Jon Bon Jovi has spoken about his memories of visiting Russia for the first time, when Bon Jovi were booked to play the Moscow Music Peace Festival in August 1989, during the glasnost era, three months before the Berlin Wall came down.
The festival, co-promoted by Bon Jovi's then-manager Doc McGhee, and Russian musician Stas Namin, came into being in the wake of McGhee being arrested for his alleged involvement in a plan to import 20 tons of marijuana into the US. As part of his guilty plea, McGhee promised to dedicate 3,000 hours to his Make a Difference Foundation, aimed at cautioning against drug use and offering support to addicts, and the festival in Russia - which featured Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Cinderella and Russian band Gorky Park - was promoted as a benefit for those with addiction issues.
