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.

Soviet intellectuals Tamara Mamedova, Nicolai Pogodin, and Anatol Safronov talk with Studs Terkel about their work with the Institute for Soviet-American Relations (U.S.) and Soviet arts and culture.

The American scholar of Russian history reads from and elaborates on her book, Land of the Firebird: The Beauty of Old Russia.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations 

Discussing the book "The 900 days" about the siege of Leningrad during World War II.

Northwestern University professor of Slavic languages and literatures Irwin Weil discusses Russian literature, poetry, and theater. Weil discusses the strong interest students have at Northwestern University for the subject he teaches, and attempts to answer why that is. Weil sings several unnamed Russian folk songs throughout the program and reads “A Magic Moment I Remember” - Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin.

Northwestern University professor of Slavic languages and literature Irwin Weil discusses his trip to China to attend an international meeting of teachers in Russian and Russian literature. He also briefly discusses notable Russian writers. Weil sings several unnamed Russian and Chinese folk songs throughout and reads “I Loved You” - Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin.

Discussing the book, On Doing Time, and interviewing the author Morton Sobell.  Includes clips of Studs asking various people what they know about Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.*Please note: some sections have been edited out from the original recording due to copyright considerations