Context is essential for understanding art. This was released in 1991, a period of great economic and political turmoil in Russia. They were essentially in the

Context is essential for understanding art. This was released in 1991, a period of great economic and political turmoil in Russia. They were essentially in the process of switching from one-party communism to a democratic system with real private property. Many organizations were undergoing rapid (often overnight) privatization. Just to give you an idea of the economic chaos, inflation in 1992 was 2000%. You can imagine how that plays out for a production budget. Yet, despite the turbulence, people tried to create and to entertain.