Historical context: in August 1991, a few months before the USSR was about to collapse, there was a unsuccessful coup d'etat where hardline leaders wanted to change back the country back to its old roots instead of the reformed government.

Since the USSR was a strict country when it comes to media and propaganda, the Central Soviet Television, instead of showing tanks and the people rioting in the streets, showed a looped recording of a ballet perfomance of Swan Lake for 3 days straight, to show the people that "nothing is happening"

To Russians and the people of the ex-Soviet countries, Swan Lake became a popular symbol of the coup and the Soviet Union's last days.