Totally unplanned, random location, by HIS direction
He wanted to see for himself if all the USA Supermarkets were just a setup to fool the Russians (they did that to us, so they suspected we were doing the same thing)
He was so amazed by the stocked shelves he said (privately) that if the Soviet people saw this they would be rioting.
Socialism fails every time its tried in groups bigger than a family.
At home we are 100% totally socialist. I am the only one who can work so I provide for everyone. From each (me) according to their means, to each (my children) according to their needs.
But make me add my lazy next door neighbor into the mix, the guy who is too stupid to hold a job, and I am not so keen on supporting him too. And that breaks down the socialist model after just TWO families- imagine for million's?
While I think that this is a legend as to Gorbachev but is true for his successor of Boris Yeltsin in 1989 although prior to becoming Russia's leader. Still it does reflect the ingrained Russian skepticism. Remember that Reagan's precept of "Trust but Verify" was actually based upon a Russian old saying; "doveryai, no proveryai" that he used when he had his summits with Gorbachev.
Russian distrust of authority dates way back in history to at least Tsar Catherine II (the Great) and her chief minister Grigory Potemkin (1787). As you might understand from the name, Potemkin set up fake villages in the newly conquered Crimea to impress the Tsar with how good life was becoming during an investigation trip. Thus the term Potemkin Village refers to fake goods and deception.