The boy's words

There were also VCRs in the USSR. You inserted a cassette tape with a movie, video, or film, and the tape would be shown on the VCR. And that's how people watched movies, videos, or films.

The community center often hosts discos, and groups go there to dance, and girls come there too, some on their own and some with couples. The main thing is that if a girl comes with a guy from some group, don't leave the group's circle. Your guy is definitely involved, and don't go into other people's circles, except maybe to say hello to a friend, but even that isn't really allowed.

Remember, never, NEVER, EVER, trespass on someone else's property, especially if you're a girl. If you trespass on someone else's property, you'll be in trouble. So, never, ever, trespass on someone else's property. Otherwise, they'll grab you and drag you off to who knows where in Kazan. Remember this very strictly. If you're from a certain gang, especially if you're a girl, then if you've joined forces with one gang, only trespass on their property. Don't trespass on someone else's property; they'll steal you! And God forbid, someone from another gang might rape you if you trespass on someone else's property. Girls in Kazan in the 80s were a treasured possession. They protected girls and took revenge if anything happened. If they suspected something, like being with a gang, or even going out with a guy from a gang, then it was even worse. But if you were raped, no one would feel sorry for you. You'd be disgusting, and everyone would shy away from you like you were dirty and call you a "waffle girl." A girl who was impure and "raped" was called a "waffle girl." The Barbie name "waffle girl" meant she was dirty and used, and it was forbidden to go out with someone like that. Drinking from the same bottle or smoking the same cigarette between two people was forbidden. It was humiliating for a guy from a gang; he'd be called a "pomozok" (little helper). A "pomozok" (little helper) was a guy who smoked the same cigarette or drank from the same bottle with a woman who was a "waffle girl." It's considered humiliating for a girl to be a waffle girl, and some girls, touched by violence, couldn't cope with this weed and ended up committing suicide... Kazan is a dangerous country; not everyone can handle living there. But if you live by the rules and don't break them, you'll survive. If you're new to the neighborhood, you'll be considered a "chushpan." A "chushpan" is a kid who isn't in a gang, just any schoolboy. They call ordinary schoolchildren, Pioneers, Komsomol members, musicians, or kids who stay away from gangs and don't get involved in any street fights.

In the USSR in the 80s and 89s there were Soviet TVs and there are color TVs, such TVs are called “Rubin” and there are other TVs.

It's the 1980s in the USSR, and there are no touchscreen phones. There are only Soviet-era landline phones, street payphones, or street "automats" (colloquially, just "automats"). Almost every Soviet home also has a Soviet-era landline phone, which is simply called a "landline."

There were also various bands in the USSR, the most popular of which included KINO, Aquarium, Nautilus Pompulus, Alisa, Laskoviy May, Mirage, Kombinatsiya, DDT, Agata Kristi, and so on. There were too many bands to list in the 80s, including pop, rock, and dysco. There was a ton of music, and people listened to music using tape recorders, stereos, prototype players, and so on. If possible, people would swap cassette tapes, so to speak, swapping one cassette tape for another. That's how people listened to songs back then. If they had the chance, they'd go to the community center (also known as the House of Culture, or DK) to listen to music, dance, relax, have fun, and meet new people—most importantly, people who weren't strangers.

Andrei Vasiliev (Palto) is a modest, intelligent schoolboy. After meeting Marat by chance, he ends up on the "street," where he learns to fight and make difficult moral choices to protect his family.

Marat Suvorov (Adidas Jr.) is a charming hooligan and Vova's younger brother. He introduces Andrey to the gang. He is straightforward, emotional, and acutely sensitive to betrayal and injustice, placing human relationships above gang rules.

Vladimir Suvorov (Vova Adidas) is Marat's older brother, a demobilized soldier from Afghanistan and the leader of the "Universam" gang. He tries to establish fair rules on the streets, but ultimately becomes disillusioned with the gang's brutal laws.

Vakhit Zimaletdinov (Zima) is one of the most loyal and active members of "Universam." An uncompromising and tough guy who firmly believes in street smarts.

Valera Turkin (Turbo) is an aggressive and radical member of the gang. He demands strict adherence to the gang's traditions and often initiates the most violent confrontations.

Koschei is the former leader of the "Universam" store, an old-school authority figure. A cruel and mercenary man who loses power after the return of Vova Adidas.

Aigul Akhmerova, a music school student and Marat's first love, faces a difficult life drama that shatters her destiny and sparks conflict within the gang.

Natasha Rudakova is a nurse and Vova Adidas's girlfriend. She's trying to pull him out of the criminal underworld and build a normal life with him.

Irina Sergeevna is a principled juvenile affairs inspector. She sincerely tries to save teenagers, including Andrei, from prison and personal disintegration.

Dinara (Andrey's mother) is a loving mother who, after the loss of her husband, is left alone with two children. Under the pressure of life's upheavals and because of her son's actions, she ends up in a psychiatric hospital.
Yulia is Andrey's younger sister.

Marat's parents, a high-ranking party official and his wife, try to raise their children in the proper Soviet spirit, but are faced with a harsh reality.