BOSTON -- Hundreds of women from the United States and Soviet Union got together over a satellite hookup and talked about everything from the Chernobyl nuclear accident to divorce and alcohol abuse.
The 200 American and 200 Soviet women, taking part in 'Citizens Summit II,' disagreed on some issues but were united in calling for an end to the nuclear arms race between the two superpowers.
Portions of the three-hour trans-Atlantic discussion, held Sunday in Leningrad and in the studios of a Boston television station, will be aired beginning this week on American television. Soviet TV is also expected to broadcast the exchange.
The forum, hosted by American TV personality Phil Donahue and English-speaking Soviet commentator Vladimir Posner, was the second in the so-called 'spacebridge' program. The first satellite summit was held in December between men and women in Seattle and Leningrad.
The Chernobyl accident, which has so far claimed 26 lives in the Soviet Ukraine, sparked some of the liveliest conversation in the exchange. Noting that the accident had touched off anti-nuclear protests in the United States, one Americanwoman asked whether there had been similar demonstrations in the Soviet Union.
'We cannot stop the development of nuclear power,' said one Russian woman.'Our entire scientific development rests on nuclear development. It is a necessity.'
'Calm down, comrades,' replied another. 'Everything is back to normal. We coped with it as an entire people.'
But virtually all of the women in both audiences, who watched each other on large-screen monitors, raised their hands when asked if they were opposed to the U.S. and Soviet buildup of nuclear arms.
Both American and Soviet women also complained about husbands who fail to help around the house and agreed that divorce and alcohol abuse were increasingly serious problems, affecting children as well as adults in both countries.
'Where there is no happiness (for parents) it is the children who suffer,' said one Russian participant.
Referring to the Kremlin's efforts to combat alcoholism, one woman said, 'We will continue to fight it in order to strengthen the family. Parents who abuse such substances lose their credibility.'
A small group of demonstrators gathered outside the studios of WCVB-TV, Channel 5, in suburban Needham and handed out leaflets urging the American participants to press their Moscow counterparts on the plight of Soviet Jews.
But the Soviet audience denied Jews in their country were being persecuted and prevented from emigrating.
'Any Jew who wants to emigrate simply has to apply to the government,' said one woman. 'Only those working on government secret projects cannot leave.'
The Soviet women were reluctant to discuss such topics as minority rights, homosexuality and sex education, claiming they were not a problem in Soviet society.
American participants said the forum was worthwhile, but some said Soviet participants appeared to have been coached on some issues.
'The show lived up to my expectations. I thought it went very well,' said Cheryl Bergeron of suburban Quincy. 'But I felt some of their answers were rehearsed.'
'A lot of problems we're concerned about -- they don't perceive them,' added Beth Breslauer of Boston. 'We can talk about them until we're blue in the face, but they don't acknowledge them.'