My own time in the USSR was not aviation-related at that time and I frequently found myself in some of the more obscure parts of the Soviet empire, accompanied as always, by an 'interpreter'. The trick with the 'floor dragons' I discovered early on was to present them with chocolate or packed sweets (of British origin) which in turn brought unlimited quantities of fresh tea and salami sandwiches and sometimes an upgrade
However in some of the towns I visited, there was not always a hotel room available, so I was put into the Party members' private wards in hospitals twice and someone's flat on another occasion!
Leningrad as a city was much more fun, perhaps because it is a port. Plenty of bars and a few half-decent restaurants (
только доллары! - $ only!) and a much pleasanter city overall than Moscow.
Anyway, back to the aviation theme. One thing I well remember is that on the SVO-LHR return flight, the captain would normally announce over the PA: "We have now left Soviet airspace," to loud cheers and the cabin staff would appear with the champagne flutes - this was long before business class and beancounters, though! Thanks BEA!