The impact of Glasnost on Russian teens in the third generation has been lasting. This generation, now adults, continues to play an active role in shaping Russia's politics, culture, and society. Many have become leaders in various fields, pushing for greater transparency, accountability, and democratic reforms.
Crucially, these teens were the foot soldiers of Gorbachev’s own reforms. They volunteered as exit pollsters during the unprecedented 1989 elections (the first partially free elections in Soviet history). They staffed the grassroots “Memorial” society, which documented Stalin’s victims. They wrote for underground samizdat newspapers that, for the first time, could be sold at newsstands. This was the third wave: not the cynical shestidesyatniki (Sixties generation) nor the stagnant semidesyatniki (Seventies generation), but the perestroika generation —teens who believed they could actually change the system from within.
The Impact of Glasnost on Russian Teens: A Generation in Transition