Abstract Feature films set in 1990s Russia and produced in the early 2000s played a significant role in shaping collective memory of that decade. Focusing on the period from 1999 to 2005, the paper examines how cinematic narratives contributed to framing the “wild 1990s” as a “finished past”, distinct from the “stable 2000s”. Drawing on user comments from Afisha.ru, a popular digital platform, the research explores how audiences negotiated the boundary between past and present by perceiving some films as depictions of contemporary Russia, while regarding others as stories about a bygone era. Using a qualitative, interdisciplinary approach that combines historical analysis with social science methods, the study shows that the end of the “wild 1990s” was not marked by the turn of the millennium but emerged later, offering insights into how popular culture constructs temporal boundaries.
Paul Primbs (Thu,) studied this question.