7 of the brightest visits of foreign stars to the USSR: How did they remember them to Soviet citizens

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the post-war period, foreign celebrities did not come to the USSR very often, and each visit became a real event for the Soviet people. But for the world stars themselves, a trip to a mysterious country was akin to an adventure. Some expected to see bears walking the streets in Russia, while others imagined the Soviet Union as a completely wild country.

Yves Saint Laurent

The famous fashion designer arrived in the Soviet Union in the summer of 1959, accompanied by twelve models. The show of the Dior fashion house lasted five days, and was attended by more than eleven thousand guests. The collection, unusual for fashionistas in our country, was surprisingly impractical in Soviet everyday life, but this made the show even more attractive. Where else could our compatriots see impressive short dresses and sundresses, and even tulle with delicate embroidery seemed like a curiosity.

Elizabeth Taylor and Gina Lollobrigida

It seemed that the visit of the two film stars to the II Moscow International Film Festival in 1961 was nothing unusual, except that the actresses who met in the Kremlin turned out to be dressed exactly the same. True, Elizabeth Taylor was wearing an original dress from a famous fashion house, but Gina Lollobrigida flaunted in a skillful copy of it. Naturally, photographers could not ignore this fact, and soon pictures of actresses in the same outfits spread all over the foreign publications.

David Bowie

The musician's first visit to the USSR took place in the spring of 1979. He crossed the Soviet Union by train on the Trans-Siberian Railway. David Bowie boarded his carriage in Vladivostok, and the two-week journey made an indelible impression on him. He talked about the incredible expanses and admired the beauty of nature. The performer with great pleasure communicated with two charming conductors of his carriage, sang songs to them and later called them his first Soviet admirers. And the very next day after arriving in Moscow, the musician watched with amazement the large-scale May Day demonstration from the hotel window.

Later, the musician will describe his impressions of the trip, calling it an adventure that has developed into an amazing experience. Three years later, he will return to the Soviet Union as a tourist with his friend Iggy Pop. And only in 1996, his arrival in Russia made it possible for the fans of the performer to hear his live concert.

Boney M

In the late 1970s, the popularity of this German group was simply extraordinary, and therefore her visit to the Soviet Union could not be ignored. The performers were received unusually warmly, and the musicians could fully enjoy the attention of grateful spectators after their performance in the Rossiya concert hall, and their own walks around Moscow. However, the members of the group had a good time: they were able to record a video clip directly on Red Square.

Elton John

The arrival in the USSR of a musician of such magnitude as Elton John was something akin to fantasy. The performer himself was imbued with sympathy for our country and began to delight his fans with visits. His same visit was remembered for the performance of one of the hits directly in the restaurant of the Evropeyskaya Hotel in Leningrad, where the singer lived. As a result of the trip, the musician was impressed by the incredible beauty of the Hermitage and Peterhof, where he managed to visit. Subsequently, Elton John shared his impressions, telling how much he loves Russian forests, and talked about how he had a chance to feed moose. How true the story with the moose is is not known for certain.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

The American actor arrived in the USSR in 1988 for filming the film "Red Heat", but Schwarzenegger combined business with pleasure on this trip. He bought an ermine coat for his wife and was able to meet a man whom he considered his idol. After meeting with the famous weightlifter Yuri Vlasov, the actor presented the latter with his photo with the inscription: "You are my idol, Yuri Vlasov." The thing is that 27 years before this meeting, young Arnold Schwarzenegger himself took an autograph from the legendary weightlifter during the World Weightlifting Championships, held in Vienna.

Pink Floyd

The fans of the group in 1988 had no opportunity to enjoy the music performed by Pink Floyd. It was a great success for the musicians themselves that they were allowed to watch the launch of the Soyuz TM-7 rocket. It should be understood that at that time the attitude of the party leadership to the work of "Pink Floyd" was too unambiguous. Everyone who was a fan of the group had to hide their musical preferences. True, just a year after the first visit, the Pink Floyd group arrived in the USSR with concerts that were held at the Olimpiyskiy. All four five-hour Pink Floyd shows were sold out.

Foreign performers seemed to open the door to an inaccessible foreign world. Karel Gott, the Arabesque groups, Genghis Khan and even the Baltic Orange seemed almost aliens from another planet. Today, listeners have access to performances of completely different performers, but still those whose performances were shown after three hours on New Year's Eve are remembered by many with slight nostalgia.