The song was written by their bass guitarist, Greg Macainsh; his lyrics consider Russia under the rule of Gorbachev in the era of glasnost ("openness") and perestroika ("restructuring").

Australian pop rock band Skyhooks had formed in 1973 and by the middle of the following year the classic line-up of Greg Macainsh on bass guitar, Bob Starkie (p.k.a.

[2][3][4] The group had disbanded in 1984, but in 1988 Macainsh began working on new material, which led to two new songs: "Jukebox in Siberia" and "Tall Timber".

[5] The album's new tracks, including "Jukebox in Siberia", were produced by Ross Fraser (John Farnham).

[2][4] Skyhooks undertook an Australian tour to promote the album from December 1990 and issued "Tall Timber" in the following month, which reached the top 100, however the group disbanded again soon after.