15 things that’ll make you misty-eyed if you grew up in 1990s Russia

1. Dendy console

This Taiwanese-made version of Nintendo flooded the Russian market in 1992. Although it now seems like every Russian kid in the 1990s had one, that’s not true. Those lucky ones whose parents bought them Dendy were real kings of their hoods, while those who had Sega were almost like gods.

2. Turquoise leggings

Every girl had this high-fashion item and wore it proudly. Easy to wear and awesome-looking, this crude version of yoga pants could be worn to a solemn event, or for throwing away the trash.

3. Pipe jeans

You weren’t cool if you didn’t have a pair of pipe jeans. Russian schools were the place where their concentration was out of this world.

4. Children's mystery books

The 1990s were the first time when the genre of detective and mystery books appeared in the hands of Russian children, who read them enthusiastically. Besides, who can possibly think of a more intriguing title for a book than, “The Mystery of the Marshmallow Dipped in Chocolate”?

5. Fishky (milk caps)

These small paper and plastic caps had nothing to do with milk or fish. Instead, it was the most popular game in Russia in the 1990s. Kids played for caps and the winner took all, leaving the loser empty-handed. Experienced players had lots of caps won from others, but buying caps was considered heinous cheating.

6. Hollywood movies with nasal voice-over translation

For some bizarre reason only one man, Leonid Volodarskiy, did the voice-over for every Hollywood film exported to Russia in VHS. Or perhaps he was so good at it that people only bought films with his unique voice-over. Anyhow, the nasal sound of his voice that made it hard to understand the plot is ‘music’ to the ears of every Russian who grew up in the 1990s.

Get a taste of it here.

7. Tamagotchi

This egg-shaped digital pet is known worldwide. Russian kids developed a taste for it in the late 1990s. Their parents used to hide Tamagotchi under pillows or mattresses to stop the “pets” from waking them up at night.

8. Rusk instead of popcorn at movie theaters

Russians did not know much about popcorn in the 1990s, so packed rusk filled the gap. Kids used to buy them in small shops before going to movie theaters. Crumbs were all over the place. 

9. Sticker albums

Kids collected stickers to fill albums that were variously themed with cinema and animation heroes: Terminator, Aladdin, Lion King, and etc. 

10. Slinky

This popular American toy mesmerized Russian kids, especially girls. Boys played it too, but covertly.

11. Bubble gum with stickers

Love is… and Turbo are legendary bubble gums that can surely make most of the 1990s generation misty-eyed.

12. Tetris

This portable electronic device had a limited number of games installed, and was really called “Brick Game.” But its main game,Tetris, became so popular that everyone called the device just that. Snake and Arkanoid were also available.

13. Tattoos from bubble gum wrappers

Everyone had at least one tattoo in the 1990s. They quickly washed away though.

14. Vampire teeth

These came in all their varieties: from toys to candies. Everyone growing up in the 1990s was a vampire once.

15. Kama bicycles

This folding bicycle was pure chic. While it’s still made now, who needs it since the 1990s are over.

These 10 other strange things you can only understand if you lived in the USSR.