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Originally Posted by Mutt
were you living in the Soviet Union?
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No, I was living on the Moon during the Soviet era.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutt
and yes you have spoken well of life in the Soviet Union, I remember not long ago you posted some old Soviet era photos of a nice vacation area with families enjoying themselves and you said that every citizen/worker got a holiday in one of these vacation areas each year, plus of course 'free' healthcare.
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Yes, I have posted pictures of
dachas. Were they nice? They were usual. My parents had a dacha, parents of my wife had a dacha, parents of my friends had dachas and we've spent a lot of good time there. Soviet medicine was also free (today you can choose between free and paid ones). What's wrong with that? This is just a fact and it doesn't change my attitude towards commies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutt
I remember this because it interested me very much, I grew up during the Cold War and the propaganda we got about life in the Soviet Union was it was a miserable life for the common people. Only the party members and the famous entertainers and athletes lived well.
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No, the life in the USSR was not miserable at all. We had free apartments (not luxurious but own), free land for dacha (not too large but free) our parents had paid vacations and were able to spend one month a year in Black Sea resorts etc. It was definitely not something like you can see in North Korea today. Almost all internal restrictions were compensated by Russian mentality - as we say "строгость закона компенсируется необязательностью его исполнения" (the law is strict but you don't have to obey)
From Wikipedia: The family of a worker of the Krasny Khimik plant in Leningrad at their dacha house, 1981
From Wikipedia: Dacha of Boris Pasternak (a banned Soviet poet) in Peredelkino, near Moscow
So you can't say those people had a miserable life in Soviet Union. Not free, not luxurious, but not miserable for sure.
On the other hand, I didn't like the Communist Party, because of falsehood, propaganda and freedom restrictions. For example, why should I spend my vacations on Black Sea if I want to do it at Seychelles?