My journeys in search of the extraordinary story of the Beatles in the old U.S.S.R., the new Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been made possible over the years by the generous advice and support of many people in Russia and the former Soviet Union.
My sincere thanks to the people who guided me and introduced me to the Beatles generation:
Kolya Vasin, Yuri Pelyushonok, Stas Namin, Sasha Lipnitsky, Andrei Makarevich, Boris Grebenshikov, Vladimir Matietsky, Vova Katzman, Sergei Ivanov, Svetlana Kunitsina, Masha Keder, Masha Oleneva, Alexander Gradsky, Andrei Tropillo, Igor Salnikov, Seva Gakkel, Maxim Kapitanovsky, Mikhail Safonov, and Yoko Ono.
My special thanks also for good conversation and fresh insights to Reggie Nadelson, Vladimir Pozner, and the late Jo Durden Smith.
Several earlier accounts have helped my understanding of the rich and sometimes bizarre story of popular music in the Soviet Union, and its importance in promoting change. I would like to acknowledge in particular:
Back in the USSR: The True Story of Rock in Russia by Artemy Troitsky; two books by Yuri Pelyushonok, Strings for a Beatle Bass: The Beatles Generation in the USSR and Through the Eyes of a Cockroach; the Ottawa Beatles Site (beatles.ncf.ca); “Rock on Russian Bones” by Kolya Vasin; Red and Hot: The Fate of Jazz in the Soviet Union 1917–1991 by S. Frederick Starr; and Rock Around the Bloc: A History of Rock Music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, 1954–1988 by Timothy W. Ryback.