USSR commentary is picked out of context. The point was civil unrest, ethnic cleanings and general deterioration of civilization on its periphery as a result of its collapse.
As for Merkel she is a conservative by German term. Look at her opponents to start with.
You are absolutely right. Lots of regular people suffered an awful lot because of the collapse, and this is what Putin was referring to. One of the reasons Putin is loved (particularly by the Armenians, at least) is that he shut down a lot of BS nationalism and ethnic strife against the minorities.