Secondhand Time

The Cold War has been over for more than twenty years, yet post-Soviet Russia is still searching for a new identity. While the West continues to romanticize the Gorbachev era, many in Russia would prefer to forget it. Meanwhile, Stalin is once again regarded by many, including younger generations, as a great statesman, and the socialist past is increasingly viewed through a nostalgic lens. According to Svetlana Alexievich, Russians are living in a time of "secondhand," of used ideas and words. Like a multi-voiced choir, people recount the radical social upheaval of recent years. Readers include: Cedric von Borries, Markus Boysen, Achim Buch, Marlen Diekhoff, Bernd Grawert, Franziska Hartmann, Hans Löw, Julia Nachtmann, Karin Neuhäuser, Jörg Pohl, Stefan Schad, Hildegard Schmahl, Birte Schnöink, Wolf-Dietric.