[This is the fourth installment of the transcript of the trial of Vladimir Bukovsky, which was held in Moscow January 5, 1972. Serialization of the transcript began in our May 22 issue.
[Previous installments gave the indictment and Bukovsky's detailed reply to the charges against him. The present installment covers the testimony of the five witnesses called by the prosecution. (Bukovsky had requested the calling of only two defense witnesses. This was refused by the court.)
[The translation of the trial transcript was done for Intercontinental Press by Marilyn Vogt. Explanatory material in brackets is by the translator.]
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The court calls to the stand V. A. Shushpanov.
Judge: Witness Shushpanov. You are hereby warned that according to Article 181 of the RSFSR Criminal Code you are liable for any false testimony given. Please sign the oath. (Shushpanov signs his name.)
Judge: Your last, first, and middle name please.
Shushpanov: Shushpanov, Vladimir Alexandrovich.
Judge: Where did you work when you knew Bukovsky?
Shushpanov: As an employee in the department for foreign relations of the Moscow Patriarchy.
Judge: Where do you work now?
Shushpanov: As a college-level teacher of the English language.
Judge: Is there any reason why your relationship with Bukovsky precludes objective testimony?
Sushpanov: No.
Judge: In the preliminary investigation you gave evidence in the Bukovsky case. Tell the court what you know in this connection.
Shushpanov: I would prefer to answer questions.
Judge: You must tell the court everything you know and afterward you will be asked questions.
Shushpanov: I became acquainted with Vladimir Konstinovich [Bukovsky] in the following way. A friend of mine asked me if I could get hold of a certain work to be translated from English for pay. I was able to get hold of it and my friend asked me to call Bukovsky to see if he could translate it. I called him, we met, and I gave him the text to be translated. He did a pretty good job on it.
Judge: Go on.
Shushpanov: That's all there is to tell.
Judge: How many times did you meet with Bukovsky and where?
Shushpanov: A few times — several at his apartment. Once he had friends visiting but I don't recall their names or addresses.
Judge: What did you and Bukovsky talk about?
Shushpanov: I don't remember what we talked about. This was a long time ago, almost three years ago.
Prosecutor: Your acquaintance with Bukovsky took place in the spring of 1970, which was not three years ago. Besides, you gave testimony in the preliminary investigation in August 1971. Be so kind as to try to recall what Bukovsky said to you at the time of your meetings.
Shushpanov: Well, he told me he had been placed in a mental hospital for something or other.
Prosecutor: Did he tell you that inhuman treatment was administered to him or others in the hospital?
Shushpanov: He said that they gave injections of some kinds of medicine, but I don't remember what kind.
Prosecutor: And why did they give these injections? Did Bukovsky tell you?
Shushpanov: Well, I think they were for treatment.
Prosecutor: Did Bukovsky tell you that he does not like this system?
Shushpanov: He said that he favored a "balanced society."
Prosecutor: What does that mean? How did he explain it to you?
Shushpanov: I seem to remember that he had in mind a multiparty system.
Prosecutor: Did Bukovsky ask you to take advantage of your assignments abroad in order to secure a duplicator?
Shushpanov: Yes, it seems that there was such a conversation, but as I remember it arose at my initiative.
Judge: What do you mean, at your initiative? How did the conversation go?
Shushpanov: It seems that the conversation was about samizdat. I asked Bukovsky whether the only way samizdat material could be duplicated was by typing it. Bukovsky said that this was the only way. Then I wanted to know why some more modern kind of duplicator wasn't used — some sort of printing press. Bukovsky replied that it was impossible to obtain such a machine in our country and that they could only be freely purchased abroad. I asked why they didn't get a machine from abroad, since they apparently had connections there. Bukovsky answered: I do not go abroad, so I don't have such an opportunity. Since you do go abroad, why don't you try to bring back such a machine?
Judge: You mean that was the conversation and he left it at that?
Shushpanov: Yes.
Prosecutor: And what did Bukovsky say about the fact that in the Soviet Union there is no personal freedom?
Shushpanov: Where? When we were with his friends?
Prosecutor: At any time.
Shushpanov: He said little about it. The others did most of the talking.
Prosecutor: Precisely what did they talk about?
Shushpanov: Well, I seem to remember that they were generally dissatisfied; they were protesting, as it were.
Prosecutor: Tell us, Shushpanov, while you were acquainted with Bukovsky, did you yourself share his anti-Soviet views?
Shushpanov: Yes, I did.
Prosecutor: You were planning to write an anti-Soviet novel?
Shushpanov: Yes I was.
Prosecutor: Did Bukovsky promise to help you get this novel abroad?
Shushpanov: Bukovsky said that if I circulated the novel inside the Soviet Union, sooner or later, regardless of whether I wanted it or not, it would turn up abroad.
Prosecutor: Did Bukovsky give you any kind of material to look over?
Shushpanov: At my request, he let me borrow two works by Solzhenitsyn — Cancer Ward and First Circle — so I could read them.
Judge: Where were these books published?
Shushpanov: It seems, by the publisher Possev.
Judge: Does anyone have any questions for the witness?
There were none.
Judge: Witness Shushpanov, you may go. Witness A. E. Nikitinsky is summoned.
The judge warns the witness that he is liable for any deliberate rendering of false testimony, under Article 181 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. The witness signs the oath.
Judge: Tell the court your name and your place of work.
Nikitinsky: Nikitinsky, Arnold Eduardovich. I work for the customs department at Sheremetyevo Airport.
Judge: Is there any reason why the nature of your relationship with the defendant precludes objective testimony?
Nikitinsky: No.
Judge: Tell us what you know about the case.
Nikitinsky: Bukovsky and I have known each other since the eighth grade. He moved from another school. In his first few days at our school, he showed himself to be a very talented, erudite lad, a very good comrade. Everyone was attracted to him. I remember specifically that I was having trouble with English and Bukovsky helped me find a tutor. When I lost some library books, Bukovsky got books from his own library and gave them to me. I visited his home on several occasions. He was always very hospitable with everyone and served us tea. In the tenth grade, Bukovsky and some other kids put out a paper called "The Martyr." Half of the paper was about school themes and the other half (he finds it difficult to explain). Well, whatever was bothering them, they would talk about somehow. The school Komsomol [Communist Youth League] condemned the paper. Bukovsky was expelled from school and I didn't see him after that for many years. We met again in the winter or spring of 1970 on the street near his home. He invited me in. We talked. He said that he had been arrested. In general, he talked about himself. I visited him several times after that and he was always very gracious. We played chess, drank coffee, and talked. Bukovsky, upon learning that I worked for customs at Sheremetyevo Airport asked me to make arrangements so that someone could smuggle a portable press in for him from abroad. I thought that it was all a joke. I didn't believe that he actually intended to do it. Many people visited Bukovsky's home. They would come in, show him things; he would correct them and they would leave. I understood that he was some kind of proofreader. Once, a Moscow University student came and read a lampoon in my presence in which some sort of tramp was portrayed, mocking at our leaders and at V. I. Lenin. It was very unpleasant for me to listen to this, and I realized that I was among people who were my enemies.
Later on, Vladimir Bukovsky introduced me to someone named "Sasha," a worker at the Moscow Concert Hall. He said that Sasha was planning to go abroad and bring back a press and that I should help him smuggle it through customs. In my presence Sasha outlined the plans of the airport, the arrangement of service exits and of the customs section. I realized that they were dragging me into a dangerous plot and I decided to notify the authorities. The next day Bukovsky sent a young man to the airport with whom I conducted a sort of trial run; that is, I showed him how to get through the service entrance and showed him around the airport.
Judge: That's all?
Nikitinsky: I think that's all.
Judge: Does anyone have questions for the witness?
Prosecutor: Did Bukovsky tell you that in our country sane people are confined in mental institutions because of their beliefs?
Nikitinsky: Yes, he told me he had been confined in a psychiatric hospital several times, although he is sane.
Prosecutor: What kind of anti-Soviet statements did you hear from Bukovsky?
Nikitinsky: Many people there were saying such things.
Prosecutor: But what did Bukovsky himself say?
Nikitinsky: He was more quiet than the others.
Judge: Are there any further questions for the witness?
Defense Attorney: Tell us, Nikitinsky, when did you last see Bukovsky?
Nikitinsky: On December 31, 1970. I remember the day because they were decorating a New Year's tree in the apartment.
Defense Attorney: Did Bukovsky tell you at that time about his rejection of the plan you were speaking about here?
Nikitinsky: No, he didn't.
Defense Attorney: I have no further questions.
Judge: Defendant Bukovsky, do you have any questions for the witness?
Bukovsky: Yes. (He addresses Nikitinsky.) You have stated that in my apartment you repeatedly heard anti-Soviet statements, which you found distasteful; that they aroused your indignation and it was only with great effort that you were able to refrain from being rude. You realized, you say, that you were among hostile people, and all the same you continued to visit me. Why didn't you even once tell me your views? Why didn't you tell me that you, as an upstanding Communist, disapproved of my actions and views and felt outraged? Why were you silent? Why did you hold yourself back?
Nikitinsky is silent.
Judge: Nikitinsky, answer the question.
Nikitinsky: Well, I told him: Volodya, forget it, you're beating your head against a brick wall.
(Laughter in the courtroom.)
Bukovsky: Precisely what anti-Soviet statements did you personally hear from me?
Nikitinsky: I don't remember exactly.
Prosecutor: In the preliminary investigation you testified that Bukovsky spoke to you about the infringement of civil rights and the absence of personal freedom in our country. Isn't that so?
Nikitinsky: Yes, he said something about the fact that there is no freedom of speech or press. But it was pointless saying this to me; after all, I am a Communist. To me, all that is tempest in a teapot.
(Laughter in the courtroom.)
Judge: (Rebukes Attorney Shveisky) Smiling is inappropriate in a court of law.
Defense Attorney (Shveisky): I am not smiling. I confess that I do not find anything to smile about in what the witness is saying.
Judge: Exactly. Are there further questions for the witness?
Bukovsky: Would you state whether I told you I was rejecting the plan for bringing in a portable press because it seemed too risky and that, moreover, I hadn't found anyone who would agree to bring in such an apparatus from abroad?
Nikitinsky: Yes, you said that there was no one to bring it in, not at that time, as I understood it.
Bukovsky: Would you state why on October 13, 1970, realizing that an anti-Soviet plot was being prepared, you did not immediately report this to the authorities; but instead, as you state, conducted a sort of trial run?
Nikitinsky: I didn't believe that you were serious. I felt as if I were dreaming. I thought it was some kind of joke.
Bukovsky: What happened in the time between our meeting on October 13, 1970, and February 8 [1971], i.e., almost four months, when you finally decided to report everything? When did you realize that it was not a joke?
Nikitinsky: The lampoon I heard in your home greatly alarmed me. It was as if my eyes were opened.
Bukovsky: When did this happen? By your own testimony, we last saw each other on December 31, 1970.
Nikitinsky: I don't remember.
Bukovsky: Tell me, why did you bring me various foreign magazines?
Nikitinsky: I didn't. I had no opportunity.
Bukovsky: Why did you bring me a clipping from the Washington Post with an article about me and my photo in it?
Nikitinsky: I didn't do that.
Bukovsky: Why did you tell me about the events on the Soviet-Chinese border?
The Judge strikes that question from the record.
Bukovsky: Why did you bring me a Russian-Chinese phrase book for military use?
The judge strikes out that question.
Bukovsky: Why did you tell me about the arrest at Sheremetyevo Airport of a certain Mikheev who . . .
The judge strikes out that question.
Bukovsky: Under what circumstances did you see the magazine Possev at my home?
Nikitinsky: Once I was visiting you and you asked me to wait and you went outside. While you were gone this same man called Sasha came. I opened the door for him. You came back later and brought two magazines.
Bukovsky: What kind of magazines were they?
Nikitinsky: They were stamped "Possev."
Bukovsky: The publishing house called Possev puts out all sorts of publications. Were they actually magazines with the word "Possev" on them?
Nikitinsky: I don't know exactly. You said something about "Possev."
Judge: Did Bukovsky give you these magazines so that you could look them over?
Nikitinsky: I was not interested in them and didn't express any desire to look them over.
Bukovsky: What else was done with these magazines?
Nikitinsky: I seem to remember that you gave them to Sasha.
Bukovsky: You mean, Sasha took them away?
Nikitinsky: I don't know.
Bukovsky: During the investigation you said I took them out of the house myself after five minutes.
Nikitinsky: I don't remember now just what did happen.
Bukovsky: Tell us, what department are you directly under the command of? The KGB?
The judge strikes out that question.
Defense Attorney: I have a question. Tell us, Nikitinsky, did you write up your February 8 statement by yourself?
Nikitinsky: Yes.
Defense Attorney: Where did you write it?
Nikitinsky: Where? Not at home.
Defense Attorney: I asked you, where did you write it?
Nikitinsky: I don't remember where I wrote it.
Defense Attorney: Then tell us, did you arrive at the place where you turned in this statement with the statement all written out? Or did you write it there?
Nikitinsky: I got there with the statement all written up.
Defense Attorney: Then answer this, do you know what it says under Article 180 of the RSFSR Criminal Code?
Nikitinsky: I don't understand.
The judge strikes out this question.
Defense Attorney: I want to explain why I asked the witness Nikitinsky this question. Nikitinsky states that he wrote his statement himself and in the statement there is a reference to Article 180 of the Criminal Code. I want to ascertain whether he knows the contents of this statute.
The judge strikes out the question.
There are no further questions.
Judge: Witness Nikitinsky, you may go.
The witness Bychkov is called. The judge warns him of his liability under Article 181 of the Criminal Code [against perjury]. Bychkov signs [statement swearing to the truth of his testimony]. He is asked where he works.
Bychkov: I am in the army.
Judge: State what you know about the Bukovsky case.
Bychkov: March 2, 1971, I was in the cafe at the Kursk Station with [my friend] Tarasov. We were on leave and were waiting for a train to go to Tarasov's home. The waitress seated two people, whom we did not know, at our table.
Judge: Do you recognize the defendant as one of them?
Bychkov: Yes, that's him.
Judge: How did you get along with him — normally or was there hostility?
Bychkov: Normally.
Judge: Continue.
Bychkov: Bukovsky's companion went off to dance. Tarasov was dancing too at first. Bukovsky and I struck up a conversation.
Judge: What did you talk about?
Bychkov: Bukovsky said we didn't have freedom of speech or of the press in our country, and that he had been imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital because of his convictions. He said he was getting ready to organize a demonstration at the time of the Twenty-fourth Congress and that if we [should be] there and be ordered to shoot at the demonstrators, not to do it. He also said that he was acquainted with some foreign correspondents and showed us a notebook where their phone numbers had been written down. I wrote down one phone number — that of Astrakhan [former Washington Post correspondent in Moscow]. Bukovsky gave us his own address and phone number as well.
Judge: Why did Bukovsky give you his own phone number and that of the correspondent?
Bychkov: He said if we should get any information we could pass it on by calling these numbers.
Judge: Does anyone have any questions for the witness?
Prosecutor: Did Bukovsky tell you that the system that exists in our country is not the one the Soviet people need?
Bychkov: Yes, he did.
Judge: Any more questions for the witness?
Bukovsky: Witness Bychkov, thinking back over the conversation we had, are you sure we were talking about the Twenty-fourth Congress and not Poland?
Bychkov: Yes, I'm sure.
No one having any more questions, Bychkov is asked to remain in the courtroom for the time being.
The witness Tarasov is called.
The judge warns him of his liability under Article 181 of the RSFSR Criminal Code. Tarasov signs the oath. The judge asks him where he works.
Tarasov: I'm in the army.
Judge: Are your relations with the defendant normal?
Tarasov: Yes.
Judge: Tell what you know about this case.
Tarasov: In March, 1971, Bychkov and I were in the cafe at the Kursk Station. We were on leave, waiting for the train. The waitress had these two people — Bukovsky and his comrade — sit at our table. There was a conversation going on. I didn't hear the first part of it because I was dancing. When I came back to the table, the conversation had already started. Bukovsky said something about foreign correspondents, that he knew some of them, and showed us some telephone numbers. Bychkov wrote down one of the numbers, and Bukovsky's too. Bukovsky said he had been put into a psychiatric hospital because he had protested against the fact that we don't have freedom of speech. That's it.
Judge: Did Bukovsky tell you that the system in our country is not the one the Soviet people need?
Tarasov: It seems to me he said something like that.
Judge: What else did Bukovsky say?
Tarasov: I don't recall.
Judge: What did he say to you about the Twenty-fourth Congress?
Tarasov: He said that he was probably going to be jailed by the time the congress opened.
Judge: Witness Bychkov, repeat what you told the court about that.
Bychkov repeats what he said about a demonstration and about not shooting.
Judge: Tarasov, do you confirm that Bukovsky said this?
Tarasov: That I don't recall. He said he was going to be jailed by the time of the Twenty-fourth Congress. That I recall.
There were no more questions. The witness was dismissed, and the court recessed.
After the recess, Nina Ivanovna Bukovskaya was called as a witness.
Judge: Witness Bukovskaya, you are hereby warned that according to Article 181 of the Criminal Code (RSFSR) you are liable for any false testimony. Sign the attestation to the truth of what you will say. (Bukovskaya signs.)
Judge: Witness Bukovskaya, how are you related to the defendant?
Bukovskaya: He is my natural son.
Judge: How do you get along with him?
Bukovskaya: Fine, except that my son has never made me a party to his activities.
Judge: When was Bukovsky graduated?
Bukovskaya: In 1959.
Judge: How did he do in school?
Bukovskaya: He did well; he is a very capable person.
Judge: What did he do after graduation?
Bukovskaya: He went to the university for a year and then got a job.
Judge: Where did he work? Last year?
Bukovskaya: He worked for the writer Baumvol — as a literary secretary. In the summer he went on a geological expedition. After that, he worked as a literary secretary for another writer, Maksimov.
Judge: Does your son have any special trade or profession?
Bukovskaya: No, he has not managed to acquire a trade.
Judge: What kind of pay did he get when he worked as a literary secretary?
Bukovskaya: Not much. Fifty rubles a month.
Judge: Did he try to find some other kind of work?
Bukovskaya: Yes, he tried, but no one would take him on since he had a prison record.
Judge: Bukovskaya, tell the court whether you have received certified notes for rubles from Oslo and Rome?
Bukovskaya: But does that have anything to do with my son's case?
Judge: Witnesses do not have powers of interrogation.
Defense Attorney: I protest. This has no bearing on my client's case.
Bukovsky: This is outrageous! It has nothing to do with my case, nothing at all!
Judge: Bukovsky, be quiet and behave! No disruptions! (Addressing the witness.) Yes, this does have bearing on the case. Continue please.
Bukovskaya: Yes, I received these money orders. They were sent to me in 1969 when my son was serving his sentence at a corrective-labor camp. People who heard about my plight from the newspapers sent me some small sums along with very warm and kind letters. I still have these letters.
Judge: Do you mean that it has been two years since you received such money?
Bukovskaya: Yes, I haven't received any for two years. And what I did get, I kept in a bank account. And only this year, when I was driven out of my job because of my son and had to start living on a pension, did I take it out of the bank.
Prosecutor: How much did you receive in certified rubles altogether; what was the total?
Bukovskaya: I don't remember exactly, about 100 rubles.
Prosecutor: Here is an official receipt from the USSR Foreign Trade Bank: 101 rubles (certified notes) were paid to Bukovskaya. I request that the receipt be included as evidence in the case. (Hands the receipt to the judge.)
Bukovskaya: May I ask whether the receipt indicates that the money orders were sent in 1969?
Judge: Yes, it is indicated.
Defense Attorney: Will the witness tell the court if she knows a certain Nikitinsky, an officer in the Frontier Guard.
Bukovskaya: Of course I know him; he was a classmate of my son.
Defense Attorney: Did he used to visit your home?
Bukovskaya: Yes he did.
Defense Attorney: Didn't you hear some discussion between your son and Nikitinsky about bringing illegal printing equipment into the country from abroad?
Bukovskaya: Yes, I remember that. It was at the end of December last year, on New Year's eve. We were decorating the New Year's tree when Nikitinsky arrived. My daughter was there too.
Judge: Were you in the same room with Nikitinsky and your son?
Bukovskaya: Yes I would come into the room, decorate the tree for a while, go back into the next room, and come back again and listen to the conversation.
Defense Attorney: What was the conversation you heard?
Bukovskaya: I heard Nikitinsky energetically trying to persuade my son to bring in some foreign equipment for an underground press. He promised he could help. He said that he worked in the customs inspection department at Sheremetyevo Airport and could help bring in the equipment. I also heard my son energetically refuse both Nikitinsky's offer of assistance and the very idea of bringing in and setting up a printing press.
Bukovsky: Please tell them what you did with the Playboy magazines that Nikitinsky brought me and that were in my desk when I went on the geological expedition.
Bukovskaya: Yes, I remember: Nikitinsky brought a pile of Playboy magazines to our house, the scum. They were full of photographs of naked women and obscene cartoons. But my son dislikes such literature, and I dislike it even more. Not only that, such photos and cartoons are considered pornographic in our country and you can be tried for having them. I burned the magazines.
Bukovsky: Please tell the court if you sent appeals to any official bodies in 1966, when I was held for eight months in psychiatric hospitals, being switched from one to another, without any trial or investigation or court ruling, and in spite of medical testimony.
Bukovskaya: I remember that well. I appealed to many offices. First of all, to Comrade Funtov, the Moscow city public procurator in charge of reviewing state security agency activities. He told me: "Let him stay there." I appealed to General Svetlichny, head of the KGB administration for Moscow oblast. He too said: "Let him stay there." I wrote to the Central Committee of the party about this three times, and after the third letter you were let out.
Bukovsky: Do you remember the time I introduced you to the KGB agent who was following me and who threatened me with his service revolver?
Bukovskaya: I remember, naturally. Before the revolution people like that were called "snoopers" [shpiki]. I don't know what they call them now. This person was constantly tailing my son, and my son introduced him to me, saying that he had encountered this person many times on the trolley and on the streets and that this person had threatened him with his service revolver.
Judge: And this person did not deny your son's allegations?
Bukovskaya: No, he didn't. And I told him he was exceeding his official powers and had no right to threaten my son with his weapon.
Judge: That is enough, Bukovskaya. You are dismissed; you may be seated.
Defense Attorney: I request the court to reconsider the question of summoning the witnesses J. Peipert and A. Waller. I would like to summon these witnesses.
Judge: It is the court's opinion that these witnesses have no bearing on the case. Moreover, the hearing of testimony is concluded. We shall proceed to the summaries.
[To be continued.]