Eastern Europe: Uneasy Lies the Bloc

While President Nixon prepared for his swing through the capitals of Western Europe, Eastern Europe last week marked a melancholy milestone. Six months have passed since Warsaw Pact tanks rumbled into Czechoslovakia, but Communism's East Bloc still remains uneasy and uncertain.

Like Western Europe, Eastern Europe is pulling apart. It is torn by resurgent nationalism and the desire to trade with the West. These trends run directly counter to the interests of the Soviet Union, which seeks to dominate the bloc's economic activities through Comecon, the Communist equivalent of the Common Market,...