Gorbachev Addresses Uralmash Workers

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

to make use of loans, building materials, and so on and so forth. I consider this to be such an important question that the comrades are raising -- I am replying to a question that was asked of me: Mikhail Sergeyevich , did I believe that by the year 2000 we would fulfill the very task that we had set. If we work as we worked in 1989 and we started to lower the scales and rates of growth of housing construction, then I will tell you plainly that we will not fulfill the plan. However, if we step it up as we started to in 1987, and 1988 especially, and we develop housing construction using all sources, all forms of housing construction, bringing in people's own funds, too, going half way to help with loans, with enterprises, then we will develop initiative, and we could considerably expand the scales and solve the housing problem more quickly. I consider that we must at this stage think things over and get going. Resources must be diverted.

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[Excerpts] [Gorbachev continues] Resources should be diversified, and in connection with this our investment policy should be reviewed. There is now a real possibility to really speed up housing construction using people's initiative and drive. Therefore, I have been pondering over a proposal on this account -- I even have already spoken about it -- and in the near future I want, as president, to put forward my ideas for the country -- and to instruct by decree -- in order to continue work aimed at expanding housing construction on a broader scale and using new approaches. I would not like to go into details now. You will learn about that, but I would support and I ask the local bodies of power to examine this issue from the point of view of allocating land for individual housing construction. Ways should be found, comrades, and assistance given. Countries build in different conditions and find such plots of land. Similarly, land should be allocated for gardens and orchards, so that people may grow all they need for themselves. This has significance both in terms purely of food production and in social and educational terms. Man who lives on land and is in touch with land and nature is a totally different man. Next question: Mikhail Sergeyevich, in the spirit of openness, allow me to express the view that the open letter of the CPSU Central Committee on consolidation on a fundamental basis is, in my view, contrary to the fundamental basis set out in your talk on Lenin. To me as a rank- and-file party member, your basis is closer. Knowing your style well enough, thanks to the medin, it was to my liking that you personally did not take part. [Gorbachev corrects himself] it seemed to me that you personally did not take part in drawing up the letter. What can you say about this?

Well, if I am to answer only the last question about whether or not I took part, I can say that I did take part. But this, perhaps, is not enough. I think, comrades, we have to regard the letter as concern coming from the party organization. Simply, communists alarm and disturb us very much every day. We have received letters from you, including I think some letters from the urals, and from the party conference at the Uralmashzavod, which contained definite demands. That is right. In other words, a good deal of worry about the party emanates from conferences and meetings of communists, concern about preparing the congress in a defined way so that the congress can cope with the tasks facing it, both from the point of view of the purposes of restructuring and from the point of view of strengthening and enhancing the vanguard role of our Party in this