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Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone

Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone Poster

What it felt like to live through the collapse of communism and democracy. A series of films by Adam Curtis.

DocumentaryWar & Politics

4.6 / 5

13th October 2022 - 13th October 2022
Director
Adam Curtis
Writer
Adam Curtis
Producer
Sandra Gorel
Top Cast
Mikhail GorbachevBoris YeltsinVladimir Putin
Watch Providers 🇬🇧
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
Production Companies
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Part One - 1985 to 1989 Still
Part One - 1985 to 1989
13th October 2022

Episode 1

Perestroika. The dream of saving communism. But no-one believes in anything any longer. The managers loot the system. Soldiers return defeated in the war to liberate Afghanistan.

Part Two - 1989 to 1991 Still
Part Two - 1989 to 1991
13th October 2022

Episode 2

There are no potatoes in Moscow. Things get worse. Then they get much worse as the rational Communist plan runs out of control everywhere. But McDonald’s opens in Moscow.

Part Three - 1991 Still
Part Three - 1991
13th October 2022

Episode 3

The empire strikes back. Hardliners attempt a coup. Power slips through their shaking hands. Oligarchs publish a manifesto. Money will replace all ideology. Yeltsin seizes power.

Part Four - 1992 to 1994 Still
Part Four - 1992 to 1994
13th October 2022

Episode 4

Russia goes through the mirror into a chaotic dream world where nothing is stable any more. Dream visions of Russia's imperial past start to rise up. People cannot afford food.

Part Five - 1993 to 1996 Still
Part Five - 1993 to 1996
13th October 2022

Episode 5

Russian society implodes. Millions of people fall into the abyss. Many live underground or in forests. The president attacks parliament with tanks saying he is saving democracy.

Part Six - 1994 to 1998 Still
Part Six - 1994 to 1998
13th October 2022

Episode 6

The group around the president believe a war in Chechnya will save him. Others want the war to restore the glory of the Russian empire. The Oligarchs seize control of practically everything. In the upside down world gangsters become heroes for defending democracy.

Part Seven - 1995 to 1999 Still
Part Seven - 1995 to 1999
13th October 2022

Episode 7

Suddenly the western bankers leave. Oligarchs take control and search for a new president to be their puppet. They choose Putin. Russians turn against “the curse of democracy".