Music

I'm not sure why this is so great, but it is.

The media of totalitarian regimes in general, when left up to the people up top, tends to shy away from the depressive and the ideologically rebellious. That’s why the Soviet Union went to the effort of producing some great classical musicians, and allowing Western classical musicians to perform as goodwill gestures—less lyrics, less message, less problem! Well, sometimes there is a pretty strong message, but this way nobody gets in trouble who isn’t supposed to.

At this time, I would like to point out that this was state-approved music:

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Spoiler

As it turns out, though, what the proletariat really wanted was a bit of rock and roll, too (that and smuggled blue jeans). Who knew?