The times of youth are always remembered with nostalgia. The dashing nineties were a difficult time in the life of the country, but today many miss them. Perhaps this is due to the fact that then the republics of the Soviet Union only gained independence. It seemed that everything old had sunk into oblivion, and a bright future awaited them all.
If you ask contemporaries what “dashing nineties” mean, many will say about the feeling of infinity of possibilities and forces for striving for them. This is the period of this “social teleportation” when ordinary guys from sleeping areas became rich, but it was very risky: a huge number of young people died in gang warfare. But the risk was justified: those who managed to survive became very respected people. It is not surprising that part of the population is still nostalgic for those times.
The phrase "dashing nineties"
Oddly enough, this concept appeared recently, at the beginning of the so-called "zero". Putin’s rise to power marked the end of the Yeltsin’s freemen and the offensive of the present order. Over time, the state strengthened, and even there was a gradual growth. Food coupons are a thing of the past, as were Soviet-era lines, and empty store shelves gave way to an abundance of modern supermarkets. The dashing nineties can be perceived negatively or positively, but the country needed them in order to be reborn after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is unlikely that everything could be different. After all, not just the state collapsed, the whole ideology crashed. And the people cannot create, adopt and accept new rules in one day.
Chronicle of significant events
Russia declared independence on June 12, 1990. The confrontation between two presidents began: one - Gorbachev - elected the congress of people's deputies, the second - Yeltsin - the people. The culmination was the August coup. The dashing nineties began. Crime got complete freedom, because all the bans were lifted. The old rules were canceled, and the new ones have not yet been introduced or have not settled in the public mind. The country was swept by an intellectual and sexual revolution. However, in economic terms, Russia has slipped to the level of primitive societies. Instead of a salary, many were given food, and people had to exchange one product for another, building cunning chains with sometimes even a dozen individuals participating. Money has depreciated so much that most citizens have become millionaires.
On the road to independence
You can not talk about the "dashing nineties" without mentioning the historical context. The first significant event is the “tobacco riot” in Sverdlovsk, which took place on August 6, 1990. Hundreds of people, indignant at the lack of smoking in the shops of their city, stopped the trams in the center. On June 12, 1991, the people elect Boris Yeltsin as president of the Russian Federation. Criminal showdowns begin. A week later, an attempted coup d'etat takes place in the USSR. Because of this, a state of emergency committee is set up in Moscow, which was supposed to govern the country during the transition period. However, it lasted only four days. In December 1991, the "center" (one of the criminal gangs) opened casinos in Russia. Soon, Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and last president of the USSR, resigned "for reasons of principle." December 26, 1991 adopted a declaration on the termination of the USSR in connection with the formation of the CIS.
Independent Russia
Immediately after the New Year, January 2, 1991, price liberalization is taking place in the country. Food immediately became bad. Prices soared, but salaries remained the same. Since October 1, 1992, privatization vouchers for their housing began to be issued to the population. So far, passports have been issued only with the permission of the regional authorities. In the summer of 1993, the Government House in Yekaterinburg was fired from a grenade launcher; in the fall, troops launched an assault in Moscow. Six years later, Yeltsin resigned ahead of schedule, and Vladimir Putin first came to power.
Order or freedom?
The dashing nineties are racket and lads, brilliance and poverty, elite prostitutes and sorcerers on TV, prohibition and businessmen. Only 20 years have passed, and the former Soviet republics have changed almost beyond recognition. It was not a time of social elevators, but rather teleportations. Ordinary guys, yesterday’s schoolchildren, became bandits, then bankers, and sometimes deputies. But these are those who survived.
Opinions
In those days, business was built quite differently than it is now. Then no one would have thought of going to college for a “crust”. The first step was to buy a gun. If the weapon did not pull the back pocket of the jeans, then no one would talk to a novice businessman. The gun helped in conversations with dull interlocutors. If the guy was lucky, and he was not killed at the initial stage, he could quickly buy a jeep. The earning opportunities seemed endless. Money came and went very easily. Someone got burned out, and the more successful ones brought the accumulated or, rather, looted abroad, and then became oligarchs and engaged in completely legitimate types of entrepreneurship.
In government, the situation was much worse. Employees were constantly delayed salaries. And this is during a period of insane inflation. They often paid for products that later had to be exchanged in the markets. It was at this time that corruption in state structures flourished. If the guys went to the "brother", then the girls went into a mess. They were also often killed. But some of them managed to earn "a piece of bread with caviar" for themselves and their family.
Representatives of the intellectual elite during this period often became unemployed. They were ashamed to go to the market and trade, as most people did, hoping to at least somehow make money. Many by any means tried to travel abroad. During this period, the next stage of the “brain drain” took place.
Experience and habits
The dashing nineties determined the whole life of a generation. They formed a whole set of ideas and habits of those who were then young. And often, even now, after twenty years, they still determine their life. These people rarely trust the system. Often they consider any initiative of the state with suspicion. Too often, the government has deceived them. This generation has great difficulty trusting banks with their hard-earned money. They are more likely to convert them into dollars, or better, they will be exported abroad. It is generally very difficult for them to save money, because during inflation they literally melted before our eyes. Those who survived the dashing nineties are afraid to complain to various organs. In those days, bandits ruled everyone, so an ordinary person had nothing to try to achieve the fulfillment of the letter of the law. Although the youth of the nineties and she does not like to adhere to any rules and restrictions. But their advantage is that they are not afraid of any difficulties. After all, they were able to survive in the dashing nineties, which means they are hardened and will survive any crisis. But can that situation happen again?
Dashing nineties: heirs
It seemed that with Putin's rise to power, this period of time in Russian history was forever over. The country was gradually getting out of poverty and unemployment, and the mafia almost ceased to be remembered. However, after the global financial crisis, the notorious stability never returned. And many began to think about whether the dashing 90s would return. But can organized crime appear by itself, as is commonly believed? The forecast of the future of modern Russia depends on the answer to this question. Although, if you do not go into details, then for the appearance of crime you need two elements: the need for a large-scale redistribution of property and the need to maintain democracy as a government course. However, it is unlikely that the “freemen” of the period of the nineties will be repeated.