TV series
What it felt like to live through the collapse of communism and democracy. A series of films by Adam Curtis.
Availability
Checked Jul 22, 2026
Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone premiered October 13, 2022. We don't have a confirmed streaming, rental or purchase option yet.
What it felt like to live through the collapse of communism and democracy. A series of films by Adam Curtis.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
Perestroika. The dream of saving communism. But no-one believes in anything any longer. The managers loot the system. Soldiers return defeated in the war to liberate Afghanistan.
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Episode 2
There are no potatoes in Moscow. Things get worse. Then they get much worse as the rational Communist plan runs out of control everywhere. But McDonald’s opens in Moscow.
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Episode 3
The empire strikes back. Hardliners attempt a coup. Power slips through their shaking hands. Oligarchs publish a manifesto. Money will replace all ideology. Yeltsin seizes power.
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Episode 4
Russia goes through the mirror into a chaotic dream world where nothing is stable any more. Dream visions of Russia's imperial past start to rise up. People cannot afford food.
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Episode 5
Russian society implodes. Millions of people fall into the abyss. Many live underground or in forests. The president attacks parliament with tanks saying he is saving democracy.
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Episode 6
The group around the president believe a war in Chechnya will save him. Others want the war to restore the glory of the Russian empire. The Oligarchs seize control of practically everything. In the upside down world gangsters become heroes for defending democracy.
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
Episode 7
Suddenly the western bankers leave. Oligarchs take control and search for a new president to be their puppet. They choose Putin. Russians turn against “the curse of democracy".
Where to watch Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZoneEpisode information updated Jul 24, 2026
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Mikhail GorbachevSelf (archive footage)
Boris YeltsinSelf (archive footage)
Vladimir PutinSelf (archive footage)
BBC iPlayerUnited Kingdom
BBC FilmUnited Kingdom