oa Lagos Notes and Records - Russian culture and perestroika: an appraisal

Abstract

Following Mikhail Gorbachev's assumption of office as leader of the former Soviet Union in 1984, the country witnessed unprecedented freedom of expression - the cultural side of glasnost. The effects of this were enormous changes, including in reading habits, in film and television viewing, show attendance, musical styles, the quickening of amateur culture and a decentralization of cultural life through the spread of electronic media.