The US-Soviet Space Bridge was a series of experimental, international
telecasts between
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and
U.S.
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
viewers, performed by group of communication enthusiasts during the late
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
era. Translated from the Russian word ''telemost'' (literally, "TV bridge"), a space bridge was a public interactive television link between two or more geographically separate and culturally distinct locations, a form of public
videoconference
Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...
.
The first space bridge was an arrangement between the Unuson Corporation and
Gosteleradio
The State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Soviet Union ( Russian: Государственный комитет СССР по телевидению и радиовещанию) commonly known as Gosteleradio of the USSR (Г ...
of the USSR for the
US Festival
The US Festival is the name of two early 1980s music and culture festivals held near San Bernardino, California.
Background
Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple and creator of the Apple I and Apple II personal computers, believed that the 197 ...
, sponsored by computer pioneer
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc., Apple Computer with ...
. On September 5, 1982, a TV-link was established for the first time between the Soviet Union and the United States. On the Soviet side,
Joseph Goldin and
Yuli Gusman were in charge. On the United States side was the Documentary Guild and producer Mark Warner and associate producer Lester Gray of King Broadcasting.
The participants in that space bridge could see each other, ask questions and receive answers, and also hold a musical dialogue. The programs of the subsequent space bridges consisted not only of music-hall turns and greetings but also discussions on different subjects, in which prominent scientists, public figures, cosmonauts and journalists took part.
Phil Donahue and
Vladimir Pozner hosted the meeting between the US and the USSR, respectively. According to Pozner's book, ''
Parting With Illusions'', many U.S. TV companies did not want to purchase those space bridges. Thus only eight million people in the U.S. watched the programs, versus 180 million in the USSR.
There is no sex in the USSR
When an American asked a question about TV advertisements exploiting
sex in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, a Soviet lady (, Liudmila Ivanova) answered "Well, sex... (laugh) we don't have it, and we are absolutely against it!", which was then corrected by another Soviet lady present in the show: "We do have sex, but we do not have advertisements!".
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
This created the
catchphrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
"There is no sex in the USSR!".
Luidmila Ivanova has told a different story to the ''
Komsomolskaya Pravda
''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth').
History and profile
During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...
'' newspaper:
Well, the TV show started, and one American lady have said: you must stop having sex with your men because of the Afghan War – then they won't go to the war. And kept pointing at me. Then I answered her: there is no sex in the USSR, but there is love. And you also didn't stop having sex with your men during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. But everyone remembered only the beginning of the phrase. Am I not right? We have always considered the word "sex" almost dirty. We were always making love, not sex. That is what I meant.
References
External links
Russian website on the first 1982 satellite TV linkThe 20th anniversary of the first space bridge between Moscow and Los Angeles
{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S.-Soviet Space Bridge
Society of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union–United States relations
Television in the Soviet Union
Science and technology in the Soviet Union
Telecommunications in the United States
1982 in international relations
1982 in the Soviet Union
Videotelephony
Social events
1982 in science
1982 in the United States
1980s in Soviet television
1982 in technology