SIR, -Mr. Earley has a most unenviable task in de- fending
the BBC's Russian Service. It has long been notorious among Russian experts, Sovietologists, etc., as far too sympathetic to the Soviet Union; and as representing not at all the British point of view, as he claims, but an esoteric Right-wing Marxist point of view which while being quite definitely opposed to that held in the Kremlin has almost nothing in com- mon with any part of the British political spectrum.
Since the Russian Service has over a long period shown itself absolutely insensitive to private expostu- lation, and no prospects of improvement are visible, you, Sir, were very right to raise the matter publicly. May I ask Mr. Earley: 1. He has published his extracts from the material broadcast on Khrushchev's secret speech: may I have that material and publish mine?
2. Will he permit me to summarise fairly for pub- , lication the service's broadcasts on the Poznan up- rising, side by side with what went out in the Polish language?
3. May I see and publish extracts from the broad- casts on the East German revolt of June 17, 1953, and on the strikes in the slave camps of Vorkuta and Norilsk?
4. How many times a year were the slave camps mentioned (a) before Stalin died; (b) before the secret speech was published in the US?
5. When, if ever, have readings been given from Russian authors disapproved by the regime : e.g., Blok, Yessenin, Dostoievsky?
6. Lenin's Testament (praising Trotsky and con- demning Stalin) has been available to the service since many years before its foundation : when was it first broadcast?
7. Is the rumour true that the outside expert called in to discuss the absolutely crucial topic of Soviet- Yugoslav relations in 1956 was Mr. Zilliacus? What other politicians or political scientists have been called in since the war?
To avoid misunderstanding, let me make it clear that I am not criticising other departments of the BBC generally or its European. Service; nor the em- ployment of refugees in the BBC—rather the con- trary, they are more likely to retain their grasp of the fundamental human situation of their listeners than are British natives. Lastly, I refer only to the material produced by the Russian section itself, not to the centrally compiled news programmes, which, Heaven be praised, it is compelled to broadcast.— Yours faithfully,
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