Tips for Travelers

When the U.S. issues a travel advisory, it is usually to keep Americans from getting caught in war zones. Last week the State Department took the unusual step of warning U.S. citizens to stay out of Leningrad. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations and the home of the Hermitage art museum. The State Department said Americans may be subjected to "unlawful, arbitrary and unjustifiably embarrassing" behavior. The move came after an off-duty U.S. Marine consulate guard was beaten by six men and then arrested as he walked to the consulate at about 2 a.m.

In an article in Izvestia last week, the Soviets countered that the Marine had been rowdy and drunk and that the police had intervened only to save his life after he had wandered into traffic. Yet in the past six months, the U.S. claims, security agents or other Soviets in Leningrad have arrested, detained and harassed at least a dozen Americans, including diplomats, without provocation. Said a State Department official: "This is intended to convey our considerable unhappiness."