And to kick off my revived blogging, I’ll go back to the earlier post about “My Perestroika”… except this time an actual reflection on the documentary, because it came to Toronto (!) and I went to see it not once, but twice (!!)
The first time I went was with the boyfriend and my parents. I was curious to see their reactions – on the one hand, my parents actually grew up during that time and are the same age as the five Russian subjects of the documentary, so I would be watching this documentary with people very intimately familiar with all the events described in it; on the other hand, my boyfriend really didn’t know much beyond the basics about Perestroika and the attempted coup of 1991, and knows comparatively little about Russia and living in Russia (other than what he has absorbed from my family over the years), and I was very curious to see his reaction as an outsider. And then there is me, halfway in between – yes, born and raised in Russia, but also so very Canadian, and also not nearly as knowledgeable about the minutiae of Russian history and politics as I should and could be.
The second time I went to see the documentary was with a close friend who has been taking Russian language lessons and is rather delightfully enamored with all things Russian. Yet again, a different lens for the experience.
I won’t get into the particularities of the plot, or a scene-by-scene breakdown. These reviews: New York Times (as well as an interview with Robin Hessman, the director), or Boston Globe, Toronto Star, or really, countless others do a better job of that. Also, the documentary has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is pretty reflective of its general quality. It really is excellent.
It also sent me through a gamut of emotions. It was incredible to see the continuum of living through the transition from Soviet Union to present-day Russia, through the collapse of all the ideologies that these people believed in their childhood. The strength of the documentary lies in that it just shows ordinary people and their ordinary lives, without ‘experts’ or politicians or historian talking heads.
It is weird to me seeing Pizza Hut and Starbucks in Russian (Пицца Хат and Старбакс, respectively). The huge lineups outside Pizza Hut reminded me of when a McDonalds opened up near my school and how it was novel, fascinating and exotic, and how I lined up to go inside and get a rare western delicacy – a cheeseburger. Much like when I went back to Moscow the one and only time since immigration, six years ago, watching this documentary I was derailed by the weird Russian take on Western capitalism. I can’t yet explain what it is about it that weirds me out so, to be honest.
Huge shock was seeing footage of Borya playing Three Musketeers and hearing him lament the fact than no one reads Count of Monte Cristo anymore. I thought I was unique in my love of Dartagnian and swashbuckling! Turns out I was just a typical Soviet child.
The apartments they all live in seem so tiny, the buildings so shabby, and yet nostalgia was strong with this one. It made me thankful that I live in Canada, and yet so incredibly wistful and nostalgic for Russia that I almost cried at the end of the first screening. The abundant use of songs from old movies and cartoons, interspersed throughout the movie, gave me lots of happy-sadness.
Aside from all of that though, My Perestroika really put current Russia in context for me. The documentary makes it clear what an upheaval Perestroika was – not only politically, but also ideologically. Whether it’s “liberté, égalité, fraternité” or the American Dream, every nation needs a belief or creed that anchors its citizens. Perestroika did away with the old Communist ideal, and Yeltsin’s rule ended the short-lived ideas of freedom and democracy, and there wasn’t anything sufficiently concrete and unifying to take their place. Ordinary people were thrust into a new, confusing, conflicting world, a new world order, and had to figure out their way. Some managed well, like Andrei, who now owns a chain of French dress shirts. Others struggled, like punk-rock musician Ruslan, who is a self-declared social outsider. It’s been just over 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and I think Russia is still figuring out its way, still finding its footing. There is a sort of capitalism, but the discrepancy between the rich and the poor is staggering and there isn’t much of a middle class to bridge the gap. There is a sort of “democracy”, but an authoritarian one.
The documentary ended on an ellipsis, particularly appropriate considering the political events happening in Russia right now. The documentary was shot during the elections that saw Medvedev named President. And every single person in the documentary felt like they had no say in those elections, that their voices did not count, that voting was essentially useless because the decision had already been made for them. As Ruslan said, “We have jeans and gum now, yes… but nothing has really changed [since Soviet times].”
And that’s a very big reason why I have always maintained that I wouldn’t want to go back to Russia to live there. Corruption both overt and covert, iron control of the press, lack of a real, true democracy… We’re spoiled here in Canada. We may decry Ford and Harper now, we may complain of police brutality during G8 / G20, but we have choices and voices and somewhere to air those voices without fears of retribution.
Yet it’s interesting that years later, Borya’s prediction is coming true. He says towards the end of the documentary that the generation growing up, his son’s generation, will not be able to be shut in and controlled through lack of information and state-filtered news. This generation has access to the internet, online communities, and are “all potential hackers.” And this is what is happening now. A blogger incites public anger, Twitter and Facebook facilitate a peaceful gathering of many thousands strong to protest the elections, and eventually even media has to somewhat succumb to the story that is flaring across Russia.
I don’t know if there will be a “Russian Spring” akin to the Arab spring of 2011. I think its too idealistic to think that, even if the elections are re-done and a different party wins, that everything will become sunny and terrific and democratic in the motherland. Corruption and dishonesty have permeated many levels of social service, police, government and business, and that’s not done away with overnight.
But regardless, this documentary did make me want to go back to Russia soon to visit. That, and watch lots of old-school cartoons.
this is russian 