East Europeans pay tribute

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Ronald Reagan is being remembered fondly by leaders, former dissidents and ordinary people in Eastern Europe as a source of hope in an era of Soviet domination.

Mr. Reagan's unequivocal opposition to communism, his support for Radio Free Europe broadcasts into Eastern Europe and his buildup of U.S. armed forces are widely credited here for helping to bring down communist regimes.

"He introduced a moral dimension that legitimized our cause," said Konstanty Gebert, a former Polish dissident who now writes about international affairs for Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland's leading newspaper.

Mr. Gebert and others recalled Mr. Reagan's depiction of communism as economically dysfunctional and morally bankrupt.

"We were running around for decades saying that, and no one listened," he said.

Mr. Reagan's depiction of the Soviet Union as an "evil empire" in 1983 helped embolden dissidents in Eastern Europe.

World War II left Europe divided, with the Soviet Union in control of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany.

Twice, the Soviets invaded with tanks and troops to crush fledging democratic reforms, first in Hungary in 1956 and again in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

As a result, fear of Soviet invasion largely held reformers in check until an American president publicly embraced their cause.

"History will remember Ronald Reagan as that American president who learned the language of politics used by the Soviets," said Nicolae Manolescu, a former Romanian dissident who is now a political commentator and editor of the weekly magazine Romania Literara.