It's Friday night during a quarantine! Who's ready to join me on a journey through Russian pop hits of the 90s? We're going all over the place! It's gonna be terrible, cute, and occasionally great. Let's go, comrades! https://twitter.com/dosnostalgic/status/1247233290312060929

Preface:
90s Russia was a weird time. Following the disappointing Perestroika, and the subsequent collapse of the USSR, the overall mood wasn't the greatest. With an alleged democracy Russian Federation imported fast food, videogames, foreign tech goodies, drugs, and crime

But everything felt new. Despite low wages and standards of living every market was full of products and content unseen and unheard until those days. Anyone with a decent amount of money and a few cheap synthesizers started churning out dance songs that were instantly consumed.

Let's begin with no so great. This was a MAJOR hit by Kai Metov called "Position #2". For reasons completely unknown to me he became every housewife's dream. It's objectively terrible, but I absolutely can not hate this *amazing* official music video.

Another hero of the early 90s Bogdan Titomir. Having separated from the successful duo "Car Man" he positioned himself as a "rapper" from the streets with this cheap Marky Mark knockoff video (see bicycle tired on a bike) "Делай Как Я" (Do as I do). It was mega popular.

Titomir notoriously once answered an interview question "Why are you singing this kind of garbage?" with "People eat it up." thus giving quite a slogan for all modern Russian show business.

Clones? We got em! It was the 90s, and what was popular? That's right, Ace of Base! Well, meet Vostok with their only hit "Миражи" (Mirages) from 1996. Pupper alert!

And now a legend! DJ band Ruki Vverh (Hands Up) with their super hit "Крошка Моя" (My Baby). They were extremely cheese and super prolific and became hated by just about everyone. The style was instantly recognizable. But cheesy didn't mean you couldn't dance to it!