The Soviet Union leads the space race, yet people queue for food in Moscow...
The USSR is in political and economical turmoil - the nation's stability may yet depend on the reform of agriculture. Although it has dramatically cut military spending, it still spends billions on armaments while relying on the USA for grain imports. The failure of Soviet agriculture has been more than an embarrassment, it threatens the whole process of perestroika and President Gorbachev's future with it.
In the first of a two-part special from the Soviet Union, Ian Breach reports on why Russia can't feed itself.

Plus the weather for the countryside at 12.55pm with Ian McCaskill.

BBC Pebble Mill

(Part 2 next Sunday)