Have you ever read "Secondhand Time: The Last Soviets" by Svetlana Alexievich? It captures this era very well although I am guessing the stories are primarily from Belarus and Russia. I have a copy in English here in Kyiv if you want to borrow it the next time we grab coffee. Funny coincidence with your parents. When I lived in Florida, I became a beekeeper as a hobby and they produced so much honey that we started selling it because we ran out of storage space. I dream someday of having a small place outside Kyiv in the woods or even the mountains and having a few beehives again. Peace and a blessed Pentecost.