Families living in post-Soviet states are split by experience; the older generation will recall living in the Soviet Union and the tumultuous time that led to its collapse. For those born in 1991 or later, transition is all they’ve ever know; they are the children of the revolution.
So how much has changed? Some, like Paulina Skurko from Belarus have known the same leader for 20 years. A country with laws comparable to the Soviet Union, she has been stopped for wearing the wrong colour ribbons and her uncle spent a two week stretch in jail for swearing in public.
Others like Daniel Vodă, 22 from Moldova hope their countries have taken a break from the past, Voda says his country has "proved to the EU that it is a stable, predictable and constructive nation … we are looking forward to accelerating our European ambitions."
We're using GuardianWitness to find stories from other children of the revolution. Were you born in or around 1991? What do you remember about the fall of the Soviet Union? Tell us how your country has changed in the past 23 years. Do you share the hopes of Voda? Or face the same restrictions as Skurko?
If you lived through the fall of the Soviet Union we want to hear from you too. How do you experiences differ from the revolution generation? Has your country changed? For the better for the worse?
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