Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone

2022•1h 0m•8.6/10

DocumentaryWar & Politics

Ratings

🎬TMDb

8.6/10(19)

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

Open in PickFlick

Production

BBC Film

Language

Status

Ended

First Aired

October 13, 2022

Last Aired

October 13, 2022

Networks

BBC iPlayer

Created By

Adam Curtis

Trailers & Videos

Where to Watch

Region US · Lang EN

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Seasons & Episodes

Select a season to view episodes. Reddit links may contain spoilers.

Season

Part One - 1985 to 1989

Air date: 2022-10-13

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

Air date: 2022-10-13

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

Air date: 2022-10-13

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

Air date: 2022-10-13

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

Air date: 2022-10-13

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

Air date: 2022-10-13

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

Air date: 2022-10-13

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".