Gorbachev‘s policy of ‘Openness’ (Glasnost) included cultural exchanges with the West. This meant that performers from the Soviet Union could travel to the West and that Western bands could, for the first time, appear in the Soviet Union. One should not underestimate the political importance of rock-n-roll in helping bring down the USSR. The youth of the Eastern Bloc craved access to the icons of Western youth culture — rock music, jeans, punk, American cigarettes, t-shirts, etc — and, of course, reveled in the conceptual freedom that such things represented.

Boris Grebenshikov on The David Letterman show in 1989. The lyrics of the song are a poignant reminder of many Soviet citizens’ desire to be free:

Radio Silence
Radio Silence
It suddenly feels like a new year
Like I’m a million miles away from here
I can see some kind of light here
Although I won’t name it

I want to talk about the moonlight
I want to talk about the wild child, you know
That real wild one, dancing alone
In the middle of the whirlpool

Spinning tales about silence
About radio silence
About some kind of asylum
In the middle of an empty field full of danger

It’s strange I don’t feel like I’m a stranger
I feel like I belong here
I feel like I’ve been waiting for a long time
And now I can tell you some stories

Stories about the madmen
Stories about the dream-child
You know, that real wild one
Who dances alone
In the middle of the whirlpool
And I can tell you about silence
About radio silence
About some kind of asylum
In the middle of an empty field full of danger

Billy Bragg, an English socialist and left-wing activist, was just one musician who jumped at the opportunity to perform in the USSR.

… as did the American Billy Joel.

On a personal note, I too benefited from the new Openness policy and was fortunate enough to travel to the Soviet Union in the winter of 1985-86. Meeting Soviet Russians, our dialectical enemies since 1945, on their own turf shaped me in ways I only now appreciate. If you take one thing away from this class it should be to test what you are told, seek reliable evidence, and always question your sources. (Also, travel as much as you can while you are young and relatively unencumbered – get out of your comfort zone and meet people who are different than you.)