Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone

It's a masterpiece and a mammoth production undertaking, very cleverly edited where each episode allows the viewer to follow a few particular people featured throughout for instance, intersped by various other events throughout the (former) Soviet Union. Although in some sense, it's just a countless number of bits of BBC video spliced together, it is much more than that and very cleverly done. There's no spoken narration but some great sound and music: pop, choral & even some dancing authentically attached to the videos, and only a few very good succinct subtitles to give some sense of the wider history. There is so much material, in such detail, from so many perspectives that in the way it's done it represents something of a vast video social history of Russia in the end of the 20th century. There are a few of the political players, but mostly just suffering ordinary people, not to mention the odd bear, monkey, a forlorn hungry zoo tigress... One can gather quite a lot about the historical political situation from the point of view of the traumatised masses and from so many different locations and ethnicities across this great nation imploding under the weight of kleptocracy. A 9000km long tragic crime scene.

Most of the people that will watch the series will point out that it is somewhat inaccurate or that it leaves out other historical significant events happening at the same time. This is 100% true, so if you are looking for a historical documentary on Eastern Europe and the fall of communism in the 90s, you should look elsewhere.

This series is basically archival footage of the BBC. Curtis selected from hundreds of hours of material the most interesting bits. And some of them are SO SO interesting. For example, the message that Gorbachev records from Crimeea where he was ousted by the military and that's recorded over his nephew ballet practice. It creates a different side to the reality which you would have never known otherwise. It humanizes the character, while at the same time showing you a sort of amateurish side to the whole affair... Or maybe it shows the crisis situation in which they were all in... There can be many interperations, and almost every single piece of footage is a gem.

I found many similarties between Russia of those years and what happened afterwards in the former communist block. Thanks Adam Curtis for creating yet another masterpiece.

Adam Curtis blesses us again with another multi-hour, hard-hitting, raw documentary. The concept of the footage speaking for itself is risky; however, the bet pays off fully, transporting the viewer into a realm of real-life ultraviolence. While not entirely a novel concept, it is a far more intellectual endeavor than a pundit panel or a classic history documentary.

Growing up in the 1990es Russia, my recollections of the period are vague and are in the process of being excavated by a psychologist. The series rips up the protective cortisol abatement of psychological trauma I experienced only as a spectator - a seven-hour panic attack fueled by violence, injustice, and disregard for human life.

While this viewing experience may sound like a definition of Hell, it is strangely therapeutic - perhaps by being so personal. It also, perhaps unintentionally, has a message of perseverance in face of the horrors of the human condition.

Scene highlight: man drinking low-quality bootleg vodka with disgust - sums up the atrocities depicted in the documentary quite well.

An amazing series, filled with extraordinary first-hand archive footage presented without audio narration that provides viewers with unique and often highly-intimate perspectives on life in the USSR and Russia during this period. Overlaid only with basic English text, it provides an unfiltered and graphic visualisation of the often-appalling world that Soviet citizens endured - and then how dark malignant forces took root. Watching this series helps one to better understand why Russia and her neighbours are the way they are today, to appreciate the immense pain and endless hardships endured by generations of people across a vast stretch of land. It feels epic and is epically insightful in the process. Brilliantly presented, compelling TV. Living history at its best.

Trauma zone is profoundly affecting, It's a series that is so disconcerting, chaotic, unsettling and surprising that I found I couldn't binge watch it. I had to take my time to digest what I was seeing. I lived through the period in question and had literally no idea of what was really happening in Russia. This is more a work of art or perhaps an "emotional history" than a straight history (and looking at some of these reviews some people have not appreciated this). It's aiming to reflect what it was like to live through this and frankly I am surprised if anyone in Russia retained 100% of their sanity with everything that happened. This series is stupendous in its breadth and the footage it includes provides a disturbing insight into a turbulent and almost hallucinogenic period of recent history for Russia and the former USSR. It's brilliant basically.