Growing up in the USSR I always been fascinated by how only a few of soviet writers/comedians/directors were allowed some level of freedom while the rest had to stay true to the party propaganda lines. Obviously, these few were most appreciated.
It was just easier to do some kind of a propaganda film. No risk, no reshoots, no script rewrites, just stamp it out and make a little bit of money and a trip to Yugoslavia and a black sea vacation.
My theory is that the elites needed entertainment too. I am judging by the flood of previously unknown art during perestroika. Those books, movies, and the rest took years of work to develop. They didn’t just appear out of thin air after Gorbachev declared glasnost