When theater director Yury Lyubimov first came back to the Taganka in 1988, Moscow's theater world went wild. When the author Vladimir Voinovich followed him back to Moscow, the House of Writers was awash with champagne. The Great Soviet Culture Drought was really over.


But for tens of thousands of Russians, the return from exile of such cultural giants has done nothing to compensate for the loss of those they regard as far greater idols.


The names of Igor Larionov, Sergei Makharov, Vladimir Krutov, Alexei Kasatonov and Vyacheslav Fetisov are rarely, if ever, heard in the salons of the great and the good. But out on the street a mention of any is certain to set heads shaking in regret. And inside the CSKA stadium on Leningradsky Prospekt, it is best not to speak of them at all. Questions will be met with stony silence.


For in the late 1980s, these were "the famous five", the backbone of a virtually unassailable CSKA hockey side, possibly the greatest ice-hockey team in Russian history. And then, between 1988 and 1989, all of them, one by one, left the country, tempted away by the glittering prizes of North America's National Hockey League. They were soon followed by teammates Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Mogilny and Pavel Bure. CSKA suddenly found itself stripped of its talent and Russian ice hockey was no longer worth watching.


It must be said that in contrast to the cultural exiles, none of these players were hounded out of the country, or indeed had any ideological reason for leaving, other than a dedication to Mammon. These were the pampered elite, their places on the CSKA side embellished with commissions in the Soviet Army -- which meant that they could serve their terms of conscription playing hockey. No dissidents here.


So when they left, it was hardly surprising that the authorities vented their frustration on them. Unable to compete financially with the rewards offered abroad, all the authorities could do was besmirch their names, branding them as deserters and traitors. Criminal proceedings were launched against several players in their absence, making a return home out of the question. But the biggest losers were the fans.


It is unfortunate that it took a lock-out in the NHL for the stars to come home. But this is no time for bitterness. Nineteen of the players have returned, have been officially welcomed at a Kremlin reception, and all accusations against them have been dropped. They will not be in Russia for long, but while they are, their supporters will at least get one more chance to see their lost heroes perform. Perhaps one day there will be reason to come back for good.