The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt
August 2025 •Russian
In the late 1980s, when “perestroika” was taking place in the USSR and the era of the Soviet Union was about to collapse, life became unstable and very different. The 1980s brought not only freedom, but also waves of crime on the city streets. While some young people began to ‘grow up’ on the streets, others found it difficult to find their place in this unpredictable reality. Andrey, lives with his mother and five-year-old sister. He studies at a music school and often encounters street teenagers who harass him. To protect himself, Andrey makes friends with one of these teenagers, Marat, who introduces him to gang life. Youth groups fight for every piece of territory; they defend their right to live the life, even breaking laws and promises. The only thing that matters to them is the vows they make to their gang members-brothers, with whom they confront the violence and fears of the adult world.