Once again, I have another diary to fill up. A new chapter of history where big changes happen means that I need a new diary. Apparently, this is now my sixth volume of my diary collection. What does history have in store for me this time?
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Kremlin, December 25, 1991.
7:45 pm.
Just around thirteen minutes ago, the whole world has heard of the news. Soviet was dead, and with his death comes another change. Another drastic change within a century, to be more precise.
This is going to give me another monumental headache. Here comes another lovely day in my life where it would be pleasant to hang myself.
I'm now wondering, can Russia handle this situation? Sure enough, Soviet's death meant the end of a communist era. The problem was that Russia was raised in that kind of environment. Can he run a government with a new system he is not acquainted to, with grace and decorum? Life here will go crazy for God knows how long.
I wanted the console the young man for the loss of his father (if I could even call Soviet a father), or maybe I should alleviate his worries because we both know that we are entering a new chapter of history and we both have no idea where things are going.
And for sure, the historians would start writing about the Union in past tense.
However, I realized one thing. I have witnessed history unravel before my eyes and I know that one thing can possibly happen in times like this: a civil war. The possibility of a Second Russian Civil War made me nervous. After all, the attempted coup on the *General Secretary last August already looked like a bad warning.
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December 27, 1991
Things started going crazy as I expected. The *Vneshekonombank has been in the headlines recently. It has declared that all accounts would be frozen indefinitely, causing widespread panic among foreign companies that already lost millions of dollars.
The *President has also announced that prices on all consumer goods would be freed from state control - literally overnight. Prices would rise significantly and it will be a painful road ahead. The "economic experiment" will begin on New Year.
I knew this was going to happen, it's inevitable after all. This economic shock therapy will definitely make quite a mess since we are going from command to market economy.
Deep economic plunge and inflation is the next expected thing now....
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January 2, 1992
First day of the market reform
Goods were plentiful, but the prices skyrocketed beyond anyone's reach.
Many people have been impoverished overnight with these reforms, with their life savings reduced to just a few pennies. Buying a pack of sausages a few days ago would only cost 1 ruble and 25 kopecks, now they cost 195 rubles. This reminded me of Weimar's economic predicament, where a loaf of bread costs a whopping 200,000,000,000 marks. Comparing the inflation we have right now to Weimar's is like comparing the size of Earth to Jupiter.
There were also food shortages: vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk, cheese, sugar, and even bread. Finding a decent cut of meat was also an almost impossible task (you're incredibly lucky if you found one). It also came to the point when I heard that in my city that there was only enough meat to last for nineteen days, enough butter for forty days, and eggs enough to last for a month.
