The 15th anniversary of the end of the Soviet Union passed practically without notice in Russia, even though the collapse of the communist regime is still a traumatic event for many Russians. The date of December 8, 1991, marks the day of a meeting between Soviet bloc leaders in a Belarussian hunting lodge where they signed the death warrant of the USSR.

Now 15 years later, no celebration or demonstration was held in Moscow."What's there to celebrate on this anniversary?" asked Natalia Kokoreva, a 60-year-old retiree in the Russian capital.

"With the fall of the USSR, my life went downhill," said Evgueni, 49, a Moscow street sweeper."Before, I lived well, I could go on vacation, I went to the mountains. Now I can't even go visit my brother in Tver," a city about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Moscow.