graphy. Index.

IN spite of a title which is neither happy nor accurate, this is a wholly admirable book for students, or indeed for anyone interested in the origins of the Cold War. The editor, Professor Gati has republished in this small book two important Cold War documents, Truman's address to Congress of 12 March 1947 and G. F. Kennan's "X article", and has then asked a group of scholars and politicians to consider these docu- ments in the light of subsequent events. He has also interviewed Kennan. As one may expect, no one quite accepts the views prevalent in those days and everyone can now see clearly some of the major errors made then. Yet, essentially the lines drawn between 'appeasers' and 'containers' in those days have not changed.. Thus while American policy towards the Soviet Union is critically scrutinized by Senator Fulbright and Professor William Zimmerman, and policy towards China is given a particularly critical appraisal by Professor Donald Zagoria, it is defended by Professors Spanier and Gati. The final two chapters by Zbigniew Brzezinski and Marshall Shulman consider the 'post-containment' relations of the two super-powers. This is a very lively and very rewarding introduction to the meaning of the Cold War and the Cold War controversy. London H. HANAK

Schwartz, Morton. Soviet Perceptions of the United States. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, 1978. viii + 2I6 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?8.75.

THIS book is based almost exclusively on a single source, the journal of the U.S.A. Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences - SShA. And so the

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476 THE SLAVONIC REVIEW

approach is comparable to a Soviet scholar analysing American percep- tions of the U.S.S.R. mostly from the pages of, say, Problems of Communism. Public opinion, even educated public opinion, as expressed through more elusive channels, is not then subject to consideration. Nevertheless, within the limits he has set himself, Morton Schwartz does a competent job of tackling his subject from the point of view of economy, society and the political system; the foreign-policy mechanism and other influences; policy makers, followed by policy expectations and implications. True, some important areas seem to be neglected: there is little or nothing on China, monetarism or the energy crisis, for example. And not much is said about how Soviet perceptions came to be formed in the years preced- ing 1945, although this is the fault of SShA itself, which rarely considers the historical dimension, and of Soviet American studies in general, which are still in their infancy and have almost no pre-revolutionary tradition to draw on. Schwartz forcefully reminds us that perceptions are more important than objective reality, quoting Henry Kissinger to the effect that deterrence is mostly in the mind. He also notes the lack of respect that members of the U.S.A. Institute appear to have for at least some of the perceptions of their American counterparts, referring to the Director G. A. Arbatov's dismissal of some American liberals: 'Like frivolous young girls (although many of them are gray-haired), they swing from one fashionable political trend to another' (p. 77). Aberdeen PAUL DUKES

Chinn, J. Manipulating Soviet Population Resources. Macmillan, London, 1977. I63 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?io.oo.

CHINN tackles three major problems of population policy in this book: rural-urban migration, control of the size of cities, and the falling birth- rate. In doing so he provides a great deal of demographic data culled from census reports and from a thorough study of the work of Soviet demographers. The study is not exclusively demographic and it contains much interesting information about urban conditions and has some useful data on women - their work, responsibilities and attitudes towards having children.

The author argues quite convincingly that Soviet population policy has failed in many areas. Surplus manpower in rural areas has not mig- rated to areas of labour shortage; the geographical movement of population has been predominantly in a southerly direction, whereas the greatest need for labour is in the North and East; in areas of rural labour shortage, the policy has failed to keep youth in the countryside. As far as control of urban growth is concerned, Soviet policy has been more successful. Administrative control of settlement in large cities and an embargo on industrial development have led to relatively slow growth: but Chinn points out that this policy also leads to problems, particularly the rise of a commuting population, and restricts the outflow of population from these cities to other areas. In a valuable chapter Chinn argues that

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