My Perestroika

“Perestroika” literally means restructuring in Russian, and it was also the term used to define the political and social changes that followed the collapse of the USSR. This documentary, “My Perestroika”, captures the ideology and feelings of a small group of Russians who are of the right age to remember the zeitgeist of Russia both before and after the wall fell. Incredible archival footage shows the society that the Communist Party was trying to build, and it is wonderfully inter cut with the directors modern footage to build the case that Russia is Russia, and it seems like it will always be that way, regardless of who is running the show. The cast of characters who are interviewed are intelligent, well spoken, and well read; this despite their various backgrounds and current situations that are all over the map (Despite the horrors of certain aspects of communism, I think this says something about the quality of the education in that system). Their opinions about the old guard and their new, more Western society are diverse, with some seeming pleased with the recent changes and others pining, ever so slightly, for the stability that the USSR offered. One last point: after watching this film, I found it impossible to ignore how similar the USSR and the USA were during the Cold War. For all of the teachings we’ve been given about how the evil empire was trying to conquer the world and it was up to the inherent purity of the US to stand against this threat, Russian children were being told the exact same thing. Hearing the kids say such in the archival footage is chilling. It makes you wonder if paranoia is the foundation for a lot of global issues.

 

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