On Again

When the cold war slid farther below freezing in 1952, two victims of frostbite were Amerika, a Russian-language monthly magazine distributed in the Soviet Union by the U.S.. and U.S.S.R. Information Bulletin, its English-language counterpart in the U.S. Last week, with the cold war's thaw, both magazines were starting up again.

This posed no problems for the U.S. Information Service. It selected some text and color spreads from current U.S. picture magazines and prepared to pour 50,000 copies of Amerika into Russia's state-run distribution system. But the Reds had plenty of trouble with publishing in the U.S.

The Russians were turned down by the first 13 U.S. printers they tried to lure, finally got the State Department to swing a deal with Manhattan's small Hemisphere Press. Even then there were snags. The Russians balked at the standard U.S. "Act of God" contract clause absolving printers in case of natural catastrophes, such as floods and earthquakes. Snapped a Red editor: "Put in anything you want --earthquakes, fires, even the atom bomb. But leave God out of it." Later, when TV camera crews descended on Hemisphere Press for news program shots, a Red editor groaned: "This competition thing got me all upset. I couldn't understand why two television cameras had to be in our print shop--one from NBC, the other from CBS. They were both taking the same pictures."

Finally, with the U.S. State Department bulldozing a path ahead, everything was straightened out. In Moscow this week, 50,000 copies of the new Amerika, looking much like the old, will go out to Russian readers as soon as U.S.S.R. hits U.S. newsstands (20-c- a copy). Big and color-splashed, the 64-page, slick-paper U.S.S.R. follows the pattern of most high-class U.S. picture magazines. On the cover is a four-color shot of President Eisenhower chatting with Soviet Premier Bulganin at Geneva, and inside the Reds are on their best brochuremanship. Starting off with a plea by Bulganin for "mutual understanding," U.S.S.R. goes on to present an interesting if rose-tinted peek at Soviet life, with articles on Russia's new TU-104 jet airliner, pictures of Moscow's famed ballet, stories on peaceful use of the atom in Russia (including the building of an atom-powered icebreaker), on Red farming, athletics, movies, some poetry, a few cartoons.

After their early experiences, the Russians have no illusions about getting their message across to U.S. readers. Says Deputy Editor in Chief Peter Khlopikov: "It's very hard to sell a magazine here--even a Soviet one. This requires real promotion."

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