I was just talking to a friend of mine who grew up in the Brezhnev era and the subject turned to Samizdat. I said something just kind of assuming that it was criminal to read Solzhenistyn and suchlike in the USSR and he laughed at me. He said you could practically read it on the metro. You could even give it to your friends. Distributing it or selling it was a criminal offense, however. It would aggravate the situation if you were accused of another crime, and it wouldn't look good if you were in the Komsomol or CPSU. Boy do I feel disillusioned.
Speaking of the USSR, there was a joke: A Soviet citizen buys an LP on the black market he is told contains "sexy music." He plops down 200 rubles, takes it home and discovers that, in fact, it is a recording of a speech by Brezhnev. Irate, he returns and tells the black marketeer, "You bastard! I gave you 200 rubles! You said it was erotic music! Instead, it is boring-ass Brezhnev droning on about the harvest!" The vendor tells him to take it home and try it at different speeds. He does so: At slow speed, Brezhnev sounds like he's having an orgasm, and at high speed like he's making kissing noises.
This is only really funny if you've ever heard Brezhnev talk.
Chris Doss The Russia Journal