“It’s all Chubais’ fault!”

The political satire show "Kukly [Puppets]" mocks Anatoly Chubais, a key architect of the disastrous early-1990s Russian privatization push known as "shock therapy." From Episode 47, “Hostages,” which aired on NTV on 27 January 1996.

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“500 Days: Program Summary"

A summary of the "500 Days" economic recovery program featured in a special 1990 issue of the daily paper "Komsomol'skaya pravda."

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Soviet audiences devour the Brazilian soap opera "Escrava Isaura"

Stills from the first episode of the Brazilian soap opera "Escrava Isaura," which aired in Brazil in 1976-77 and in the USSR/ Russia in 1988-90. In this first episode, aired on Soviet Central Television on 16 October, 1988, it is revealed that the show's title character, Isaura, is not the niece of the wealthy Almeida family—but instead a "slave" with a “mulatto [sic]” mother and a Portuguese father.

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"Pravda" editors pledge to do better, 23 August 1991

Editors’ statement on the front page of iconic Soviet/ Russian daily "Pravda" from 23 August 1991, just after the failed 1991 anti-Gorbachev putsch.

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"Komsomolskaya pravda" sets a Guiness World Record

In May 1990, the long-running Soviet newspaper “Komsomolskaya pravda” set a world record with nearly 22 million daily copies. This staggering total marked the peak of Soviet print media's reach before the 1990 Press Law shifted financial responsibility to outlets themselves, making such high print runs unsustainable.

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Citizen K.'s "Kitchen Diary" in "Komsomolskaya Pravda"

This editorial call, published on 29 September 1990 in the daily “Komsomolskaya pravda” (1925-), asked readers to keep and submit "kitchen diaries" on shortages and price changes in their area as a way to track the progress (and deficiencies) of perestroika-era economic reforms.

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