In connection with the telegram from the Soviet ambassador in France (sh/t special no. 1611, from Paris on June 4, 1984), which reports rumors about the “death of Sakharov,” the KGB of the USSR and the Department of Foreign Political Propaganda of the Central Committee prepared an operational commentary. On June 5, 1984, the commentary was disseminated through TASS channels to all countries of the world. The operational dissemination of the commentary evoked a positive response.

The special services of the USA and their patrons absolutely refuse to accept the fact that their provocation with Sakharov and Bonner has failed. They continue to disseminate new false reports based on conjecture and nothing else. Whoever whips up rumors about “Sakharov's death,” as a certain Italian “journalist” is doing, is simply burying him alive.

We do not intend to defend Sakharov and Bonner, but we cannot allow all this to be exploited for false anti-Soviet propaganda. Provocateurs are thirsting after sensations. The true sensation is that the filthy role of the intelligence services of the USA (and the official American circles that stand behind them) has been on full public view. They, and no one else, prepared plans for Sakharov's “hunger strike,” Bonner's attempts to seek “political asylum” in the American embassy in Moscow, and her provocative ties with Western correspondents.

All these plans have crashed. And here the quite unseemly role of certain employees of the American embassy in Moscow has been exposed. After all, it was not from the kindness of their hearts that they were forced to admit that they had orchestrated this anti-Soviet campaign. A number of organs of the Western press nevertheless continue to shout about the health of Sakharov and Bonner. They are healthy and are not starving! The “concern” of American intelligence services about their health is perfectly clear: they are needed only for the purpose of defaming the Soviet Union. And indeed the American administration spares nothing to achieve this. Washington has long since based its policy on the premise that the worse relations are with the Soviet Union, the better they are for the American administration: international tensions are a major boon to the arms race. So they stir up tensions, sparing nothing in the process.

We note, incidentally, that certain gullible people have joined this anti-Soviet campaign in the West that the White House has stirred up. Unfortunately, they believe lies, not facts. The facts, we repeat, are as follows: Sakharov and Bonner are healthy. Perhaps, in the centers of Western psychological warfare, they would like to hear different news, but we cannot report anything else.