◆ SpookStack

.a large anti-American poster depicting a greedy fle Sam riding an atomic bomb and grasping at a gold do...1 as he approaches the edge of a cliff, at the foot of which lies the wreckage of the Nazi war machine. This poster was the only remaining example that we found in the Soviet Union of these once common expressions of propaganda, Much more annoying were the obvious suspicions of the functionary from the Educa- tion Ministry assigned to show us the sights, This young man accompanied us on most of the excursions around town—to a chick hatchery, to two middie schools, to the “house of culture,” to the model railroad and to the “park of rest,” and rarely did he let us out of his sight. On one occasion, after one of our group had gotten grease on his hands, our guide instructed the taxi driver to accompany him to the river edge, ostensibly ta show him how to wash his hands, but obviously to make sure he took no pictures under cover of the bank. Pictures were not permitted of any living creature and only of especiaily approved buildings so conventional that their counterparts could be found in every country of the world. This excessive caution, and a coo! detached manner, marked our guide as a young man anxious to succeed by hewing to the fetter of every regulation. He was only trying to do his duty, but he sorely tried our patience in the process. Limited Facilities In spite of these difficulties, we managed to see a large part ef the town and to gather scme impression of the new lands program. For its size, Akmolinsk was the most poorly equipped community from a cultural standpoint that we visited. Its “house of culture’ was a rather jarge two-story wood structure badiy in need of paint both inside and out, with a fair library on the first floor and an auditorium on the second. Large posters giving statistics on 1954 farm production and announcing the 1955 goals lined the corridors on both floors. Few persons were in evidence, but our visit occurred during the work day, and we were assured that the facilities were well utilized in the evening. Ten years of schooling is available to Akmolinsk children, and we visited two of the town’s middle schools. Qne was under- going extensive repairs, ineluding the installation of a com- pletely new heating system, although the building was only eight years old. The other was notable for its cosmopolitan atmes- phere, with a North Korean principal, a Tartar associate and various racial strains evident on the playground. Equipment in both schools was limited, although there was an adequate supply of desks and chairs, blackboards in every classroom and 55