Goodbye Soviet Union

The Tarkkinen family is an eccentric family living in the Soviet Union. They are Ingrian Finns, the largest Finnish-speaking minority in present-day Russia, and live in an area that was completely Russified after World War II. Johannes grows up with two grandparents in the closed town of Leningrad 3, while his absent mother occasionally returns from work in Finland, bringing him back much-coveted items from the West. Often left to his own devices, Johannes gets in trouble, and falls in love with his friend Vera. But the Soviet Union is collapsing, and the roads to freedom and the West open up.

This is the start of an epic family journey, which takes them to Tallinn, Estonia, in the late '80s. Based on the director's own childhood recollections, Goodbye Soviet Union is a heartwarming comedy about being neither Russian nor Estonian, but part of a changing multicultural society. With its vivid colors, colorful characters and comical situations, this entertaining film is also one of the first Ingrian feature films.