People after the Fall of the Soviet Union ☭ 

I'm watching the positivity from all these people, and it absolutely kills me to know that things go sideways later on

As a resident of modern Russia, I can say that people from 1993 look kinder, more positive and they speak Russian very well, I mean these people have a more intelligent speech, such a Russian sounds better and more beautiful.

I was 17 in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. Six months earlier, I remember asking my European history teacher if she thought it would ever come down. She said: "Probably not in my lifetime, but maybe in yours." My take away has always been that history can change unexpectedly, seemingly out from nowhere and in an instant. What's important is not losing hope.

Years ago, I was working for a private jets company here in L.A. and the owner was a semi-retired pilot. When younger, he was part of the crew who flew to deliver the equipment for the very first McDonald's in Moscow, and keep flying this route for several years afterward. He told me people was so hungry (in a positive sense) for anything coming from the west: The Levi's jeans, the shoes, the sunglasses etc, specially the young people, and he said what impressed him the most was the optimism despite the difficult times, like they were ready to take on the entire world! On his last visit, he and his crew arrived with suitcases full of jeans, chocolates, Nike shoes, and something very special: A Sony Walkman 😉for the pregnant wife of one of the guys who unload the plane, so she can put the earphones around her belly to play music for the baby. The guy almost cried telling me this...

Wow, this was a wild ride to watch. I'm from Romania, close enough that it feels familiar to our early 90s but how different it all turned out. Peace and friendship to everyone like those guys said in the booth ❤️

The part you said why it made you sad, coming from a non soviet country with a similar backstory... it's because for a brief moment, there was genuine hope of a brighter tomorrow.

As a person who was born in 1990s in an ex-Soviet country, this video made me really sad. Even though I was still a little kid, I remember my parents’ struggles to provide us with basic stuff.

"Politics change and heads of state come and go, but relationships should stay good on a human level"

I was 14 years old then. I lived in St-Petersburg (former Leningrad). I remember watching this with my family. And I remember how free we all felt when Glastnost (free speech) started. Yes, we had shortages of food and basic things, but we felt free.

I served in the US Army in Germany during this time and was getting out in Feb 1992. The USSR dissolved in Dec 1991 and I managed to spend a week in Moscow and St Petersburg in Jan 1992. I talked to as many Russians as I could and 100% were happy to see me when I told them I was American. Overall I would describe it as a mix of uncertainty and hope for the future. In general the people standing in long lines were the wwii generation. I felt bad that they were promised cradle to grave support and suffered greatly only to have it collapse as they reached retirement. More uncertainty with them. With young Russians more of a mix. For example I remember talking to two girls that said they were about to graduate from college with engineering degrees. When I tried to reassure them that they would soon have good jobs they laughed at me like I had said the silliest thing but they were also positive about the future. In St Petersburg across from their naval academy is the sister ship of the Potempkin. It was closed but we told the guard we were Americans and he went and got his officer that took us aboard. In the captins quarters we gave him a Swiss army knife. That is one of the ends of the Cold War moments for me. Now 30 some years later thongs have soured with Russia. However thing are actually far better for most of the Warsaw Pact and parts of the USSR like the Baltics. Russia is entering a rough patch but I still think things will go better in the long run

Damn this is honestly crazy, the way that everyone in the streets were just normal people and probably all of history people were just like this

My mother lived in Alma Ata in soviet times. She gave me the impression it was just another Russian city. Had no idea it was in Kazakhstan until recently. I guess one result of this war is a lot of us are getting a crash course about the Russian world.

The fact that Roman is slowly going mental in his apartment but still making absolute banger videos is beyond me.

Чувак мне 22 я уже очень давно живу в Германии но родился в Одессе чуть не зарыдала как маленькая бич так больно смотреть на эти видео сегодня

Roman, it’s got to be demoralizing and depressing to feel isolated from all you’ve ever known as home. I’m 69 now, and I want you to know a couple of things that occurred to me while watching this video: YOU are amazing, your courage and strength, and your love for your home and ability to see beyond that loyalty to humankind; and this will pass soon. You don’t feel like it (with good reason), but you are young like the kids in the 90s videos, and you will have a better story when viewed in 30 years. Life is always bringing change. I would be devastated is the US was doing what Russia is doing (don’t come for me, I’m talking about Ukraine and don’t need or want a discussion about US flaws atm) because it would tear down what I believed my whole life to some degree or other. It will get better. I’m sorry this is your timeline. Hopefully the change coming will be a happier one!

Anybody else crying as you watch this? It's heartbreaking.

Wow. These people really are so sweet and wholesome and full of hope. And for good reason! I'm so sorry for what they all must be going through today (the ones still alive). Breaks my heart.

It's ok to cry years later, even if you're from another country.

I was born in Kazakhstan in 1993 and my parents moved to the US in 1997 so I have almost no memories of Kazakhstan. It’s crazy to see footage of regular people there that look like they came out of my mom’s college photos. Also, my mom is ridiculously positive just like half the people in this footage. I wonder if blind optimism and borderline toxic positivity is a Soviet thing.

I am from Sweden and of the same age as the young people in the videos from 91-93. So interesting and actually moving to hear the thoughts of these people. Especially since I can compare to what I was thinking, just on the other side of the Baltic sea.

I find it wholesome to think that three dudes from 2022 decided to just them travel one day to give a message to their dads in a tv show during black October ❤️

I was 4 in 1993 and this video is make me feel nostalgic and sad too. This was the horizon of freedom where we still can't get to. I hope somewhen we will have again these booths in Russia and you Roman can speak there :)

AWESOME Flashback bro!! I'm American but my dad was in the U.S. Air Force based in NATO in Belgium until I was a teenager. I remember the wall falling & have a piece of it still. 2 friends & I flew to Russia later during Uni in 1992. I remember we were told that Russian college guys like us would want jeans like we had, Levi or designer jeans. BUT, Russia would only allow a visitor to bring in 2 pairs of jeans for personal use. Because visitors had been bringing in 10 pairs & selling them for $60-$100 USD. I did sell 1 pair of my own already worn cavaricci (sp?) jeans to a college guy in Moscow for $75 USD. But then I joked about how ridiculous it was and ended up just giving him the jeans. He and I STILL keep in touch today!! I remember this show being aired on Belgian TV at night occasionally but with French or Dutch subtitles) That era in history was definitely a really cool thing to be a part of & I remember that almost all of our former fear of the USSR & its people melted away & suddenly guys & gals our age in Uni were very interested and intrigued in visiting Russia and felt fairly safe. I'm not sure if Americans our age back home felt the same way because living in Belgium we were being exposed to a lot more of what was taking place than those back home. Anyway, awesome memory lane! Thank you Roman!✌🏻💙🙌🏻

Thank you Roman! You and others like you are the embodiment of hope for the future of Russia. Greetings from Finland!

As much as I can, I feel your pain and appreciate all that you do. I’m so sorry all of this has happened

As a trained historian, I'm agog at what a goldmine this TV show is; throughout most of history the average man has left little or no record of his life, let alone his thoughts. Usually it's the elites that leave behind records of their lives.

You watched with such love and compassion on your face that it brought me to tears.

The woman about the apartment really knew how to make a deal!

Uniquely positive message in this video, dude. Love all your stuff, honestly

This is one of my favorite videos that u have put out. It felt very natural and I noticed u having fun. Thank you bud : )

Будка гласности - потрясающая концепция, очень простая и олицетворяющая суть демократии. Совершенно невозможно в современной России.

I'd be interested in seeing if that TV show filmed in Armenia and Azerbaijan, because they already started fighting each other before the Soviet Union fell.

Just watched 1420 . And after having watched it for a couple of months I got so sad and pissed of them, of many of the people being interviewed there. Like wtf are they lobotimized, like Putins creations, so sad). And watching this is like SO DIFFERENT vibe from people, you can just feel how they are in front of a media. It hits you hard. Amazing video, thank you.

2:00 I was like i'd like to visit America before i was expat (vietnam) These guys were a blast from the past, I met so many awesome free spirits like that, Just warm feeling thanks for this nostalgia

ngl Post-Soviet music in the 90s goes hard. Свидетельство О Смерти (Death Certificate) is a relatively unknown band from the 90s, but they made really good music.

As an American I've learned a lot about Russian (& Eastern European in general) political history in this past year, pretty interesting stuff

5:02 he's spitting facts, Nautilus Pompilius is insanely good. Hope to play some of their songs on my school graduation in june....

It's heartbreaking seeing these normal people and knowing what then will happen to them (most likely)

You are giving me content different from anything else I see and I appreciate that a lot. Great video bro. Thanks

It would fascinating to track down some of these people to go over what they said then and say what they think about the past thirty years in Russia and the other former Soviet republics.

War times never change But what people see as peace changes

Roman...although you and I have almost nothing in common (age/nationality/politics/religion/etc), I love your channel and I REALLY enjoy the insights you provide in your commentary. There are a few young people who are wiser than even they realize and I believe that you are one of them. Keep doing what you're doing. What you do is really important and I hope that your channel thrives for years to come.

Surely there must be enough of us to see every country united with freedom and prosperity within our life time. I hope eventually for all of humanity will win against war and tyranny.

Fantastic Video Roman!! I really like one thing that a guy said: a rolling stone gathers no moss. Beautiful!

3:35 This dude is my spirit animal. He knew what was up. The oligarchs are scrambling for power while the people get screwed.

Our boiiiii is back! Your history-related videos are my favourite! Thanx for your great work, Roman :) Edit: İ was finally able to watch the whole video, İ think it's among your Top 3. I'll definitely look up the show to watch more clips, hopefully they have automatic English subs

Imagine going on a Schengen-style roadtrip from Rome, through Kyiv to a free Moscow with no border guards or the feeling of danger. 2050, baby. 🕊

I love this content Roman thank you. I'm curious to see something similar for 90s Cuba, post Soviet, you know? My family is Cuban and my husband left in 2001. I'm curious if this show came to other nations outside Europe.

one of my favourite videos of you recently :) nice vibes relating these standpoints/opinions to current times. keep it up roman!

Oh my god!!!! I remember this!! It was like an ad between shows in the early nineties. I would've been around 4 or 5 in Ukraine. Wow throwback!

That TV show is fascinating, thanks for sharing. Have you seen the 1993 music video "Go West" by the Pet Shop Boys? Completely over-the-top but very emblematic of the time and just a trip to watch now. Peace Roman.

Fascinating, Roman! Thanks for showing it.

I'm American and was born in 1990, but this hits hard. Back then our views of Russia were completely different to today. We had put the Cold War behind us and were now friends, or at least that's what we were told. Russia was now a democracy and we were now partners. Roskosmos and NASA for example, did a lot of collaborations at the time. Now it's just depressing to see what has happened to Russia and many other former Soviet countries. Even America has gone downhill from then. Russia has slid back into authoritarianism, the Cold War is back on. The 90's were such a promising time and unfortunately very little of that promise came true.

Roman, I cried with you! Despite the difficulties, it was so lovely to hear everybody wishing peace and friendship, voicing their disappointment with the government freely.. Such a contrast with the hateful propaganda against "the west" that has brainwashed the citizens nowadays. Russians need to watch these speeches from the booth of glastnost and reflect on what is going on in their country today. All the best from Finland!

I'm impressed and grateful for your ability to 'maintain an even strain' given the b.s. in your environment. Your intelligence leads you on an historic and emotional journey seeking clues in the recent past. Thank you very much for taking us along. Today's news outlines the heavy shelling and P's plan for more heavy shelling in January. Strength and courage friends.

The hindsight makes tears spring in my eyes, how did it end up like this

As a Lithuanian who was born in the early 90s, my thought is that. Post Soviet people (especialy those who had their youth during soviet times) are learning how to play the game called Democracy

In 1992 I was in 7th grade, and a group of students from Russia came to visit my school here in the US (the geopolitical ramifications of that obviously didn't hit me until recently). Anyway, they told us American kids that the thing that they noticed the most was that everybody - EVERYBODY - they encountered smiled at them here in the States. I remember feeling sad for them, but people rarely smile when you pass them on the street in America now. No real point to this story, just a memory from the same point in history.

I bet people are going to burst out in joy when this current regime collapse

Aww Roman, you bought tears to my eye's.. What tragic times we are in now, after all the pain it took to get your democracy going. Big hugs from London x

9:58 from what I gather from people who lived in ex Soviet countries is the best part of the USSR vs modern EE is that there was a sense of community so people were more loving but know Eastern Europe is full of nationalism

"Vote for Yeltsin. Life's gonna be good." My god, the oof. It hurts.

the video itself is great, but the comments below it are just gold. so many great stories

There's another time capsule, the song "Blue Skies in Red Square" by the Band "Demon". I listened to it non-stop when the war in Ukraine started... it's a song so full of optimism about the peace between East and West when the end of the Cold War approached. Check it out, it moves me to tears even now. _Now I feel at home in Moscow_ _Just like London or New York_ _And at last we can communicate_ _Now we must learn to talk_ _I can see the flame of Glasnost_ _See it burning everywhere_ _And when your walls come tumbling down_ _We'll cossak in Times Square_ _The ghosts of Lenin and of Kennedy were here_ _The world was waiting for a sign_ _And all around us, north and south and east and west_ _This was a new age for mankind_ _Now there's blue skies in Red Square_ _People dancin' everywhere_ _Now there's blue skies in Red Square_ _Children singin' everywhere_

In an alternate timeline Gorbi's reforms worked and the Soviet Union in 2022 is like Scandinavia

To be fair, the sense of brotherhood and community working towards a betterment of society as a whole is what would give anyone nostalgia about the Union, since that's precisely what's missing today. Even if things were tough back then, it tells you a lot about the positive and love these people showed towards their fellow man even right after the fall of the union. It does makes you think a little.

Your Russian history vids are my personal fav, keep em coming as you like vro. Love from US

I was a uni student in the 90's in Europe and it was the beginning of the "freedom of movement" and you had Erasmus and a lot of people thought this larger brotherhood of nations was coming. Fast forward 30 years and even though the EU has not suffered the same tragedies as the former USSR, it is crazy to see how those sentiments left and how nationalist sentiments have taken over...

Roman can you do a video reacting to videos from the channel 1420; Your perspective as someone who understands the Russian culture will be very interesting!

I am very happy you found this,

Thanks for this. Very interesting to look back and hear the views, hopes and dreams of these ex soviet citizens.

About 10 years ago around the lunch table at work… a coworker from Russia was describing the hard times of the 1990’s. A coworker who grew up on a farm in Iowa said, “I know about that! My brother wanted to help Russia through its difficulties and joined the peace corps! He was sent to a part of Russia with similar climate to Iowa to teach modern farming techniques. He told me how difficult conditions were there. He learned that the main cash crop there was strawberries, but they only grew one traditional variety. It was very good, but all the strawberries in the whole region would ripen at once, so the price they got for them was very low. They either had no strawberries to sell, or a glut. So he tried to show them how to grow a variety of strawberries so they would ripen at different times, so they would have strawberries to sell much of the year and could make a lot more money. Like they do in Iowa. But the locals wouldn’t have it… this is our famous local strawberry, this is what we grow here. He left depressed, having tried but failed.” The Russian coworker listened to all this with an increasing scowl. Good for those locals! The peace corps is a front for the CIA! You brother was sent to ruin Russian agriculture! He was part of an army of Western wreckers sent to keep Russia weak! My Iowa co-worker… but… but… but… my brother is a nice guy! An idealist. He really wanted to help. I know my own brother, he is not a CIA spy?! Yes he was! Putin threw out the wreckers and is restoring Russia to glory! Tell your brother he is NOT WELCOME with his bad advice!

Roman's content / concepts never fail to impress, bravo homey

Some of your best work yet! I love seeing and listening to stuff like this

My heart goes out to them. They all seem like good happy young people just living life. Your videos especially this is not only informative but really insightful would love to see what those people think and have to say

I was reading that Tbilisi has a soviet car museum called Tbilisi AutoMuseum, you should check it out since your there, it could be some cool content

I hope you realize what a wonderful thing you are doing by sharing your world. I'm from the US and we don't really get much info other than propaganda. I've been watching "1420" also. At the moment the highlight for me was watching some teenage boys in front of the KFC talking about their life. If you didn't know, that could easily have been US teenagers. Please know that the people here in the US do not wish bad for your country. (I did cross paths here tho with Russian Mafia and that was intimidating.) The People and the Politics from all countries are two different worlds. Maybe it is time to make the People the priority and reduce politics to managing the maintenance of the infrastructure.

I was -5.8 years old when the Soviet Union disbanded. This hit hard 😢😔

It is amazing that the constant thing with "the union" that they speak of and want- the peace, the connection, the unity. Things that SHOULD BE achievable even without the authoritarian USSR control.

there is good and bad in everything, and the spirit of international comradery and cooperation in the later-era USSR was undoubtedly one of its' best qualities-- I don't think you have to feel bad or apologize for feeling sad about losing that to this ruthless competitive atmosphere and neo-imperialism of today (although the Breznneff era USSR was pretty imperialist, too...)

this was a really cool idea for a video, roman! good job

Got me at the end. I was this close. Good work sir.

You can be very proud of you, that you as a russian are not blinded by nationalism, victim mentality and inferiority complexes like many other russians. This really is showing, that you are an intelligent and a down to earth guy. I have enormous respect, that you are somewhat supporting ukraine even though public sentiment is so hard anti russian these days (for obvious reasons).

You are awesome! Hope you're hanging in there alright. Love your work.

Those 3 dudes did look like they were from 2022. Fashion goes in circles. As someone who grew up in the 90's, it's bizarre to me to see Gen Z wearing clothes that people wore back when I was growing up.

As a Brit, one period of my country's history I'd like to see is the Victorian era. It would be interesting to see what the people of Britain thought the future would be like and how long the empire would last (if they thought it would even end at all)

8:39 Note the displayed plastic bag - sign of wealth.

I'm binging your videos tonight, this one is very interesting and sad. I enjoy watching your reactions. Well done.

"There was no animosity between the Soviet republics"... maybe on that tv show, but in real life there was LOTS of animosity between the republics and Russia. Just because it wasn't expressed on that show, ever thought that maybe... just maybe, it was edited and anger between former republics was something they DIDN'T want to show?

wow this was super interesting to watch! I love that people could just say what they feel with no restrictions!

Great video, but the show is focused on the Russian-speaking side of the union. While we absolutely had it bad in the Baltics, very few people had actually struggled to feed themselves (it was no caviar and champagne, of course). I also get the feeling that our economies have recovered much faster. I wonder if a lot of that is due to not giving in to the West bad-USSR good dichotomy that seems to have consumed Russia since.

Just a side note, its crazy how much I'm learning russian from your videos. I'm now able to pick out when Russians are saying things like "Union" because I know to listen for some variation of "Soyuz" which I now know is a word I've been seeing related to early space stuff and just never knew what it meant

Just wanted to point out how beautiful this idiom was: a Rolling Stone catches no moss

I was born in 1993 in a post soviet country (Lithuania) to a Russian speaking family. They gave me a Russian name, because two years later they were still expecting USSR to come back and things to return to how they were used to. I still hate the name to this day and considering changing it. They are very nostalgic about soviet union, mostly the part of having certainty about jobs and living situation. From the perspective of current events, to them it seems that it was so much better as people did not live in an uncertainty. However, they do not even want to understand any bad sides of Russia or USSR in general, and when all of the events went down in February, I had to contact with most of my family, as otherwise it was just arguments after arguments. They were fed their entire lives that Russia = good, West = bad, and generally want to avoid anything politics related (just like people in Russia). At this point, I lost hope that they will ever see that NATO/West is not at fault for Russia's history of invading others for the last few centuries.

Another certified hood classic

As someone that was born in the former USSR, this was a fun watch. Btw, at 5:54, "Под лежачий камень вода не течёт" does not translate to "a rolling stone gathers no moss". The later is basically "if you keep moving and never settle, you'll never be able to accumulate status, wealth, etc." But the what the dude was saying is "water does not flow under a lying stone", as in don't be a lazy ass.

Part of my family (from dad’s side) were from Moldova and central Russia, part from Ukraine (from mom’s side, they were forcibly relocated to the Urals), I was born in 1993 in big city (more than 1 million people now) in central Russia. I graduated from school in 2011 and went to the university (HSE) in Moscow (thanks to good exam’s results), in that days HSE was the most pro-democratic university, we had events, organised by our alma mater, with political opposition to Putin’s regime, we were the part of big protests in 2011-2012, due to presidential elections HSE provided the opportunity for their students from regions TO VOTE IN THE DORMITORY (actually now I had an opportunity to vote for president 2 times, and I never missed the chance to vote against Putin, thanks to old HSE) ____________ Sukablyad I’m gonna cry now (and now I just remembered how in December 2011 I received SMS from unknown sender, that was offering 500 rubles for joining pro-Putin “protest”, it made me cringe and laugh instead of crying, cuz in that exact sphere nothing ever changed, lol)

Thank you for covering this, it reminds me a lot of the stories of my family about the unification of Germany in 1989. People had hope, and, in the end, things changed for the better. Hopefully Russians will be able to take that way someday...

Great video! I remember the growing pains that Russia was going through. Freedom, Ideas. Creative thinking, all new to a new society. Time to use that kind of thinking and fix the problem!

Damn man, that was a really good video! Keep rockin'! Greetings from Czech Republic!