Eastern Europeans opinion on USSR vs modern regime(s)

[Forgetful Coyote]

My professor in Operating Systems is a old Russian, and when I asked him if its better today vs the old Soviet Union days, he said in some ways yes and in some ways no. I didnt have enough time to get em to elaborate further, but what do yall think? Is it really even that much different nowadays?

 

[pmclaine]

I lived in Moscow circa 1988.

I havent been there since but I have to think an emphatic yes.

Your professor probably laments that his generation, Im assuming older, has been cast adrift by the enc of the CCCP. Under the CCCP they would have been provided a small apartment and a bowl of borscht each day regardless of their contribution during their working years.

Now those generations that were not able to prepare for life post Soviet Union find themselves behind the eight ball. The social welfare net has collapsed to some degree and their futures are not so secure. They never had the opportunity to compete in "capitalist oligarchy" as they were mid career or older.

Professors also had a higher status back than now, he would just be an educator. Software entrepreneur would be cooler.

Russians that were persons of high standing in the CCCP have come here to find they have no standing. Rocket scientists, poets, scholars, doctors, highly educated for the most part find here they are taxi drivers because all their education certs were worthless here. Do I agree with that? Not entirely. Is it the same for all? No. But for a people with no training on how to sell coming to a society that is all about the sale things probably seem low and cheap.

Now younger people at least have some (some) opportunity if they are clever or ruthless enough.

Russia is developing a middle class and the middle class getting healthy and stronger will hopefully temper and demand change of some of the worst aspects of the current system of oligarchs.

Life in the CCCP was gray and lowest common denominator. As a westerner I had access to stuff citizens would only dream about. Thats messed up.

When I see present day pictures of Russia and how modern buildings have overtaken the Stalinist era constructions it shocks me. There appears to be some color and life now.

They are not an ideal by any means but what they have now is better than the CCCP.

Their leadership remains a paranoid, Machiavellian, murderous cabal but that leopard has been wearing those spots sometimes under duress, and sometimes like now, by choice, for over 1000 years. Its only within the last century that their internal intrigues have had an effect beyond their borders.

My own opinion.

Vikings, Mongols, Ivan the Terrible, Streltsy, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Poles, Swedes, Napoleon, Communists, Nazis, Capitalists - the list of psychosis Russia suffers is long.

 

[2ndamendfan]

With Freedom comes personal responsibility. Not everyone wants that.

 

[Sixfivesavage]

With Freedom comes personal responsibility. Not everyone wants that.

Or can handle that...then that gets you to where we are in the US.

 

[Maggot]

I lived in Moscow circa 1988.

I havent been there since but I have to think an emphatic yes.

Your professor probably laments that his generation, Im assuming older, has been cast adrift by the enc of the CCCP. Under the CCCP they would have been provided a small apartment and a bowl of borscht each day regardless of their contribution during their working years.

Now those generations that were not able to prepare for life post Soviet Union find themselves behind the eight ball. The social welfare net has collapsed to some degree and their futures are not so secure. They never had the opportunity to compete in "capitalist oligarchy" as they were mid career or older.

Professors also had a higher status back than now, he would just be an educator. Software entrepreneur would be cooler.

Russians that were persons of high standing in the CCCP have come here to find they have no standing. Rocket scientists, poets, scholars, doctors, highly educated for the most part find here they are taxi drivers because all their education certs were worthless here. Do I agree with that? Not entirely. Is it the same for all? No. But for a people with no training on how to sell coming to a society that is all about the sale things probably seem low and cheap.

Now younger people at least have some (some) opportunity if they are clever or ruthless enough.

Russia is developing a middle class and the middle class getting healthy and stronger will hopefully temper and demand change of some of the worst aspects of the current system of oligarchs.

Life in the CCCP was gray and lowest common denominator. As a westerner I had access to stuff citizens would only dream about. Thats messed up.

When I see present day pictures of Russia and how modern buildings have overtaken the Stalinist era constructions it shocks me. There appears to be some color and life now.

They are not an ideal by any means but what they have now is better than the CCCP.

Their leadership remains a paranoid, Machiavellian, murderous cabal but that leopard has been wearing those spots sometimes under duress, and sometimes like now, by choice, for over 1000 years. Its only within the last century that their internal intrigues have had an effect beyond their borders.

My own opinion.

Vikings, Mongols, Ivan the Terrible, Streltsy, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Poles, Swedes, Napoleon, Communists, Nazis, Capitalists - the list of psychosis Russia suffers is long.

Never lived there but studied some Russian History. Youre correct, they are a wild collection of ethnic diversities. I was surprised in a course I took at U Texas Austin, in basic Russian language the instructor didnt know the origin of her own language. She was surprised when I pointed out that as well as Cyrillic, there were both Greek and Latin characters.

You must admit they are a tough bunch to have survived all the famines, purges and Nazis.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

I lived in Moscow circa 1988.

I havent been there since but I have to think an emphatic yes.

Your professor probably laments that his generation, Im assuming older, has been cast adrift by the enc of the CCCP. Under the CCCP they would have been provided a small apartment and a bowl of borscht each day regardless of their contribution during their working years.

Now those generations that were not able to prepare for life post Soviet Union find themselves behind the eight ball. The social welfare net has collapsed to some degree and their futures are not so secure. They never had the opportunity to compete in "capitalist oligarchy" as they were mid career or older.

Professors also had a higher status back than now, he would just be an educator. Software entrepreneur would be cooler.

Russians that were persons of high standing in the CCCP have come here to find they have no standing. Rocket scientists, poets, scholars, doctors, highly educated for the most part find here they are taxi drivers because all their education certs were worthless here. Do I agree with that? Not entirely. Is it the same for all? No. But for a people with no training on how to sell coming to a society that is all about the sale things probably seem low and cheap.

Now younger people at least have some (some) opportunity if they are clever or ruthless enough.

Russia is developing a middle class and the middle class getting healthy and stronger will hopefully temper and demand change of some of the worst aspects of the current system of oligarchs.

Life in the CCCP was gray and lowest common denominator. As a westerner I had access to stuff citizens would only dream about. Thats messed up.

When I see present day pictures of Russia and how modern buildings have overtaken the Stalinist era constructions it shocks me. There appears to be some color and life now.

They are not an ideal by any means but what they have now is better than the CCCP.

Their leadership remains a paranoid, Machiavellian, murderous cabal but that leopard has been wearing those spots sometimes under duress, and sometimes like now, by choice, for over 1000 years. Its only within the last century that their internal intrigues have had an effect beyond their borders.

My own opinion.

Vikings, Mongols, Ivan the Terrible, Streltsy, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Poles, Swedes, Napoleon, Communists, Nazis, Capitalists - the list of psychosis Russia suffers is long.

Correct, hes in his late 60s Id reckon.
Did you ever have KGB following you or anything?

Also, what was their relations with the Chechen/Dagestani muslims like back then vs now(they seem fairly accepted, if kept at arms length)..? Kadyrov seems like a real POS. He had Fedor's daughter assaulted cause Fedor(greatest MMA fighter of all time) spoke out against Kadyrov hosting MMA fights for super young children.
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/10...fter-criticism-against-kadyrov-child-mma-news

Really surprised Putin let that fly seemingly w/out repercussions cause Fedor is close friends with Putin.

 

[kortik]

My professor in Operating Systems is a old Russian, and when I asked him if its better today vs the old Soviet Union days, he said in some ways yes and in some ways no. I didnt have enough time to get em to elaborate further, but what do yall think? Is it really even that much different nowadays?

As a dude born in the USSR in 1957, who lived there until 1991 and then moved here, I can tell you what your professor meant:

1. USSR provided very high level of free and quality education in many key areas (+)
2. Life in the USSR for most rank-and-file was kind of "gray", but there was enough fun in life to remember (+/-)
3. Political freedom was very limited (-)
4. Economic freedom was limited (-)

There was a bunch of other things, but I do not have time to post about everything,
I have to run business, and it's getting real hot now...

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Good point. Hes talked about some of the education he got, I was pretty surprised. As in, he went through a metric fuck ton of schooling.

 

[pmclaine]

As a dude born in the USSR in 1957, who lived there until 1991 and then moved here, I can tell you what your professor meant:

1. USSR provided very high level of free and quality education in many key areas (+)
2. Life in the USSR for most rank-and-file was kind of "gray", but there was still enough fun in life to remember (+)
3. Political freedom was very limited (-)
4. Economic freedom was limited (-)

There was a bunch of other things, but I do not have time to post about everything,
I have to run business, and it's getting real hot now...

@kortik

When I describe things as "gray" I mean it was just a heavy weightiness of the bureaucracy....

Going to a store, standing in line to pay for a receipt, than taking your receipt to another line to hand in your receipt for the product you wanted.........

The people themselves seemed to enjoy a good time, walking in the parks, visiting patriotic memorials, standing in banana hammocks along the banks of the Mockba River getting some sun, fishing in the river with their kids, big weddings, they enjoyed restaurants.

People are the same.

Its government that sucks.

It is no joke about the education system in the USSR.

In the sciences they would blow away an American student. Economics probably not so much.

I think its kind of a shame a lot of talent is wasted that the post collapse immigrants brought to the USA.

 

[kortik]

@kortik

When I describe things as "gray" I mean it was just a heavy weightiness of the bureaucracy....

Going to a store, standing in line to pay for a receipt, than taking your receipt to another line to hand in your receipt for the product you wanted.........

The people themselves seemed to enjoy a good time, walking in the parks, visiting patriotic memorials, standing in banana hammocks along the banks of the Mockba River getting some sun, fishing in the river with their kids, big weddings, they enjoyed restaurants.

People are the same.

Its government that sucks.

It is no joke about the education system in the USSR.

In the sciences they would blow away an American student. Economics probably not so much.

I think its kind of a shame a lot of talent is wasted that the post collapse immigrants brought to the USA.

People are the same. Its government that sucks. as you said...

I came from Moscow to live 10 years in a small town of Corunna (MI), people were MOSTLY the same, I felt like a fish in a water, no problems at all. In the 90s, it was still illegal for a green card holder in MI like me to purchase a handgun (now it is legal), so local chief of police was actually ready to help me with this one way or the other, if he could... I preferred to wait, no complications were needed. Locals were pretty good to me.