Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone:What It Felt Like to Live Through The Collapse of Communism and Democracy - Directed by Adam Curtis(2022)
7 Episodes, Originally Aired by BBC iPlayer in 2022
I watched TraumaZone in the Fall of 2024 and it was a tough time. This series has no narration, unlike some of Curtis’ previous work. There are titles that inform of the action, with pointed commentary of the chaos that is within. Watching Russia fall apart over 7 hours is a tragic tale. One of the most powerful countries ever historically, pulled apart by goons and conmen. Easy money, stupid solutions to deep-seeded problems, and a general greed that ran through the ruling class is on full display here through footage the BBC captured over those years. You also see how the regular people who had little hand in the government hijacking are manipulated and suffer for the power games of the upper classes.
Highlights are watching a completely drunk Boris Yelstin proceed over state affairs with little pullback. Just a complete madperson set loss in government to wreck their own personal havoc. A young girl who begs in Moscow traffic is featured throughout the series; a bubbly, pushy girl in the exact opposite place she should be. Curiously, elderly women flow through rural life seemingly without more than a handful of men still around their communities. The amazing vastness of Russian culture is shown from Siberia to St. Petersburg and how the democratic government change touched all parts of the fracturing country.
This is a very bold and explicit film; you see war and all its effects, plus the degradation of poverty. Though we have witnessed a lot of horrifying images on our phones lately, it’s still terrible to witness pain inflicted by callous overlords in any time period. The film can feel hopeless at times due to the starting promise that democracy in Russia would be wholly uplifting but ultimately was shattered by idiocy and avarice. Points of light do peek through, like young women dancing as if on air, to remind that the human spirit holds on through the most crippled and deranged times.