Mikhail Baryshnikov reportedly was insistent with the producers that gramatically-correct Russian be spoken in this movie instead of the often nonsensical hybrid often used in American movies. Baryshinkov also did a scene where he spoke French. In real life, it was his second language.
Dame Helen Mirren played her Russian part with great authenticity, which is not surprising as she is half-Russian. She was born Helen (or Yelena) Mironoff, and her father was an emigrant to England from Smolensk, Russia.
Producer and director Taylor Hackford was widely ridiculed for using the same old Helsinki shots to stand in for Leningrad. In reality, he had used actual shots of the Kirov Theater and other locations in Leningrad taken by a Finnish travel company on his behalf. Despite the unfair criticism, he kept the true story of these shots secret for years afterward to protect his Finnish partners.
Dame Helen Mirren and producer and director Taylor Hackford met on the set of this movie and eventually married.
Gregory Hines was also credited for the unique category of "Tap Improvography", which can be defined as improvisational tap-dancing.
Maryam d'Abo: The future leading Bond Girl from 007: Su nombre es peligro (1987) as the French girlfriend of Nikolai "Kolya" Rodchenko (Mikhail Baryshnikov).