WASHINGTON -- First, Mister Rogers went to the Soviet Union. Now, his U.S.S.R. counterpart is coming to his neighborhood as glasnost and children's television mix to 'help build a little bridge' between the two superpowers.
On Thursday, Fred Rogers and Tatiana Vedeneeva unveiled a show they taped together for Soviet viewers and announced a similar visit to 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' next week.
At a news conference at the Soviet Embassy to promote the exchange, Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin, asked about the timing of the event in view of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's upcoming summit with President Reagan, said, 'I am sure that all of these things are interconnected.'
Both the summit and the joint television show appear to be signs of Gorbachev's policy of glasnost, or openness.
Vedeneeva, the glamorous host of 'Good Night, Little Ones,' said through an interpreter, 'We all hope in the Soviet Union that this visit with Gorbachev will bring good and great results. I'm sure that nobody in the United States or the Soviet Union wants war.'
Rogers, whose show for preschoolers has aired on the Public Broadcasting Service for 20 years, traveled to the Soviet in September and appeared on an episode of 'Good Night, Little Ones' that will air later this year.
The nightly Soviet show is that nation's longest-running children's program.
Vedeneeva will visit the set of 'Mister Rogers Neighborhood' in Pittsburgh Monday.
Rogers said, 'Our hope is that both visits can help build a little bridge on behalf of children. Children take very small steps in their growth. I think adults do too.'
