In the last few years of the Soviet Union, a curious phenomenon began sweeping across the Ostblock – one rarely mentioned by today’s historians or analysts.

The winds of change were blowing, and they brought with them an unexpected baby boom.

As the Soviet Union steadily imploded, these so-called “Perestroïka babies” were growing up on the far side of the Iron Curtain. From Russia to Ukraine, from Moldova to the Baltic States, these “new kids on the Eastern Bloc” were all experiencing something similar: a Soviet upbringing, one that split their time between Young Pioneer camps and queuing in front of empty supermarkets.

While becoming teenagers in a society experiencing chaotic transition, they quickly had to learn what freedom really meant to an era of accelerated capitalism.

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25 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, discover BEYOND ’91, the Perestroïka Generation as seen by itself.

Seven cross-border stories by 14 journalists and photographers from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

In the context of growing tensions between the East and West of Europe, could the Perestroïka youth form a bridge between two worlds?

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Building on the success of its previous two editions, BEYOND THE CURTAIN and BALKANS & BEYOND, 

BEYOND ’91 is the latest editorial project of cafébabel Berlin.