Living in the Soviet Union

Video Transcript

Well, it was...it was scary. It was...I mean, things were changing, and... back then I'm sure people were more hopeful. We ate a lot of potatoes back then. Even in Moscow things were hard to get. People would be given cards...certain number...so, [a] certain number of cards and you can get, like, sugar with them, or bread, or milk. I remember back in [the] '90s...'91...when we just moved to Moscow—well, moved like a year ago—it was so bad that all we ate was potatoes mostly. There was nothing...I mean I don't know if you heard how bad it was. Even in Moscow there were lines, like my dad would drop me [off] at school and go to make it in line to get some, like, milk or bread. I mean, it was...for a child, it was more...I didn't really...I knew the times were not the best but it.... I mean, when you are nine or ten it's really...you don't understand what's really going...you know something's happening.

A Russian culture expert discusses her memories of life in the Soviet Union.