Top Secret: Investigative Journalism and True Crime During Perestroika

Sovershenno sekretno, the first privately owned periodical in Soviet Russia since 1917, showcased a combination of transparency and sensationalism that became a distinguishing feature of journalistic writing in the post-Soviet period.

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Novyi Vzgliad: Violence, Political Irony, and National Pride

Novyi Vzgliad authors write some of the most scandalous and incendiary political commentaries of the 1990s, producing new forms of political irony. Iaroslav Mogutin and Eduard Limonov turn violence into a paradoxical source of identity. The main artifact here–an article by Mogutin–exemplifies this process.

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"The Mysteries of the Century": Post-Truth and Mystical Nazism on Russian TV

An episode from the TV program "Tainy veka" (Mysteries of the century), hosted by Yuri Vorobyovsky and Alexander Dugin. One of the first examples of post-truth on Russian television.

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Limonov Becomes a Post-Soviet Nationalist Rock Star

During a 1992 “encounter” with the émigré writer Eduard Limonov at the concert hall in Moscow’s Ostankino TV studios (a common genre during perestroika), a young "neformal" (alternative kid) in the audience suggests creating a subculture made up of young “limonovians.”

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The World Made of Plastic Has Won

Egor Letov performs his song “Moia oborona” (My defense), during his “concert in the hero city Leningrad,” part of Grazhdanskaia oborona’s 1994 tour Russkii proryv (Russian breakthrough).

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Mumiy Troll's Breakthrough “Utekai (Take Off)" Becomes the 1997 Song of the Year

Mumiy Troll’s 1997 breakthrough song “Utekai” (Take off) displayed the combination of surrealism, dark humor, and provincial romanticism that defined the band’s trademark style.

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