Hello, my friends, this is Dr. Beter. Today is July 28, 1982, and this is my AUDIO LETTER No. 77.

Early this month, on July 6, there was an unusual news report from Russia. That day an Aeroflot Jet Transport had crashed on take-off from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. It was a spectacular flaming crash that killed all 90 persons on board. What was unusual about this news item was that it was made public so quickly. Usually plane crashes in Russia are announced more quietly and often after a delay of hours or even days--but not this time. The Aeroflot flight that crashed on July 6 was an international flight bound for Africa. Some of the passengers were students returning to their homes in Sierra Leone and Senegal. Under the circumstances, Russian authorities had no choice but to release the news without delay. Within hours it was included in news reports around the world. Within hours after the Moscow tragedy, investigators at the scene discovered that this had been no ordinary plane crash. In the midst of the twisted, smoking wreckage of what had been the Aeroflot plane, conclusive proof of sabotage was found. A report about the sabotage was flashed to KGB headquarters at Dzerzhinsky Square in Moscow. There the report was directed to a special task group assigned to deal with growing acts of internal disruption in the Soviet Union. My three special topics for this AUDIO LETTER are: Topic #1--THE GROWING MOMENTUM TOWARD NUCLEAR WAR ONE Topic #2--AMERICA’S DOMESTIC SHIFT ONTO A WAR FOOTING Topic #3--THE RISING PITCH OF RUSSIAN ANTI-WAR WARNINGS