Public mood of the Kuibyshev Region residents in 1990-1991 in the context of the social history of Russia

This paper deals with 1990–1991 as a turning point, which marked the collapse of the policy of «perestroika», the communist institutions of power became a relic of the past, metamorphoses took place in the social structure of the Soviet society. The focus of «everyday life history» is the reality in the interpretation of its immediate participants, who were witnesses of the events of those years. Such events can relate to different spheres of life, and participants in these events can be people of different social strata. Newspapers and magazines are considered to be an irreplaceable source of information for studying the relationship between government and society in this chronological period. Letters and appeals of citizens from the regional newspaper «Volzhskaya Kommuna» were taken into consideration. There were rubrics expressing public opinion about the dynamics of the «perestroika» policy. The emotional reaction reflected in the letters is of great interest. The sources clearly record the main tendencies and stages of the public mood that prevailed in that period, thereby transfer the political apathy that spread in the society. The information received from the sources makes a definite contribution to the study of the «everyday life history» and can serve as a basis for research and reveal new aspects in social history.