It is exactly twenty years ago that the Soviet Union finally disappeared. The Russian flag was hoisted above the Kremlin amid mixed sentiment of fatigue, anxiety and hope. Gorbachev announced in his farewell speech that the Russians would live in a prosperous and democratic society (he didn't say when).

Twenty years have passed since then! Meanwhile, ideals and dreams have been trampled down not only in Russia but also in the West and Japan. The words "democracy" and "freedom" have been compromised in some countries, and the market economy only provides China with prosperity.

In the nineties Russian students looked eager to build a new society by their own hands. They thought that they could do it. And now many students only show cynicism, despair and even xenophobia.

All this comes from the fact that their economy is not based on honest industrial production but on division of the wealth which derives from oil and gas. Industrial production provides many people with opportunity, and facilitates honesty toward clients, colleagues and more importantly toward oneself.

If the Russian economy is not thoroughly reorganized, no political meeting and demonstrations and even a change of the government will help them. The oil and gas economy will relentlessly keep reproducing rotten governments.

Anyway, to experience for yourself the feeling of twenty years ago please refer to the following quotation from my own novel "The Land of Legend, the Land of Dream" (Kindle, Amazon). It is an epic recounting of the perestroika as well as an ode to the lost "freedom" in Russia. It is in a sense "Doctor Zhivago" of our times.

-------The rain ended by evening and the setting sun shone brightly on the wet, red bricks of the city's buildings. At a nearby intersection a young girl on roller skates, dressed in a tee shirt and yellow shorts, gaily handed out passersby flyers about the failed coup. Even the sad tune that a beggar sitting on the curb was playing on the accordion sounded merry somehow. The faces of pedestrians shone with joy. They were proud that their support had helped pave the way for a new era. They were enjoying a honeymoon with Freedom and Reform.

There's a great emptiness in my heart, Ilya thought, but at the same time a sense of something fresh and unfamiliar. A new era...

----A whole year had passed. A whole year since lawlessness and violence destroyed the Fatherland. Since that dark night when the red flag we held dear was lowered from the Kremlin and the unfamiliar tricolor--red, blue, and white--was raised. Since that night that was filled with mixed feelings of fear, hope, and despair.

Darkness had covered Russia since that time. Would the words of the prophet Gorbachev come true?

Today I am also alarmed by the fact that our people are no longer citizens of a great country--the consequences may prove to be very difficult for everyone.
I leave my post in fear, but also with hope, with faith in you, in your wisdom and the strength of your spirit.

We are heirs of a great civilization and it now will depend on each and every one of you whether that civilization will be reborn and made suitable for a new modern and dignified life.

Our peoples will live in a flourishing, democratic society. I wish you all the very best."