Collapse 1991

I grew up in the biggest country in the world – Russia, but seventeen years ago it was much bigger and it was called Union of Soviet Socialists Republics. It was strong and powerful, but too big and too multinational to keep everything under control. In the year of 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed. It sank as a roller-coaster car very fast and all the way to the bottom. The collapse was caused by numerous reasons like the decline of the economy, the desire of numerous republics to be independent and an inefficient government. This collapse was a significant event which affected in different ways the whole country and people who lived there.

The most significant affect of the split up was the general crisis in the country. The economy was affected the most. The prices were liberalized and went out of the government control. Basically they were in hands of individuals in power who managed the prices the way they wanted. In addition, the country faced a demographic crisis. The number of birth declined immediately because people were scared about their and children’s future. On top of that there were constant conflicts between republics that wanted to exit the Soviet Union. Of course, the USSR government did not want to let them separate because there were investments and projects made in the territories of those republics. That is how Russia lost its major navy base after separating with Ukraine. That was also one of the reasons of the ten-year conflict in Chechnya where a lot people were killed and injured.

The collapse inevitably affected my family as well. A lot of companies and factories could not handle the crisis and they had two choices. They could either close down or save money by reducing manufacturing and firing employees. That happened with my mother too. The factory where she had worked for years had hard times, and they had to lay her off as well as a lot of other employees. It was a big shock for her and for the whole family. I will never forget that day when she came home after work, sat on a chair and started crying. She could not believe that it had happened to her. My father was able to keep his job. But the construction company he worked for was municipal and was getting almost no financial support from the city. Consequently, the workers were not paid either. He was one of the supervisors in his company and he had to deal with the pressure and whining from the co-workers. As a result, those negative emotions were brought to the family and caused even more conflicts.

All those crucial changes in the county put a lot of stress on my family. As a six year old child I did not feel it much, but I remember the constant tension and conflicts between my parents. I recently found out that my father was depressed because he could not support the family as he had done it for years. In addition, my mother had to sacrifice a lot when she decided to start her own small business. That seemed the only way to make some money though it completely contradicted my father’s ideology of a wife’s duties. Losing a job, not getting paid, inside family conflicts, a new political system and price liberalization brought more stress to our family and a feeling of insecurity.

In fact, the collapse of the USSR significantly affected almost every citizen. A lot of them lost their jobs or businesses, fell into despair or depression or even lost someone they knew in armed conflicts between some republics. It was a truly hard time for my family too, but we made it through the crisis and overcame those challenges. The roller-coaster car eventually went up. The rough times are left behind, and they have never been discussed between me and my parents. We do not like to bring up old bad memories; however, they will never be erased from our minds.