I recently had an e-mail from a high school student whom I did not know but who wanted to find out as much as she could about my picture of the bar in the Bolshoi Ballet for a school project. She said she had chosen this picture from my website and needed to give an "in depth" description about the photo. She very sensibly wrote to me to find out what she could from me. After a few exchanges of emails she seemed happy with what I told her. One of the questions she asked was: are the photos you have taken that look candid, are they actually candid, or are they set to look that way? I replied that the ones that look candid are candid, i.e. not posed. I will not pass on any further questions and answers as I hope she will show me her project when it is finished and I can post it here.

Perhaps these two were important party members or successful artists, both groups always well looked after by the authorities.