Index on Censorship

The exiled dissident and celebrated writer returned to the Russian capital briefly for his friend's funeral

An Estonian reporter's expose prompts his call-up by the army. Madis Jurgen left Tallinn on Friday 13 October, bound for New York and Toronto, from where he decided to await events

The editor of Vybor, a samizdat journal that seeks the revival of Russian Christian values, talks to Alyona Kozhevnikova about his journal and its aims

In August, Index on Censorship's East European researcher Karel Kyncl visited Hungary. He was granted an entry visa in his stateless person's travel document at the Hungarian consulate in London.

Karel Kyncl talks to the head of the Budapest publishing house, AB Beszélö Ltd

Prime Minister Bhutto marks her first year in office on 2 December. A former newspaper editor praises her for a little liberalisation of the press though many bad habits remain

Persecution of the Ahmadi community has increased during Bhutto's government

On 18 September India and Sri Lanka signed an agreement for the withdrawal of 40,000 Indian troops from Sri Lanka. On 20 September the Indian Peace-Keeping Force and the Tamil Tiger separatist guerrillas declared an indefinite ceasefire. But the civil war has left deep wounds in the Sri Lankan press

A lawyer describes the breakdown of order all around him in Colombo which led to his own flight when terror knocked at his front door

In Malawi's catalogue of restrictions even weeping is declared subversive

I served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal, translated by Paul Wilson (Chatto & Windus £l2. 95)