Soviet myths and Western promises

I was born in 1988 in Leningrad, 3 years before “the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th century”, as the Russian president Vladimir Putin described it, took place – the breakup of the USSR. Many people in Russia had great hopes and dreams but the reality in freedom and democracy was much harder than expected. People had no idea how to adapt that quickly to capitalism – and the few who adapted the best became the new ruler of Russia, the Oligarchs. So while the most part of the population became poor and lost in this new system (including my family), a very small group became nearly as rich and mighty as the former Czars. Experiencing the horrors of the 90ies in Russia, people stared to remember the soviet days in a nostalgic way, missing the safety and feeling of being the second World Power.
With this series, I am trying to process the different experiences I collected during these days, as well as the story I heard about “the good old days”.