Gorbachevs visit Arctic

Press, 2 October 1987, Page 6

Gorbachevs visit Arctic

NZPA-Reuter Moscow The Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, resuming public engagements after a holiday absence, has taken his message of dynamic reconstruction to the Arctic port of Murmansk, accompanied by his wife Raisa.

Television pictures showed the Gorbachevs, both looking tanned and relaxed, walking through Murmansk crowds and answering questions in a characteristic style the Soviet leader has shown since coming to office in March, 1985.

“We are relying on our people," he told questioners about the country’s reconstruction programme, adding that while many problems remained, there was much to be achieved.

After a seven-week absence from the spotlight, Mr Gorbachev reappeared on Tuesday to meet a French delegation in Moscow, ending speculation about his health and political position.

Raisa Gorbachev’s appearance in Murmansk was her first in public

since the couple went on a Black Sea holiday last month, and she too has been the subject of health rumours. On Tuesday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Boris Pyadishev, apparently ex-

asperated by questions about the couple’s health, said: "I can assure you that the whole Gorbachev family is feeling just fine.” Elegant in a long coat and fur hat against the Arctic cold, Mrs Gorba-

chev was shown talking informally to people pressing around her.