All language subtitles for PBS.POV.My.Perestroika.720p.HDTV.x264.AC3.MVGroup.org

¶

NEXT, ON "P.O.V."

THEY WERE THE LAST
GENERATION TO GROW UP

BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN.

WHEN THE CURTAIN LIFTED,
EVERYTHING CHANGED.

"MY PERESTROIKA,"
ONLY ON "P.O.V."

[ CHILD SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

[ CHILDREN'S CHOIR
SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ HANGS UP TELEPHONE ]

[ GIRL LAUGHING ]

[ PLAYING THE BLUES ]

[ MAN SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

[ CHILD SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ DOORBELL RINGS ]

[ MAN SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ MAN SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ MAN SINGING RUSSIAN BALLAD ]

[ BOY SAYS GOODBYE ]

[ WOMAN SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ CHILD SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

[ SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

[ CHILD SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

IN THE SOVIET UNION
AND IN RUSSIA TODAY,

FOR THE MOST PART, PEOPLE
ARE WITH THE SAME 20 OR 25 PEOPLE

FROM FIRST GRADE THROUGH
THE END OF HIGH SCHOOL.

AND SO THAT'S AN ENORMOUS
AMOUNT OF SHARED EXPERIENCE,

AND EVEN IF PEOPLE
AREN'T CLOSE TODAY,

THEY'VE HAD THIS VERY
INTENSE CHILDHOOD CONNECTION.

AND SO I THOUGHT MY
APPROACH WOULD BE

TO FIND THE FIRST PERSON
WHO SHOULD DEFINITELY

BE IN THE FILM, AND
THERE, FROM THEN,

MEET HIS OR HER CLASSMATES.

A HISTORY TEACHER OF THIS
GENERATION WOULD HAVE BEEN

TAUGHT A CERTAIN KIND OF
HISTORY IN THE SOVIET UNION,

AND THEN, IN 1988,
WHEN THIS PERSON

WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE
PEDAGOGICAL INSTITUTE,

LEARNING TO BECOME
A HISTORY TEACHER,

THE HISTORY EXAMS WERE
CANCELLED FOR THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.

THE ARCHIVES WERE OPENING UP.

NOBODY KNEW WHAT
THE RIGHT ANSWER

WOULD BE ON AN EXAM ANYMORE.

AND TODAY, THEY'RE TEACHING
CHILDREN WHO WERE ALL BORN

AFTER THE COLLAPSE OF
THE USSR, AND FOR WHOM

THE SOVIET UNION IS REALLY
MORE LIKE ANCIENT ROME

THAN A COUNTRY THAT THEIR
OWN PARENTS GREW UP IN.

AND SO I DID START TO TALK

SPECIFICALLY TO
HISTORY TEACHERS,

JUST INTERESTED IN
HEARING THEIR PERSPECTIVES.

I WENT TO SCHOOL
57. I MET BORYA.

HE INVITED ME HOME THE
FOLLOWING NIGHT FOR DINNER.

AND I WENT TO THE MEYERSONS'.

THAT FIRST NIGHT IN THEIR HOME,

WE SPOKE FOR HOURS
AND HOURS AND HOURS,

AND, OF COURSE, ALONG THE
WAY OF THE CONVERSATION,

I ALSO ASKED IF THEY KNEW
ANYBODY WHO HAD EVER

TAKEN ANY HOME
MOVIES IN THE '70s AND '80s,

AND BORYA SAID,
"ARE YOU KIDDING?

MY FATHER WAS OBSESSED."

AND HE OPENED A
CLOSET, AND THERE WERE

STACKS AND STACKS
OF 8-MILLIMETER FILMS.

AND RIGHT THEN AND THERE,

HE TOOK OUT THE PROJECTOR
AND SET UP A LITTLE SCREEN,

AND FOR THE NEXT FEW HOURS,

WE WATCHED SOME
OF HIS HOME MOVIES.

AND MARK WAS 8 AT THE TIME
AND HAD NEVER SEEN THEM.

AND SO, AT THE END OF THAT
EVENING, IT WAS JUST CLEAR

THAT I HAD LANDED, THAT THIS
WAS WHERE THE FILM BEGINS.

THE KIND OF, THE HUMAN
STORIES ARE REALLY,

IN MANY CASES, THE
MOST IMPORTANT STORIES.

AND EVERYTHING ELSE,

THESE POLITICAL AND
HISTORICAL CHANGES,

ARE OFTEN IN THE BACKGROUND.

AS OLGA SAYS, YOU KNOW, DESPITE
EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING,

IF YOU WERE A STUDENT,
YOU WENT TO SCHOOL.

IF YOU WERE WORKING,
YOU WENT TO WORK.

AND I REMEMBER THAT
MYSELF VERY WELL.

YOU KNOW, YOU'D HEAR ON THE
RADIO OR READ IN THE PAPERS

THAT YELTSIN HAD JUST DISSOLVED
THE PARLIAMENT ANOTHER TIME,

BUT I HAD AN EXAM TO STUDY FOR,

AND I HAD TO GO BUY LAUNDRY
DETERGENT, AND THE BALANCE

OF THESE FRONT-PAGE,
CAPITAL-LETTER EVENTS

AND THE THINGS THAT ARE
HAPPENING IN YOUR OWN LIFE

REALLY ARE -- WHEN YOU
READ THE HISTORY BOOKS,

THE BALANCE, PERHAPS,
SEEMS ONE WAY,

BUT FOR PEOPLE LIVING
THROUGH IT AT THE TIME,

SOMETIMES IT'S A
VERY DIFFERENT THING.

MAJOR FUNDING FOR "P.O.V."
HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY...

AND THE NATIONAL
ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS,

WHICH BELIEVES THAT A GREAT
NATION DESERVES GREAT ART.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
PROVIDED BY...

AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS
TO YOUR PBS STATION

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

"P.O.V." WANTS TO HEAR
YOUR POINT OF VIEW.

VISIT OUR WEB SITE,

WHERE YOU CAN JOIN A
DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS PROGRAM,

READ THE "P.O.V." BLOG,
AND WATCH ADDITIONAL VIDEO,

INCLUDING EXTENDED
INTERVIEWS, DELETED SCENES,

AND FULL VERSIONS
OF SELECT "P.O.V." FILMS.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND
OUT ABOUT "P.O.V." FILMS

SCREENING IN YOUR
COMMUNITY, LIKE US ON FACEBOOK,

OR SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

AND NEVER MISS
ANOTHER "P.O.V." FILM.

ALL THIS AND MORE AT pbs.org.