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Deep Dive: My Perestroika (2010)

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My Perestroika
My Perestroika is a documentary that presents the personal stories of five Russians who experienced life in the USSR and its aftermath. The film features Borya and Lyuba, a married couple and history teachers, Andrei, a businessman, Olga, a single mother, and Ruslan, a punk rock musician. Their narratives reflect on their Soviet childhoods, the collapse of the USSR, and their lives in contemporary Russia. The film is structured without a single narrator, relying instead on the first-person accounts of the protagonists, combined with home movies from the 1970s and 1980s, Soviet music, and archival footage. This approach provides a multifaceted view of the societal and political changes in Russia, addressing themes of conformity, rebellion, and generational differences.

Why Watch

  • •Meet Borya and Lyuba, history teachers in Moscow.
  • •Find out how Andrei opened a French shirt store.
  • •See Ruslan, a famous Russian punk rock musician.

Did You Know

•The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
•My Perestroika won a Peabody Award in 2011.
•Director Robin Hessman lived in Russia for about a decade.
•The film has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Perfect For

Soviet history enthusiastsDocumentary film fansCultural studies students