Last spring, Time magazine reported that according to Soviet sociologist-sexologist Igor Kon, "things are changing" in the U.S.S.R., that "women's sexuality, which was previously denied, is starting to be acknowledged." Pretty encouraging news, right? But not the whole story. Here's what Time and the good doctor left out: Soviet women are sexy, exciting, smart, beautiful, determined and bursting with life. We ought to know--we were there. In an unprecedented expedition that took almost two years to plan and demanded the cooperation of more than 100 photographers, models, editors, liaison personnel, translators and government officials, Playboy made the journey to the Soviet Union's most famous stretch of soil--Russia--and discovered the biggest secret behind the iron curtain: Russia's women. For years, Playboy Managing Photo Editor Jeff Cohen had been getting pitches from independent photographers eager to make the trip to the land of the hammer and sickle, but it wasn't until Gorbachev made glasnost a household word that Cohen decided the time was right to take the gamble. Selecting Russian photographer Alexander "Sasha" Borodulin--the son of famed photographer Lev Borodulin--to do the honors, Cohen at first sat Stateside, reviewing the film as it arrived via overseas mail. Captivated by what he saw, he eventually made the 6000-mile trip himself in order to get a closer look at just what it took to create a Russian pictorial. (For an account of Cohen's delightfully revealing adventures in the Soviet Union, see page 82.) Ultimately, we wound up with much more than just a pretty scrapbook. In many cases, we were able to put a few myths to rest. For example, almost all of our models confessed that they adored the U.S.--the country and its people. "I would like very much to take a look at America with my own eyes and experience its sweet life," one told us. "I think Americans are klëvye [swell]," said another. They called us "businesslike, cute and neat"; they labeled us "hard workers, warmhearted and good guys." And they were all dying to meet us. As for sex, we had our sock-skis knocked off as our stunning coterie of Russian ladies candidly voiced a sizzling sensuality that would make some Americans blush. "I worship sex--I place it on a pedestal," one model admitted. Another confessed, "The desire never ends." So let it be said that the Cold War has finally, blissfully ended and that beauty is beauty--everywhere.
