ABSTRACT
Moscow had been chosen for the 1980 Olympics and Sir John Lawrence wished to make a series of television documentaries to present the Soviet Union to the outside world. Lawrence, a historian of Russia, with intimate knowledge and experience on the ground, knew he could write a script doing the country better justice. There were times when the frustrations of Sisyphus and Tantalus, the labours of Hercules and Bunyan’s pilgrim’s Slough of Despond all paled into insignificance beside the business of shooting film in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Perhaps letting Tarkovsky out had something to do with wishing to mend cultural relations after the USSR had been put in the ‘dog-house’ following the invasion of Afghanistan, which was, of course, still ongoing. One way forward was to look increasingly to British partners with which the association could co-operate.
