“Chto? Gde? Kogda?” (What? Where? When?), a long-running highbrow quiz show targeted at the late Soviet technical intelligentsia, debates the economic principles underpinning Soviet private enterprise in the midst of perestroika’s economic reforms in 1988.

A clip from the talk show "Tema [Theme]," Vladislav Listyev's (1956-1995) major post-Soviet project after the 1991 end of “Vzgliad.” This episode centers on racism in Russia and includes guest Dzheims (James) Lloydovich Patterson (1933-), who played an interracial baby in the classic Stalin-era musical comedy Circus (1936).

A clip from the talk show "Pro Eto" with Elena Khanga, episode on male prostitution.

Alexander Liubimov’s (1962-) talk show, “One on One,” staged debates between public figures who disagreed strongly with each other. When nationalist provocateur Vladimir Zhirinovsky (1946-2022) and liberal reformer Boris Nemtsov (1959-2015) met on air in as the First Chechen War (1994-1996) was just beginning, sparks—and a piece of the set—flew.

Music video and lyrics from the 1999 musical hit “Ubily negra [They Killed a Black Man]” by the band “Zapreshchennye barabanshchiki.”

At a press conference held in the wake of the September 1999 apartment bombings, then-Prime Minister Putin declared that he would “whack terrorists in the crapper.” In so doing, he reinforced his image as a strong and somewhat thuggish leader, ultimately boosting his popularity ahead of the 2000 presidential election.