RUSSIA’S MILLENNIUM CHILDREN
Twenty years after Yeltsin’s resignation and Putin’s inauguration in December 1999, we take a look at the children born that year who are now coming of age. What do they think? How do they want to live in the future?
The Putin era in Russian politics began on 31 December 1999, after Yeltsin’s resignation and shortly before the millennium celebrations. In his first New Year's address, the new head of state assured the Russian people that "freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, freedom of the press and property rights, all the fundamental elements of a civilised society will be consistently protected by the state". Today, these promises remain largely unfulfilled. The children born in this huge country on that day and at the turn of the millennium have now come of age. They have only ever known ex-KGB man Vladimir Putin at the pinnacle of power. What do the Putin generation think and feel? We meet Taya and Egor, Andrey, Kamilla and Polina. They could not have more opposing points of views – some are ardent Putin opponents, for the others he is an idol. Some want to leave the country if nothing changes, others want to fight for change. From the perspective of these millennium children, torn between private dreams and political aspirations, a nuanced portrait of the 'Putin generation' emerges. This is a political film with spellbinding imagery.