CamRuSS is starting a series of talks to mark 25 years since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. We are inviting contributors to share their personal experiences and research findings related to the social and cultural life in the time of the Soviet Union.
The first talk/debate “Did the Beatles really rock the Kremlin?” will be led by Marina Burrell, and will be accompanied by video clips from a film by Leslie Woodhead.

In 2009 Leslie Woodhead, the first to spot the Beatles in the Carven Club, made a film, and later published a book, about their influence on pop culture in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In one of his stories “fans were arrested for smuggling Beatles music”; in another, “students were kicked out of University for having a Beatles album.” He sums it up with a catchy pun that “the USSR was created by Lenin and destroyed by Lennon”.

Have you heard any such stories? Do you believe them?

Do you have a story of your own on how you loved, played, enjoyed or hated the Beatles or Pink Floyd, or The Doors, or the Queen or Led Zeppelin or “Jesus Christ Superstar”, or any Western music in the Soviet Union?

We are inviting all music lovers who lived through the period to share your experiences.
Bring your stories, records, X-ray plates and guitars!