Salisbury continues talking about the artists like writers, musicians and dancers being national assets to Russia. In a country with its history of tyranny, Russian society is becoming more permissive and relaxed, explained Salisbury. Khrushchev keeps the peace right now, says Salisbury but wonders, like the title of a new book he's working on, is this "A New Russia?".

Being a correspondent for the New York Times in Moscow gave others the chance to see Russia through Harrison Salisbury's reporting. Inside their country, the people, says Salisbury, they have started to loosen up and they have started to talk to one another. The freedoms of the arts have come back, too.

Harrison Salisbury discusses his book “The 900 Days: The Siege Of Leningrad” and the lasting impact of the siege on the Soviet Union and life in Leningrad during the siege. Salisbury reads a poem by Olga Bergholz.Isabella Zorina discusses a trip to mass graves, including the many young people who were also visiting, some as part of wedding ceremonies, and the music played at the graves. Terkel plays Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, conducted by Leonard Bernstein, at the end of the program.

Nicolai Malko was a Russian-born American symphonic conductor, who wrote the book, "A Certain Art." According to George Malko, his father's technique in conducting orchestras had nothing to do with showmanship but rather the senior Malko was more concerned with giving his audiences a theatrical experience by conveying the music at hand.