Life and culture in the Soviet Union, North Korea, China etc was/is heavily controlled by the state, so their reputations around the world may be askew compared to actual life. I'm asking anybody with any experience of living in these countries to tell me what it was like, the positives and negatives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_the_Living this kind of thing?
Where there is no property there is no justice; a proposition as certain as any demonstration in Euclid
Fools! not to see that what they madly desire would be a calamity to them as no hands but their own could bring
I don't know about the USSR, but I've been to China. Obviously, it's not the same as living there, but at least in the major cities the government isn't as intrusive as a lot of people in the US think. I'm not saying they have a good government or that it isn't too intrusive, but the average person in Shanghai, for example, doesn't see that much more government interference than in a major US city.
I could be wrong, though. I'd be interested to hear the opinion of a Westerner who has lived there for a while.
consequentialist.wordpress.com
nirgrahamUK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_the_Living this kind of thing?
Seems like an interesting read, but I still want the first-hand stories of those who have lived in a socialist state, especially the extinct USSR.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago ?
nirgrahamUK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago ?
Very detailed on the gulags and the life surrounding it, but i'm also looking for cultural aspects, like during the Krushchev and Brezhnev regimes.
I have a list of references concerning Communist China.
'Men do not change, they unmask themselves' - Germaine de Stael
Can you be more specific? I can talk about the last decade from my personal experience and I know some interesting stories from my parents and grandparents.
If I hear not allowed much oftener; said Sam, I'm going to get angry.
J.R.R.Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Natalie: Can you be more specific? I can talk about the last decade from my personal experience and I know some interesting stories from my parents and grandparents.
Those all sound good, I'd like to hear them.
What, all of them? I could take ages
Seriously, what exactly are you interested in? Education? Arts? Money? Political views?
Natalie: What, all of them? I could take ages Seriously, what exactly are you interested in? Education? Arts? Money? Political views?
Mainly, just day-to-day life. Meals, work hours, dinner, recreation, everything a soviet would probably do on a regular basis.
Keep in mind that 80s was a highly volatile decade and in many ways different from the previous eras (especially what we called "the stagnant 70s"). In addition to that, kids tend to look at things differently than adults - what was probably a disaster for my parents in early 90s seemed like a fun time to me.
This is a huge topic so I'm afraid I'll have to be brief. Important things to remember about the USSR:
- There was no private property on land the way it exists in capitalist countries. You could have personal belongings, but everything else - from land to even your apartment - belonged to the state or state-owned organizations. Which meant that everyone was effectively a short-term or life-long tenant and government kept track of who lived where by the process of registration: when you moved into a new place you had to go to the local police station to have you address stamped in your passport. It also served the purpose of population control: if you were caught by the police where you were not supposed to be you could be arrested for being a "vegabond". People tended to think about their dwellings as their own and were relatively free in what they could do with them. But they couldn't sell it on a market or leave it to their children. If they wanted to move, they either have to wait for the government to give it to them or exchange it for someone else's apartment or a house (even in a different city).
Your current address was also a basis for receiving medical care or finding school for your children (similar to the US, but without private schools or homeschooling).
- Later years of the Soviet Empire were marked by high level of deficit, practically everything was disappearing from the stores (all government run, of course). You literally had to spend hours in lines to get even simple things like bread or socks. Customer service was practically non-existent - why would retailers be nice to you if they knew you had nowhere else to go? To fight these long lines, government also imposed the card based system of rationing (similar to war-time Europe). USSR was far more interested in military and heavy industry than in consumer products or services, so imported things was highly sought after. Even jeans were a luxury item until we started getting a lot of Chinese stuff in the lat 80s (I'm not joking, I got a pair of second-hand jeans and a denim jacket as a gift and other kids in the neighborhood were very jealous).
Ok, I have to go back to work now, but I'll try to write more if you're interested.
You can also find some videos on YouTube with pictures or videos from that time.
This, for example (the opening line is "dedicated to the dead utopia").
Notice various posters with Lenin, Marx and the like and slogans which say "communism is our bright future", etc.
0:18 - The young guy is carrying a guitar. Playing and singing with the guitar was - and still is - very popular at younger Russians' get togethers.
0:21 - The sign says "Cloakroom". Russia is mostly a cold country so many places - schools, theaters, office buildings - have big cloakrooms downstairs for people to submit their heavy clothes in winter times. I was really surprised to find out that many Americans would sit in the theater with their coats on. No self-respecting Russian would ever do that
0:25 - The kid is holding a metal star which is a sign of the children school organization "Oktyabryata" (in honor of the October Revolution, of course). This was the first organization all Soviet kids were expected to enter (in the second grade, or about age 8, I think). I remember some kind of a related ceremony and proudly wearing the badge afterwards
0:29 - Socialists would like this poster. It asks the questions: Who receives the national income? And then proceeds with the answer (in pictures, like the comic strips). "In capitalist countries - to the exploiters". The picture of the fat "capitalist" reclining in the chair with overflowing bags around him and a poor "worker" counting a few pennies. And on the right, "In USSR - to the workers", and a picture of a smiling Soviet man with a bunch of stuff.
0:36 - Another piece of contrasting propaganda in pictures. Guess what panel represents the socialist countries?
0:40 - This must be an older propaganda posters. After Khruschev's "revelations" Stalin was officially considered a controversial figure and was not used in the propaganda afterwards.
0:44 - "For courage" - the most popular Soviet war medal, especially among WWII veterans. It was given primarily to rank, sergeants and junior officers for showing "courage under fire" (and not simply participating).
0:47 - "Vietnam will win! Kick the aggressor out of Vietnam!" I'm sure anti-war American would relate to this one ;)
0:51 - Mr. Brezhnev. Even all the soviet propaganda machine could not make him look anything more than a living cadaver.
1:10 - Older children in the school uniform. The red tie is a symbol of the next step countrywide children's organization, called "The pioneers". (color red and a pentagram were some of the most important symbols in the USSR). The whole organization was basically a rip-off of the boyscout, only with the communist ideology (Hitler did something similar).
1:19 - Glass bottles were widely used for milk and other liquids. Children liked to recycle them for extra cash.
1:25 - Classroom in the 80s. By the way, there's typically no division between primary and secondary schools in USSR/Russia. It was not unusual for people to attend all 10 (later 11) classes in the same school unless they moved around. Everpresent Lenin with his quotes.
1:29 - Pepsi-cola was already being sold in the 1980s in the dispensing machines. There were no plastic cups yet so you had to wait for the previous person to finish drinking
1:33 - Adults drink beer from a specialized kiosk (kiosks are still popular with Russians, but they rarely overspecialize and sell instead everything from bubble-gum to newspapers to cigarettes. Whatever there's market for ;) )
1:36 - Kvas, traditional Russian drink. It has a a very small low alcoholic content and actually considered to be healthy.
1:40 - TV reporting, must be something about the Western Europe.
1:44 - Inside the public transportation.
1:55 - Children were required to wear rubber caps in the pool
1:59 - Ice-cream kiosk on the beach. Now, this must seem shocking to Americans, but young girls didn't often wear bikini tops to cover their breasts until, well, we actually had something to show ;)
2:10 - One of the traditional remedies for various sicknesses. Looks weird, but many people swear by it.
2:25 - Typical subway train.
2:37 - "Let's transform Moscow into an exemplary communist city". The poster features the most famous Soviet-ear statue, "The Worker and the Kolchoz Woman".
2:40 - One of the central Moscow steeets. Last time I visited, traffic jams were a serious issue in Moscow, especially in the center. In the Soviet ear, however, people could wait years to buy a lousy Soviet car.
2:48 - The bread was sold like that, if you needed a bag, you had to bring your own.
2:52 - Jewelry store but all you can see is the bored sales ladies.
2:59 - Tobacco. Another example of a specialized kiosk.
3:02 - Crowds in the store, but the shelves are empty.
3:21 - Ironically, the largest newspaper in the USSR was called "Pravda" (i.e. The Truth).
3:25 - Local "Hall of fame"
3:55 - Policemen (so-called "militia"). Russian people have a lot of "loving" names for them
3:59 - Nothing can beat a good ole' abacus.
4:02 - Soviet fiat.
4:11 - Must be a military parade on the Red Square.
4:17 - Soccer (properly called football ) must be the most popular sportin Russia (and in many other countries). Of course, Americans are too stupid to appreciate it
4:21 - Sugar in lumps. Was easier to get than other kinds.
4:55 - Roller skates, Russian style.
5:21 - Soviet passport, the most important document of a soviet "citizen". Used for identification and various registrations (marriage, children, place of living, etc.)
wow... that was very interesting! thank you
TelfordUS: nirgrahamUK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_the_Living this kind of thing? Seems like an interesting read, but I still want the first-hand stories of those who have lived in a socialist state, especially the extinct USSR.
The Soviet Union failed at ever implementing socialism. After the Russian Revolution because of the material circumstances, Lenin resorted to one man management. The Soviets crushed emergent worker councils, collectives and also crushed justified uprisings in favor of economic centralization and one man management.
No sensible socialist advocates nationalization, we advocate autogestion and statelessness.