Conclusion

Studies on East–West cultural exchanges reveal the contradictory roles of art in individual lives and governmental systems of activities. One of the primary tasks of Music, Art and Diplomacy has been to address the issue of East–West cultural diplomacy from the Soviet point of view as well as from the perspective of the opposite bloc. This chapter focuses on explaining the political approach to cultural diplomacy, but also on the implications of East–West cultural diplomacy in practice and to raise up the effects of the reactions in different countries –not least in the Soviet Union. The cultural Cold War and the relationship between the arts and diplomacy during the Cold War era in particular remain areas that call for further attention from scholars. The Soviet logic behind changing its approach to cultural diplomacy reflects the fact that foreign political decision making in the democratically governed countries became increasingly dependent on popular opinion.