chai-khana.org: It is a regular mantra - “in Soviet times everything was better” or “In Soviet times we did this or that…” Twenty-five years since the communist design melted, either longing for it or loathing it is still common among citizens of any country across the post-Soviet space.
For 20-something Armenians, what the USSR was is mainly a series of blurred childhood memories, yet a sense of nostalgia for what-is-no-longer lingers and Soviet Union-themed cafes have mushroomed in Armenia’s capital Yerevan. They attract a large crowd, mainly youngsters. Many boast simple, minimal design which has become synonymous of the Soviet interior, or retro design, with basic furniture and at times, Soviet memorabilia.
Take Jean Paul existential cafe. Named after the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, the cafe’ looks like a typical Soviet apartment, with a large living room and hospitable kitchen. Celebrating the communist ideology was far from Narek Bakhtamyan’s intentions. The 28-year-old owner rebuffs the pervasive mindset his parents lived through and of which he barely has any recollection. The Soviets used and abused people’s freedom, he says - as Sartre’s existentialism acclaimed the freedom of the individual human being, he wants his cafe’ to be a place where people do not feel under any pressure.
For 22-year-old journalist Aren Melikyan, a regular customer, notes there is no need to think of resuscitating the USSR as “Russia has already taken up that role.”
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