<description>&lt;p&gt;Give the Communist masses what they really want - a delivery of consumerism.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Shortage of consumer basics threatens stability of the Soviet economy.

<p>Give the Communist masses what they really want - a delivery of consumerism.</p><p>This archive edition of Letter from America was recorded by one of two listeners, who between them taped and labelled over 650 Letter From America programmes from 1973 to 1989. It was restored by the BBC in 2014.</p>

Letter from America by Alistair Cooke: Alistair Cooke's Letter from America Rediscovered

Soviets need soap, December 1989

Soviets need soap, December 1989

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