The Candy Wrap

 Alina Kiptenko

ESL 100

November 5, 2023

The Candy Wraps

The end of the 20th century and transition to the new millennium have become a harsh period for my family. The collapse of the Soviet Union which took place at the end of 1991 divided lives of ordinary soviet people into two parts -living in the Soviet Union and living in the unknown. During the collapse of the Soviet Union, people from all fifteen soviet states lost everything because all state institutions stopped to exist. Furthermore, disintegration, occurring one week before New Year, became a crucial sign of new perspectives as well as new struggles for everyone from all post-Soviet areas. My parents, who had gotten married six months before the collapse happened, had many plans for their future life as many other people had, but December 1991 ruined not only a country, but also people’s lives.

At the beginning, the economic crisis was an ongoing issue that touched every participant of a new economic model in the country. During the time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the way the new government was shaping the country became the main issue for people because it pushed them to absolute poverty. In addition, the currency devaluation became the main burden for my family because it made all money invalid. For instance, all my family’s savings that my parents collected to buy a car became almost outmoded at one moment. While I was growing up, I remember my father referring to our savings as candy wraps which means they have no value. Furthermore, due to the shortage of food, the cost of goods changed every day, so my mother was able to notice different prices of the same commodity for one day. Sometimes, my mother and I went to a grocery store and purchased nothing because we were faced by empty shelves or endless lines.

In addition, widespread uncontrolled crime has gushed into the new country. The 1990s were a decade of aggression, madness, and criminality because governmental institutes such as the police were not able to accomplish their work. For instance, the police didn’t have enough possibilities to manage crime, and it often collaborated with criminal leaders to earn money and protection. During this time, my mother had a constant fear of being outside because of the crime. Once, she left a baby carriage outside a store, and it was stolen after a few seconds, but she wasn’t upset. Furthermore, she even appreciated that only the baby carriage disappeared because in some cases robbers stole baby supplies with children inside of them. However, there was more to worry about because my sister’s best friend was killed by her father’s enemies. Every day after classes at school, my elder sister and her friend went to their homes together, but one day the friend didn’t come to the school. After a few days, her body was found in the space under an elevator in a building where she lived. She became the victim of criminal wars between her father and other criminal gangs. Since those days, my sister has never gone to school without any adults, and my mother was paranoid of controlling every step of her children.

Finally, deprivations started to follow every person’s meal. During this time, a high carb diet became the only way to survive in the severe reality of a new country. Furthermore, the food shortages forced ordinary citizens to buy less goods and even avoid some categories of food. In times of economic hardship, my mother faced difficulties in providing nutritious meals for her children, so she often cooked a liquid meal that consisted of many potatoes, boiled water, and a small amount of meat. In addition, she preferred a high carb diet such as pasta, grains, and potatoes because only these kinds of goods were affordable for customers. Furthermore, a loaf of bread was added to every meal because it was the key to achieving satiety after dinner. Finally, eating everything with a piece of bread became a cultural aspect of post-soviet meals and many have followed this custom to this day.

In conclusion, during the 1990s, regular citizens faced many ongoing obstacles in their lives such as political and social changes, economic issues, and terrible starvation. Although the collapse was the cause of my family deprivations, I haven’t regretted anything. Despite the solid challenges of the 1990s, my parents have shown me by their own example to never give up, keep doing what I am supposed to do, and always hold together whatever happens. Overcoming such obstacles made me a strong person who knows how to survive in any condition.