2003 SPECIAL REPORT: “PAUL McCARTNEY GOES TO RUSSIA“

Russians were not allowed to listen to The Beatles in the Red Square during the 1980s. Vladimir Putin stated that The Beatles were widely listened to in the Soviet Union back in the day, despite the disapproval of officials. In fact, Putin himself is a massive Beatles fan. That is the power of music and its ability to put anyone on the same level playing field. When we think of Putin as a guy who just likes The Beatles, we instantly demystify him; he is no longer the anti-humanist authoritarian leader and ex-KGB agent. This is a testament to the universal language of music. In 2003, Russian leader Putin was partially responsible for getting Paul McCartney to the country in order to perform in the Red Square – marking the milestone as the first Beatle to do so. Along the lines of the power and universality of music – Russian musician, Sasha Lipnitsky, said that The Beatles were the “first hole in the iron curtain.” In the Soviet Union, when Western music was banned and music, in general, was heav