He then went on to cite the American success of Flintstones Vitamins.
Yeltsin was at first nonplussed. But the persuasion came in the wake of Steven Spielberg's god-sent comedy, The Flintstones, an uproarious farce based on the outrageous Hanna-Barbara cartoon characters. During a Russian screening of the film, Yeltsin reportedly pounded his shoe on the seat in front of him for a solid hour, roaring with laughter. Upon leaving the theater the ebullient president declared that "Rick Moranis's outrageously funny performance as Barney has done more for the Russian spirit than that dullard Lenin ever did!" After the screening, Vuckov had little persuading to do before Yeltsin ordered Rubble's visage stamped on every new coin coming out of the nations mints.
A brief glance at life in the nation's capitol is all one needs to notice the impact of the historic change. Morale and camaraderie has soared to new levels, as vendors chuckle at each monetary exchange, bankers yell "Yabba-dabba-doo!" after each deposit, and children giggle with bliss as they smash open their Dino piggy banks on the streets, cooing "Bamm-bamm, bamm-bamm!"
Global financial markets were equally tickled by the new coinage. Currency exchanges turned overnight into entertainment hot-spots, with lines of laughing people holding hands and singing "We're the Flintstones" while they waited to exchange their paychecks directly into wheelbarrows full of Rubbles. "We love it," said one excited American. "I'm exchanging my inheritance for Rubbles. I guess I'll have to move to Russia to spend my money now!" The Clinton administration expressed concern as the value of the dollar against the Rubble plummeted. Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen declined comment on matter, as he had slipped into a long-expected coma at the news. At a press conference Clinton chided Yeltsin's shameless commercialism and criticized "those spy satellites which allowed him to watch the Flintstone family in the first place."
Probably the only one unfazed by the landmark event is Steven Speilberg himself. "I fully expected my film to have this impact," he said calmly. "Especially after the maelstrom that followed my masterpiece "Batteries Not Included."
