For all its political nastiness, the 1970s was a golden era for the Soviet intelligentsia—a period of accumulation of knowledge and cultural experience. It produced a cultural layer that sustained the nation for years to come. Real life was happening on stage, on the screen, in libraries, while pretense, boredom and falsehood dominated reality. For those who dealt in reality—as journalists were supposed to—the 1970s were the least productive years.
