Russian Crime Statistics, 1980-1996

Nothing epitomized the everyday experience of the urban Russian 1990s like crime. As this first comprehensive statistical study of the 1990s demonstrates, crime was just as bad as everyone had anecdotally experienced. The numbers also reveal some unexpected trends.

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Klei-Moment

Made by the German Henkel company, Moment-brand glue was a staple of post-Soviet hobbyists. It also became one of the preferred drugs among post-Soviet youth. The brand name alone became synonymous with huffing.

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Lada 110-series

The first post-Soviet Lada model, the VAZ-2110, appeared in 1995 and sold for between $5,000 and $8,000. Targeted at the emerging middle class, the car represented the manufacturer’s hope that Russian production and consumer power could come together to build a domestic market that would advance the economy beyond raw materials extraction and imported consumer goods.

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Olympic Stadium Book Market

The center of the post-Soviet book trade established itself in the corridors of the enormous stadium built for the 1980s summer Olympic Games in Moscow. It was chaotic, even dangerous, but also presented an embarrassment of literary riches.

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Rebuilding Russia

When it was published in 1990, Alexander Solzhenitsyn's (1918-2008) traditionalist prescription for pulling Russia out of its difficulties was seen as out of touch with the times. Since then, many of the ideas the author expounded have become commonplaces in the culture of Russian revanchism.

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Solzhenitsyn's Return

In 1994, Alexander Solzhenitsyn staged a theatrical return to Russia, flying from America to Magadan, then returning by train from Vladivostok to Moscow. The journey and the salvific importance Solzhenitsyn attached to it soon became the target of much derision, as well as some praise.

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