O.E. to beat them all

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 14

O.E. to beat them all

PA Wellington In an overseas experience to beat most others, Mr Allen Walley, aged 23, has secured himself a job, return fares paid, in Moscow. Mr Walley has been sent his contract, in Russian legalese, and has been attending night-classes in Russian in preparation for his two years as an editor-stylist at “Moscow News.”

The mob was offered to .. him as a result of his two years editing of the Soviet Embassy’s information section’s “Soviet News” in Wellington. The head of the section, Mr Vladimir Misychenko, knew the editor of “Moscow News” and put Mr Walley’s name forward for the job.

As an editor-stylist - Mr Walley will check the English edition of the newspaper, which has a circulation of 800,000, to make sure that

the translations by Russian linguists read correctly. The Russians will pay the fares of Mr Walley and his wife, Lesley, aged 21, as well as a salary of 375 roubles (about ?600) monthly. A furnished flat will be arranged for them when they arrive in Moscow in December.

Mr Walley so far has not met any New Zealanders who have worked in Moscow. He said, “I hope there will be some Westerners and foreign diplomats there. There are also a lot of friends from Wellington promising to come and see us.”

Mr Walley became editor of “Soviet News” after answering an advertisement two years ago. He-had done part of the Wellington Polytechnic journalism course but had fallen ill and had got a job in the Lands and Survey Department. He said; “Working at ‘Soviet News' has given me a greater awareness of the

reasons behind Soviet foreign policy. I’m not going to Moscow to be converted to a rabid communist. It’s a different society in the -same way it’s a different society in America.

“I hope I’ll be able to look at it without preconceived ideas. I think the Soviet system works very well in the U.S.S.R. but it would not work at all well in New Zealand.

“I don’t think politics had anything to do with this job. They were looking for an English speaker.” The couple will leave New Zealand at the beginning of July and tour through Asia, going on to London before going to Moscow at the start of the Russian winter.

Mrs Walley, who is a photographer, hopes to find some photographic work in Moscow or otherwise take a university-level course in cinema.