The army was falling apart, flights were getting canceled, trains were grinding to a halt, the ruble zone was shrinking, former Soviet republics were fencing themselves off with borders and customs . . . but television in Moscow continued to broadcast across the entire former Soviet Union. . . . The very knowledge that people in Russia, Georgia, the Baltic States and Central Asia were watching the same programs helped many people feel part of one historic entity—even though it had lost its name.
