This is very typical (and errorneous) assessment of situation, as far as late 1980s are concerned. Would you say "1980-1985", I wouldn't question your statement a bit. Yes, you could get your hams seriously fried for questioning party line (it would still take some doing to get to GULAG, as late USSR preferred to use less bloody methods of oppression before one gets too troublesome, like professional restrictions, revoking one's right to live in big cities, that sort of things) back then. However, situation started to change incredibly fast in 1985. I would say that spring of 1986 was more liberal than anything USSR had after Stalin's death (including most liberal periods of Khruchev's thaw). It flew (not merely "went") downhill from that, so by 1987 there were very few (if any) retrictions left. USSR allowed Zionist magazine at this point, ferchrisssake! However, pretence of "Party control of media" had been kept until at least 1990. It was very convenient for everyone involved. Communist "conservatives" could pretend that nothing major is happening. Communist reformers kept the pretence in order not to rile "conservatives". People who drove this wave of liberalization just loved the thought of being fearless fighters against Communist beasts (although most of them deep down knew that they were not in any great danger). And foreigners like you loved this feeling of being new incarnation of Dragon-slaying St. George too.