Take All--Gorbachev Urals Visit

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

## UNCLASSIFIED

This conference and the conversations with the workers of "Uralmash" are of great importance for me. We have reached a stage in perestroyka when one has to take decisions that are of very great importance for the destiny of the country. And what people are thinking, the way they are assessing the situation and the thigns they consider necessary to be done, all this is very important now.

You obviously realize that I have a position of my own and my own convictions. And nevertheless through all the years of my life and work I have believed in the following method: Any decision ought to be checked agianst the opinion of the working people, no matter how one assesses it oneself. This is a most important condition for a policy to be right and for fewer losses and mistakes to be made.

When we began perestroyka we saw our society in one light. Having gone more deeply into it, we began to understand that minor repairs alone, repainting, a change in wallpaper, will not do. Changes were necessary everywhere and very serious ones -- in the economy, in the federation, in the party, in the soviets, in culture and in the whole spiritual sphere, with the aim of ennobling society and creating normal living conditions for people.

We have now approached the stage of adopting major decisions. It was for this reason that I decided to come to you, knowing the potential of the Urals -- human, intellectual, scientific and cultural. I see this meeting as support and interpret your opinions in relation to our policies and to the actions of the center as an desire to attrack the leadership's attentions, so that it does not overlook anything serious.

It is true that people have not been able to do without demagogy either, in several conversations. But demagogues also make use of democracy and even more so than we do. It should, however be the other way around: That all sensible people in our society should make use of glasnost and democracy and genuinely take power into their own hands.

The party will not be able to achieve the implementation of its policy and to march in the vanguard of change unless it bases itself upon the working class. I am greatly alarmed by the fact that 12 workers resigned from the party today. I would not say: It's the nature of the present time; some come others leave. I would ask both the works party committee and ordinary party and works comrades to meet with them and try to understand what the matter is. The country's leadership is pinning its hopes on an active contribution by workers into all our affairs. And not merely at the machine, although I agree with the comrades who say that it's time we finished with meetings and discussions and started active and productive work. The discussions will probably continue, but the center of gravity ought to be shifted to implementing policy in all spheres. And we are counting on the support of the working class everywhere.

It is a pity that at the elections of USSR and Russian Federation people's deputies, and even at those to local soviets, many workers have been squeezed out. To put it frankly: the soviets will only lose from it. Perhaps they should think of setting up consultative bodies which the most front-ranking and active workers, faithful to the cause of the renewal, would join. Secondly: Give an account to labor collectives of all they do. Without such a link, neither the soviets will work as they should, not will the workers be satisfied.

We must introduce this kind of a 'correction coefficient,' and also think about why many workers withdrew their candidacies and refused to