SHORT TAKES : Penthouse Targets Soviets

SYDNEY, Australia — Penthouse Publisher Bob Guccione said today that he is planning to sell his magazine in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Guccione said he has reached agreement with Moscow to start distributing the magazine in the Soviet Union within the next two months. He said he also has plans to distribute it in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

He said some high-ranking Soviet officials have private subscriptions, part of Penthouse’s worldwide sales of nearly 4 million a month.

“Five of the 17 bureaucrats I spoke to when I was negotiating with the Soviet ministry told me that they get it every month,” said Guccione, who’s in Australia to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the magazine’s Australian edition.

“They thought in light of perestroika the Russian male was likely to benefit from a lifestyle magazine like Penthouse. I naturally agreed with that.”