This documentary was effectively banned in Australia shortly after it premiered. Essentially conservative elements in Australia opposed to be for not being critical enough, which is stupid because the filmmakers didn't set out to make a deeply critical film, they just wanted to show people in the West everyday life. Apparently if you don't show people that the Soviet Union was a massive gulag, you need to be silenced. You see these same ideas in these very comments, my how times stay the same.
Lol. This documentary was effectively banned in Soviet Union shortly after it premiered. Essentially Communist elements in Soviet Union opposed it for not being flattering enough, which is stupid because the film makers did set out to make a more humane view by showing everyday life in Soviet Union. Apparently if you don't show people that the Soviet Union was a workers utopia, you need to be silenced. You see these same ideas in these very comment.. my how times stay the same.
I feel so sad that in my childhood we were bought up to believe these people were evil and hated us, and that we should hate them. They're just normal people like everyone else. I took it upon myself to learn the language and culture, and to be honest, (almost) every Russian person I've ever talked to has been nothing short of kind, polite, and friendly.
Don’t worry, they were brought up the same way lol…I know I am one. But everyday people really didn’t want to go to war and kill everyone either, they were just taught the same fear of the west that you were of the east.
And now, on their tv shows they say: we should nuke New York and London and discuss how long the rocket will fly to the destination. Also russian foreign secretary lavrov says Jews are the most antisemitic persons.
Yeah, work hard not smart. At these times of "hard work" Russia used to import grain from Canada and constantly was on the edge of food disaster. Now they produce enough grain to be one of the biggest exporters of it in the world. Miracle
@@james_maxwell simply not true! That was a short time when SSSR imported grain, early 60s and very short time, I was in school that time and remeber it.
I grew up in the Soviet Union in the 80s and everything in this movie seems legit except for no one listened to the kind of background music they play here lol
The inflation rate in Russia between 1993 and 2021 was 38,082.56%, which translates into a total increase of ₽9,139,814.92. This means that 24,000 rubles in 1993 are equivalent to 9,163,814.92 rubles in 2021. In other words, the purchasing power of ₽24,000 in 1993 equals ₽9,163,814.92 in 2021. The average annual inflation rate between these periods was 23.65%.
Nikolai says his son sergei was a bit of a surprise as he wasn't in the families 5 year plan. I'm not even mad. That is the best dad joke I've ever heard. Edit. Funny wat to call your kid an accident
Я из России. Я родился в 1953 году в колхозной семье. Мой отец был трактористом, а мать работала учительницей в сельской школе. Все что вам рассказывают на западе о России и СССР это ложь. Да был гулаг и репрессии, но в больших масштабах. У нас в России много талантливых историков, которые опровергают антисоветские мифы. Но к сожалению западная пропаганда не даёт правде быть услышаной. Неверете приезжайте к нам и вы во всем убедитесь сами.
@@ДенисМихалев-т1з I am from san diego, california. i am not a stupid follower that blindly kisses the american flag like my peers. the soviets were the only ones that did not give up when invaded in ww2. 80% of the nazis killed were on the eastern front. the americans and brits did almost nothing to help.
@@vgrepairs Provides over 90% of airfuel for Soviet Airforce, provides almost all trucks which are essential for logistics, provides ENTIRE PREBUILT factories to be SHIPPED IN PARTS to be put together in USSR, etc, etc Kid from San Diego in 2022: "Yeah we did nothing"
@@ragingroyal729 We can hope, but remember, the borders don't make the USSR, the political and economic system does. A bourgeois Russia will never re-create a socialist country.
Yea, cause they were killed or sent to Sibir, or some other work-prison to keep up a facade. There "were no" gays or mentally disabled people either. Gay people were killed in cruel ways. I remember there being a home for disabled children only about a kilometer from where I lived. They were never allowed to go outside the tiny yard around it. You're a bot, but maybe a real human will actually read this message too.
@@cgps1612 In a country where housing was most affordable? Once you had a job they provided at least a room, once you got married you received and apartment, and then a bigger apartment once the family started growing. There was no housing problem, and the Gulag system was shut down after Stalin died in 1953. So stop talking about things you are ignorant about.
@@ryrygoogoo people who were adults when the USSR fell miss it too. And no, people who lived horrible lives in their childhood do not remember it fondly.
When will people realize that we have more in common with the people we’re told to hate than the politicians who tell us to hate people we know nothing about?
You have to meet a Russian in person and speak to him about his political and social views. Eventualy you will find yourself hating him without any hint from the politicians. Keyword to start might be "Europe" (he will use word Gay-rope instead). Actually you can start asking a Russian about his opinion on any neighboring country. Because America and Europa are too obvious hate triggers for them.
@James Maxwell that’s a bullshit, you can meet bad and good people everywhere, a lot of interviews tell opposite you said and I can say if you will think with propaganda minds like you - you surely will hate us, but the real thing and the real idea that we all are humans and we all are different and if we wants traditional family in our country it’s our way, we don’t trying to bring our ideas to your countries🙄
to all Ukrainians in the comments asking why is the USSR called Russia in the title of the documentary, it is because people in the West used to call the whole USSR "Russia". some in the West did not and still do not know that the USSR was a union of all of these nations. in the West it is also normal to call nations based on the majority ethnic group, for example Britain is often called England and the Netherlands are often called Holland.
It was about 1988 and i as a Child not older then 14 was spending Summer holidays in an Harbor in southern Italy. It was common to see cargo ships there, docked. One day i saw One with the Soviet Union flag, never seen before. I said to people there "Hey, tovarish!" And said hallo with my Hand, a man replied. I had no idea that some years later that Empire would collapse. That was the First and the last soviet flag i saw. What Memories!
I know watching this is both inspiring and heart breaking. I’m honestly blown away by what their life was like it’s astonishing I also love how they didn’t focus on any one region or city they showed life all through out the Union.
It was not a paradise. The 1980s was arguably the worst decade for the USSR. The economy was being neglected in favor of excessive military spending in order to fun the war in Afghanistan.
You must be some paid bot troll!!! It's the only explanation for such a ridiculous comment. People don't "flee" paradises. That's enough right there to tell you it was a nightmare, to leave one's home and country. My family being one of them, who were able to escape Czechoslovakia while under occupation in the eastern bloc. It's incredibly disturbing & frightening you consider a system that resulted in the brutal death of over 100 million people in a short span to be "paradise", but this being TH-cam full of heinous fake comments & propaganda, I'm not surprised!!!
I think I would have been quite happy in 1984 USSR. So many good and compassionate ideas, people seemed to really believe in one another, and in the success of everyone for the greater good of all. It may have been far from perfect, but it is inspiring that they got as far as they did prioritizing science, technology, and social progress. I hope someday that the spirit of these times can once again inspire so many people to believe in humanity not as superstitious, greedy, subjects,to be bought and sold, but as educated, equal participants of a system where all can be afforded respect and evidence based social cooperation that lifts everyone up.
The USSR had zero good and compassionate ideas. Russians are subservient Slavs by nature and prefer being under the lash. For millennium be it the Czars or communism Russians bow down. 'People believed in one another' lol. Just to avoid being shot. Grow up.
Nah comrade, instead we all want our own personal lottery ticket esque chance at becoming slightly better off than the next guy. We risk everything from the planets health, to social backwardness, to repression of women & minorities all the way to exploitation of developing countries all for the 1 in 500,000 chance that we may have a slightly nicer car, house or w.e else than the neighbors. We throw away any hope for real democracy, real equity, and development of the rest of the earth's people all so some westerners can stay a little richer or maybe *OnE DaY bEcOmE* richer. Fuck a better world I want my Lamborghini I want my private 10acre lot.
All of this was a BIG LIE, these people were followed by an agent of the Soviet State, they were forced to speak according to the government, this journalist who accompanied them was DECEIVED. Tudo isso era uma GRANDE MENTIRA, essas pessoas eram seguidas por um agente do Estado soviético, eram obrigadas a falar conforme o gorverno, esse jornalista que acompanhou foi ENGANADO.
you would be happy queuing for hours every day for simple goods, like bread or sausage? I really wish the time machine be invented, so it would be possible that idiots like you could be send to a soviet queue, so you would quickly learn that "иди на хер, тебя тут не стояло" - mean something else, but not a sign of believe in one another
Dear Russians, this is how we saw you in the West. Absolutely honorable, warm, honest and beautiful people. With your extremely beautiful and rich culture. What did our regimes do to us.. what happened to you now this beautiful DNA in you must still exist... why do we accept that we cannot trade.. why can my wife (age 62 so from former USSR) and I not come and visit your beautiful country and why can't we invite you to come and visit us... why can't we have fun, share stories, talk about your world famous composers like Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Tchaikovsky... why can't we just be good neighbours without allowing our exorbintant rich milliardair leaders to divide us. What happened to the world. Love from the west.
growing up in the 70's russia, so many memories rushed back watching this. thank u. We have so many videos of moscow between 1980 and 1990 about 40 hours
@@cyberp0et Boring or not, its what you do with life that makes it fun or not. USSR provided all citizens opportunity to do their own destiny, and yet in the 80s, when the Socialist system needed them the most, the people failed it, and now people of Russia are increasingly regretting their foolish decision.
@@danielshifron5672 how interesting. it shows the "rich" part of new york, with its great skyscrapers and tourism, but emphasizes the poorer districts and homeless people, an inequality the soviet people were not very familiar with.
@@HOMEP11That’s because capitalism pushed food manufacturers to pump it full of ingredients that make these foods literally addictive in order to maximize profits. There are many books written about this subject if you’re interested.
It's crazy how I grew up with a certain image of the USSR in my head only to find out that the image I had was of post-USSR capitalist Russia/Eastern Europe, and the socialist project of the USSR wasn't all that different from the US. The fall of the USSR set the development of the human race back by a century.
I grew up in America in a family of miners, steel workers and tradesmen. One thing I noticed about this documentary that Is familiar to me but not to most Americans nowdays... Immediately after saying someone's name their occupation is the next thing what trade they're in. I never even thought about that but people don't do that in Florida or somewhere, Their identity is more wrapped up in what they own instead of their value or skillset.
I studied in former Soviet Union. Actually in Cherkassy a city near Kiev, Ukraine. Most people were sincere. Life was a bless then. They have everything now but have lost their family life.
@@vladd8948 Comrade Ivan, Kiev will be in federastskom. And in a normal language, this is Kyiv. This is because it comes from "Київ" in your language, it sounds like "Кыйив".
@@ТотКтоГоворитМногоНеГоворяНиче No, porque la Lengua Rusa es mucho más antigua y expandida global mente que la ucraniana que es semi artificial y casi sin hablantes importantes en el mundo. Además, no me uniré a estas tendencias posmodernas que usar etiquetas que complazcan a ciertos grupúsculos ideológicos. En Español siempre se ha dicho Kiev y Odessa (un español fundó esta última) y se va a quedar así, no cambiará por la propaganda del Estado Ucraniano.
Wow that was amazing thank you so much for uploading this. It has reinstalled my hope for the future for a better and more just world led by and for the working class. It is possible we know it’s possible. With every thing that is going on in the world at the moment I needed this more than anyone can ever know. This is the goal this is the life. Thank you thank you thank you.
Якщо ви так мрієте про такий світ то їдьте до Північної Кореї, це майже той самий совок. В цьому фільмі вам показали пропаганду совка, обгортку від типу "цукерки" якої або взагалі немає, або яка має смак лайна. Ви дуже довірлива людина, співчуваю вам
@@Golub69I am Bulgarian and this documentary was very similar to that of the ordinary Bulgarians during socialism. I don't care what your grandfather went through or how your great grandfather lost his land given to him by the Tsarist family. I couldn't care less
To be honest. (Born 1979) I wasn't brought up to hate but that the USSR was dangerous. I remember asking my mom at like 7 or 8 "what is communism?" Her answer "everyone is the same" "you can be locked up or worse for speaking out". Remember this was the 80s. I do know life was hard back then. I do think this documentary rides a fine line of crossing into propaganda but I also know some people experienced this... just not everyone. I've always loved Russians. Even as a kid we had one in school everyone picked on because he barely spoke English. His family left and ended up here. I fought stood up together against the punks and quickly thumped skulls but we didnt want violence only for it to stop. We immediately became best friends and were inseparable. We were and still are brothers to this day. My family took him in just like his family took me in. As time moved on early 2k he moved back to Russia. Every year I go to see him and he comes here to see me. Well, pre ukraine we did. Fact for me is I've experienced russian culture. I've spent a lot of time amongst them and as hard as it is can speak the language enough to not be a pain. The one thing I ask is please don't think all Russians have hard hearts. They don't. They want exactly what we want. To prosper and be happy. My visits and his visits have been put on ice for now and maybe forever. I do miss my friend and his wife and family over there. They are my people.
It is no coincidence russians vote leaders like Stalin and Putin who opress them and their neighbour countries. And Im not surprised your bro moved back to ruzzia and yourt relationship froze over the years. If you still have doubts maybe you should move there for good, settle in and live with a ruzzian salary. Then your romanticism with ruzzian culture will come to realization when you experience the hardships in the flesh.
I was born the same year, never hated or feared Russians but always saw them as regular ass people like myself and people here. I wish our leaders would get their heads out of their asses and stop creating conflicts between us and with other countries around the world. Regular ass people in any country don't want that kind of shit.
Все у вас возобновится! Войны пройдут, мир останется, раны заживут. Ведь с немцами например сейчас дружат и англичане, и французы, не взирая на трагическое прошлое.
Maybe they thought Western liberalism was far better, a bit like the Europeans believed for a while that the EU and mass immigration was for a better future... During the nineties most Russians became poor, at the time most of them regretted. Nowadays the Communist Party still gets 20% of votes, mainly among the older people.
@@icomxwing42No, everything was exactly as shown. We still live off the achievements of the USSR. Believe it or not. But in the 80s it was possible to get an apartment for free, free education, free medicine, in fact, consumption was shifted from personal to social services. Everyone, but without asking whether they wanted it or not, was dragged into socialism and it worked. But, you are also right, the resources that were pumped out by Western economies from the CIS after the collapse of the USSR were enough until 2008. Now the economic decline will not be a recession, but a catastrophe. And there is no USSR that could pull everyone out of this pit. In addition, the lack of a counterweight for the United States allowed a situation where problems were simply flooded with emissions... And now a hyperinflationary shock is coming. Also, the absence of a second pole made a large-scale war real, no... now it is inevitable. What's happening? the US economy and the global economy are the petrodollar, and in addition to hyperinflation due to the emission of the dollar, we face a shortage of resources, since the peak of hydrocarbon production has passed. Consequently, the petrodollar will lose its purchasing power, even if not completely, but by tens of percent, but inflation of 60%? The world will survive what the USSR experienced in the 80s-90s or... he won't survive. And how to avoid it? Burn inflation... by pumping assets from stagnant Europe to Britain and the USA. It is desirable that the assets fall in price as much as possible, then you can buy them for a song to return the liquidity of the dollar... partly. How? War is the best means. Which is what is happening now. But this is still not enough, so we are waiting for the fall of the middle class and the Latin Americanization of economies. Only those who have industry and energy will be able to save something. For example, Russia. Unfortunately, the standard of living, which is already not high, will fall by another 20-30%, a little better than the plague in the 90s, but the collapse of national economies awaits the rest.
I am a 41-year old Chinese born in British-occupied Hong Kong and later lived in New Zealand. I remember the USSR well and miss that country. It was one big happy family living together. Then, Gorbachev broke it, egged on by the West, and now, everything has turned to shxt, Armenians are fighting Azerbaijanis, Russians vs Ukrainians. In my entire lifetime, I have only seen ever widening economic inequality and economic insecurity. Society is now much more polarised than when I was young, all driven by economics. When I moved to NZ in the 1980s, there was still substantial social safety net. All of that was taken away because the West "won" the Cold War. In reality, the winners were the capitalists, while workers of ALL COUNTRIES were losers. In 2022, I cannot help but think the world was a much better place when the USSR was around. The USSR wasn't just a country - it was a set of ideas that inspired much of humanity who had only just escaped Western colonisation. People from China to India and the rest of the Global South looked up to the Soviet Union. I wish the USSR was still around to provide much needed geopolitical balance to US hegemony, as well as geo-economic balance against rampant neoliberal capitalism that has destroyed the lives of working people.
Our world is doomed to a new barbarity and the triumph of a new fascism in the vast majority of countries. Of course, the new fascists will not call themselves fascists, but the essence of this does not change. The same principles of political and economic structure will not prevent these new fascisms from attacking each other, just as they did not prevent fascist Germany from attacking fascist Poland once. This is already happening in Ukraine, in Russia, in the United States, and perhaps in some other countries about which I do not have enough information to draw unambiguous conclusions. And all this is due to the fact that communism lost. I hope it's temporary.
i was borne in Russia, not in USSR. But my parents say, that life in USSR was better than in Russia and remember that time with warm and tears. They don't know how in one day our country start to be outsider. It's a tragedy for ordinary russians.
@Мистер лис совок - это лучшее, что случилось с нашим миром ибо только благодаря ему у нас есть все те права и свободы. Если бы не социализм, европейцы до сих пор доили бы свои колонии по всему миру, а так чтоб по всему миру не было социалистических революций им пришлось уровнять права женщин, отменить рабство, нормировать труд рабочих и т.д.
I was born in the US during the time when the Soviet Union was still around and I don't understand why they were telling us to fear and hate you all right after we had just fought together in the second world war. It's inexplicable and very sad. Both sides missed out on getting to know a lot of other great people because our countries decided not to like one another.
@@whoever6458 US was scared because USSR was powerful, and USA wanted and still wants to rule the world. IS is the only country in the world who used atomic bomb on people ( when it was unnecessary), when they saw what they did with that they were scared shitless to get what was coming for such a crime
So, The Soviet Union quite literally was just a Regular everyday place? I mean, they had strict societal expectations, and ultimately separated, but from the stories told back then you'd think It be a wasteland.
Yea, and it’s the same with most communist countries today that still remain. Vietnamese, Chinese, North Korean, Cubans, Laotians, are all just normal everyday people like you and me living lives that are no crazier than our own. They have entertainment, they go to work, they have families that they eat dinner with, they have friends that they spend time with, they have their own struggles and hardships and they also have their own dreams and aspirations. And anyone who has tried to make us think that we are so unfathomably different from our fellow humans is just playing geopolitics in my opinion
NO, THEY ARE COAL MINERS AND WORKING IN THE UNFORTUNE 500s SIBERIAN GULAGS. THEY ALWAYS STARVE AND EAT ONLY BREAD AND CANNED SOUP. IF U BELIEVE OTHERWISE YOUR A BIG COMMIE!! - west
Soviet Union existed on almost all of the land of historical Russia. De facto it was Russia under a new name. Russia nowadays lost a significant part of its territory and people.. that is why Russia is trying now to get back its possessions.
My interaction with people who are from the USSR is that MOST OF THEM are pro-Soviet and would gladly go back. They all agree the USSR was better than modern Russia, Ukraine or any of the countries it had been broken into.
@@puppetmaster579 I can relate to this. Watching today how people of recently one and whole country fight against each other is heartbreacking. More over, the folks do not need that, the rich want them to fight under the false petriotic sentiment.
born in 93 in the states with middle class parents, and upper middle-lower rich class grandparents on my mother side and middle class on the fathers side and how did i turn out? heroin addict, moved back home at 26 totally strung out, feeling totally helpless. i worked 6 days a week for 8.50 an hr back in 2009/13 and it drove me made. next gig paid 9 and hr til i bitched after a couple years and got $10.00. the dread of picking up such a measly check week after week when you have been doing your job well, keeping customers happy, thus giving the boss what he wants, a store where the public can come and feel welcome. but whats my thanks for that? bottom of the barrel pay. id rather be in the Soviet system. working the same job and my pay is still low and terrible BUT i dont have to worry about rent, about healthcare, about getting around ( no car/insurance/repair bills, registration tags every year), free adult education for my children and myself. who knows maybe i could have gotten that history degree and be teaching about the Great Patriotic War and how Capitalists will do anything and everything to divide and take advantage of the working class, to do anything expect pay them a living wage. thats what we need now more than ever is a global movement against the capatalists demanding they pay workers proper wages, they pay proper taxes ( that are closely followed and checked to make sure they are used properly). the Soviet System had problems no doubt, but I seriously think the Soviets needed the USA just as the USA needed the Soviets to keep each trying to improve things for the working class. since the collapse in 91 we can see how the US gov doesnt even pretend to care about the working class anymore sad.
What I perfectly understand is, US health system is very expensive even if it covered with insurance. You can say goodbye for your savings if you get sick in US and your insurance cannot cover your hospital bill. USSR system was better for low-middle income worker.
I'm from Bulgaria, formerly the People's Republic of Bulgaria till 1989 when the military overthrew socialism and began the Shock Therapy, which destroyed GDP and slashed wages and pensions into nothingness. Not to mention the hyperinflation... If you wanna know what it kind of looked like, Boy Boy's video on the war in Ukraine covers this period in Russia. Also, if you see someone say "I'm from a former socialist country and we hated it!" Just remember that people that liked socialism don't speak English and you won't find them online, only people who were privileged before socialism actually went to the West and learnt English. That's why you see so many of them online. In reality they are a minority and most people who had to build a family and home in socialism prefer it, so think 55+ yo. That's the problem, those old people don't speak English so you won't meet them online. Also, keep in mind that in school we are not taught about our socialist history, only 1 or 2 pages and it's just negative things. They do this to erase history so they can shape the narrative. If you say "My family/neighbours/people I know who lived it liked it, this is not true!" To your teacher they just tell you your people are nostalgic and are probably getting old and losing their mind, which is of course bullshit.
The US' capitalist class never cared about working class people and worked tirelessly to turn the USSR into the chauvinistic, capitalist mess that is present day imperialist Russia.
Same like watching early 80s Yugoslavia documentaries, how would you have guessed at the time that large scale wars, atrocities, sufferings, broken dreams would be forthcoming to USSR territories?
@@eridan7790 there is the point and it is in that that everywhere are shortcomings and just because of them you do not have the right to say it is all bad.
@@hershellacey9405 I'd say you're not wrong either. 2000-2010 was the start of new tech yet still had the 80s and 90s vibe. It was a transitional period.
First, it is a lesson for the Chinese communist party that we should never follow the path of Gorbachev by giving up the leadership of the party. Second as a political and social system once followed by half the world now gone with the ussr., from this failure We learned a lot. Third by facing the western world alone, we have to be tough and strong to retaliate any unfriendly and disrespectful language and behaviour which sometimes comes for no reason. In China we have a old saying ,the teeth will feel the coldness when the lips are gone.
@@jackchan499 Thanks for the explanation. I think we might have differing views on several subject but I think it's important to learn and try to understand each other. We are on the same planet and face collective issues, the main being climate change which is a threat to us all. As you might guess I live in Europe and we are shocked and angry about the Russia-Ukraine war since we thought a war and imperialism in Europe (I am refering to Putin's dreams about recreating a USSR) was something of the past. Of course that's another subject but to sum up any differences should always and only be solved by diplomatic means and by using history as a reason to invade we can have wars for the next 1000 years... It's sad that we are now putting resources on defense when there would be so many other things to work on together.
@@Chris-pf8by The Chinese's feeling towards the Soviets, or the Russians to a certain extend, is rather mixed. On the one hand, the Russians did take a huge chunk of land of China in the North East and North West, and the Soviets forced China to give up Mongolia, and all those things happened before the Communists took power, but the Soviets did help the Chinese to build their industry after 1949, then came the Sino-Soviet split and they are basically enemies. The Chinese viewed the Soviet Union as both an imperialist power and a force of good of internationalism. Soviet art is still appealing to the Chinese, even the younger generation, the Chinese prefer, or even romanticize the Lenin's Soviet Russia, many of them are Trots,they understand the terrible things happened in Stalin's time but consider them necessary evil for Soviet to grow strong and defeat Nazi, they derided Brezhnev, dubbing him "Emperor of Medals", and believed Gorbachev is a naive fool As for Putin, the Chinese believe he is the only guy who is capable of saving Russia from further collapsing, and admire his toughness against the West, People generally are more sympathetic towards Russia because they know that Nato expansion is the root for Russia's military actions, and the US is doing the same thing at China's doorstep, and Russia used to want to join the West in the 1990s, but the West never accepted, it makes the Chinese believe that no matter what concession China is going to make to the West, the West will always view it as a competitor, or worst, enemy, even China is not ruled by Communists. Many people think if Russia fails this time, it might not be able to hold together his current territory, and forever be pushed into the corner of Euroasia mass, and China will be the West's next target to destabilize and disintegrate.
@@bamboobenjamin8015 Thanks for your point of view. I must admit I had not studied the relationship between China and USSR. In my opinion there were two key issues as to why the USSR collapsed: the utopia of a plan economy and the fact that many of USSR states were incorporated by force. As a comparison with EU and NATO: countries have to apply for membership and it's not granted automatically. Countries must WANT to join. Baltic states never learned to trusted Russia post USSR and wanted to join Nato. Looking at Ukraine now they were right all the way. I don't think the West did not give Russia a chance post USSR. In fact political and economic relations were improving a lot post USSR. Even after the 2008 Russia Georgia war and 2014 Crimea annexation the West still continued to do business with Russia and even deepening reliance on Russian energy. Looking back from a Western perspective we were very naive to think that this would guarantee good relations and that Russia would stop there. Now with the full scale war that Russia started we have woken up and want nothing to do with Russia anymore. Of course we would like for China to stop the war as they are the only ones that could do it with one phone call. China is irritated for Western countries speaking out about human rights issue (yes I know that esp. US does not have a good track record, for example Iraq war) but China and the West trade a lot and both parties would have much to lose if that changes. Even if China and the West disagree on issues we are very far from any warfare. As for Nato and EU-US-alliance: after WW2 Europe has seen a long period of peace and pacifistic thinking peace has become the norm. Europe in general is not strong militarily. In this current crisis and multipolar world order we have to ally with the US, even if we certainly don't agree with the US on everything it's still the military might that is closest to our values. As I said before we have big common global issues and war should not be on the list.
Why did you call this film "The Human Face of Russia" if a lot of it refers to Ukrainian culture? Fine..So why didn't you call this movie "The Human Face of the USSR"?
As a person familiar with Ukraine, I will say that this is not even real Ukrainian culture. Yes, there is a bit of folklore, but seasoned with sharovarshina. Any real Ukrainian who knows his real culture hates sharovarshchina. Sharovarshchina was promoted by the Soviets, not by the Ukrainians. At the same time, they destroyed everything that developed Ukrainian culture. They needed an image of a rudiment so that the Ukrainians themselves would reject "their own culture" that they were shown. This happened to everyone who was not Soviet. All achievements are only Soviet, the rest should be a vestige.
@@vladd8948 Ella es diferente. ¿Qué significa igual? Solo necesitas entender de qué se trata primero. Está Rus', y está Rusia. Ucrania fue una vez Rusia, y la Rusia moderna es el reino moscovita. Decidieron distorsionarlo todo desde los tiempos en que querían confundir a todos cambiando el nombre.
In high school history class we learned about the Holocaust, but never about the true toll inflicted on the Soviet Union in ww2. In college I took Russian courses- history, language and literature. But even then it was only touched on. It is only as an adult, through research and films like Come and See & some others that I learned how badly the Soviet people were decimated during the Great Patriotic War.
Did you learn that Hitler and Stalin were originally allies? Two totalitarian dictatorships will have to fight it out at some point..... and they sure did. However, Stalin killed a lot more Soviet citizens than Hitler could have ever dreamed of....
I always have great respect for the people of Soviet Russia, for their tremendous sacrifice and contribution to save the mankind from the evil of Nazi Germany. Nothing could be compared with the loss they suffered, to the heroic bravery, courage and determination of the Soviet red army soldier who liberated almost half of the occupied Europe. Eternal memory to all great people and soldiers of the Soviet Union in the great patriotic war. For that we mankind owe an everlasting debt to them. Today’s western propaganda machine is running full force to demonize Russia and Russian people. This is not only wrong but dangerous. The west has never shown respect for Russia and is not willing to understand the feelings of Russian people. Today’s sad situation is a result of that.
@@Yuohani Reporting about the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not propaganda, it's reality. Nobody's "demonizing Russians" but Putin and his cronies who started this war, basically for the aggradisement of Putin's legacy. Yes, the USSR took the brunt of the war against Germany but it was necessity and out of self preservation that they had to or succumb to NAZI Germany and be destroyed and enslaved for those not outright murdered. So Stalin thought he was the chess master not realizing Hitler was just going to bash the chess board. The USSR did their part and suffered greatly but the US and Britain helped them to survive which helped us to survive. They then enslaved Eastern Europe and became a global menace trying to communize the rest of the world.
@@Yuohani The US invasion of Iraq was wrong and an illegal war started by a war criminal named George W. Bush. The Ukraine invasion is an illegal war started by war criminal named Vladimir Putin. The Great Patriotic war was fought out of necessity by the Soviet Union and it was victory or death over Nazi Germany. The Allies helped them and by fighting the war the USSR helped the West defeat Germany as well. It was an alliance of necessity. We all know that Uncle Joe was going to sit back and watch the western powers destroy each other and then go in and take over Europe. Don't make it out for anything more than what it was 2 sociopaths Stalin and Hitler planning on world domination. Just like the narcissist Putin and Bush were/are fighting unnecessary wars for their own reasons.
This was filmed in 1984, just one year before Gorbachev's perestroika reforms which liberalised and destroyed the USSR from 1985 to its collapse in 1991.
How devastating. Looks like paradise, and here in America we were told Gorbachev was a good guy who finally saw reason and liberated the USSR into capitalism. I can't believe how stupid I was to believe that. Look at what all these soviet states turned into because of that traitor. I'm not a commie but they had life better than we did and probably ever will. Too bad some humans suck and ruin everything good.
they rescured the Communist from boredom, over- work and much needed spice in their life. Ask anyone who has been to North and South Korea or even East Berlin before the wall fell. There were zero stories of those trying to break out of West Berlin.
@@kratoleaf7619 they replaced it with war, unemployment, poverty, and Putin/death so idk maybe political ideology isn’t the problem with the Russian government structure. (Its impossible to have a democracy in a republic held together through force)
@@kratoleaf7619 Like the statistics of Taiwanese running away to China - 10% of Taiwan's population lives and works in China xd The living standard was high in west germany because the US powers injected it with billions of dollars immediately after the war (just like japan) calling it an "economic miracle on the rhine". Economic miracle my ass. While warsaw pact countries had to rebuild without outside help, and then have to deal with dumb children saying "look how much better life became in west/south/whatever compared to communist country. No shit its better if you build their infrastructure and give them free money. Read washington bullets.
Odessa wasnt not Russia in that time period, Odessa was territory of Ukrainian Soviet Social Republic, territory of modern Russia had a name Russian Soviet Federative Republic, its different countries that was inside one big union, author forgot that USSR consists of 15 Soviet Republics, Russia was only one of them
Not only Odesa. They used Ukrainian folk clothesб songs, dances and many other sings. It seems that the author is an interested person in the spread of Moscow lies.
Odessa, nikolaiv, kherson, all cities on south "ucraine" east "ukraine" was rebuild by russian empire under "Catharina" and potenkin not "ucranian" this time this word "Ucranian" not exist. "ucraine" was invention of brest litovsk threatment, and lenin accept this and build one "new" republic and "people" for divide russian people. Now russians call themselves "ucranians" never existed on history one "ucranian" state or people!!!!
Odessa was a town founded by the a russian Tsar, and secondly at the time no one makes differences, ar that time. Although after the Maidan a lot pro-russians took places demonstration in the city took place ( and ukrainian nationalists burned some of them in a fire in the house of the syndicate).
@@philippesabatier5739 Not right, first signs goes to 1415, when Lithuanian prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky found a Kochubei stronghold there, after some time it becomes a trade hub-town, in 1484 this lands was Conquered by Osman Empire, long story short... in 1789 Russian Empire conquered this land with Stronghold and on May 27 1794 Catherine(II) the Great, Empress of Russian Empire issued a rescript to Vice-Admiral Osip Deribas (José de Ribas) regarding the establishment of a military harbor with a merchant port in Hadzhibey(There was several names similar to each other, but i dont know original name). On September 2, 1794, Metropolitan Gabriel (Banulescu-Bodoni) of Ekaterinoslav consecrated the foundation of the city and laid the first stones for the foundations of three Orthodox churches in it. in a nutshell: Lithuans found Stronghold here, Osman makes it trading route, russian empire built a port and set a modern name
@@philippesabatier5739 About Ukrainian Nationalists, watch full chronicles, few pro-russian activists bring weapons, and they also changed their planned route (or maybe it was changed for them), and on that day they went to intersect with the route of pro-Ukrainian fans, first two victims was activists from Ukrainian nationalists, they were shot, and pistol bullets from Makarov was found in their bodies, if someone didnt killed those two activists, if pro-russian forces didnt intersect into planning route of Ukrainian activists, it wont happen, what reaction else you supposed from people if you bring weapons? of course russian activists retreat to that house, and if you watch records you will see, how ukrainian activists tried to build a ladders to help people get out from house on fire, also after that suddenly main chief of firefighter department in Odessa, and Police chief flew to Russia, firefighters didnt come in time, and people died, dont try to tell Ukrainian nationalists is pure evil here th-cam.com/video/ZgIVE62J-hs/w-d-xo.html
Unpleasant work got paid more. Generally, though, income disparity was pretty low. City bus driver: $250; executive in a factory: maybe double that (less than $600).
NO, THEY ARE COAL MINERS AND WORKING IN THE UNFORTUNE 500s SIBERIAN GULAGS. THEY ALWAYS STARVE AND EAT ONLY BREAD AND CANNED SOUP. IF U BELIEVE OTHERWISE YOUR A BIG COMMIE!! - west
There is nothing minimalist about the USSR... it raised generations of hoarders, because although the prices were more than cheap, they were scarce. So even if the clothes didn't fit or you didn't need something, you just bought it, because there was a high chance youd never get to buy them again
@@sylvann7501 I can assure you that in most former soviet republics, people do not miss the soviet union or the benefits of socialism. Especially in Estonia, where Estonia's riches got distributed to the rest of the world. However, the Russians that were brought here do miss the USSR. The quality of life in general as many of the social programs declined. Education level was already at a high rate and many social programs were in place (including health care and private property). Since it had been so scarcely populated, the poverty rate was lower than under the Soviet rule, in which hundreds and thousands of people were brought in to "Russianize" not just Estonia or Baltics, but all the Soviet Republics. The worst part is that although we had agreements with leading countries, the UK or more specifically, Winston Chruchill single-handedly betrayed the country. Reportedly in recent history in WW2, Winston Churchill was the greatest enemy of the State of Estonia. Rather than USSR giving benefits to Estonia like many countries received (like Kazakh), Estonia actually suffered more than that.
@@martavibo2145 By surveys, in the most of East Europe and Soviet republics people say life was better in the socialist times ("Workers in eastern Europe and former Soviet states prefer socialism", The Communists, 26 July 2019), for example: "72% of Hungarians say that most people in their country are actually worse off today economically than they were under communism" (Pew survey, 2010). "Majority of Eastern Germans Feel Life Better under Communism" (Spiegel, 2009) ~60% Ukrainians say life was better in the USSR by Gallup, SCORE/USAID, Sputnik surveys. 43% of Slovaks say life was better under communism, and only 32% say the opposite (Focus poll, 2018). 28% of Czechs say they were better off under communism, and only 23% say they have a better life now (SC&C poll, 2011). 38% of over 40 year-olds believe that their lives were actually better under communism (NMS Market Research survey, 2019). Sputnik-reported surveys in 2016-2017 among the people who were aged 10 or over in 1991, percentage of those who say that life was better in the Soviet times: Armenia: 71% Azerbaijan: 69% Kazakhstan: 61% Kyrgyzstan: 60% Moldova: 60% Belarus: 53% Georgia: 51% Pew survey in 2017 adds responses for Baltic states whether break-up of the USSR harmed their countries (considering that Pew gave 40% for Ukraine instead of 60%, it is biased): Latvia: 33% Lithuania: 27% Estonia: 15% Estonia was a recipient of Soviet funds. National Income Produced minus National Income Used for the period 1970-1988, in billion rubles: Russia +155 Ukraine +85 Belarus +52 Azerbaijan +27 Armenia +8 Lithuania +6 Moldavia +4 Latvia +4 Georgia +3 Turkmenia +1 Estonia -2 Tadzhikistan -7 Kirghizia -8 Uzbekistan -18 Kazakhstan -71 (M.V. Belkindas, M.J. Sagers. A preliminary analysis of economic relations among union republics of the USSR: 1970-1988, Soviet Geography, V.31(9), P. 629 (1990)) The Baltic republics also had way higher salaries (M.V. Alexeev, C.G. Gaddy. Income distribution in the U.S.S.R. in the 1980s, Review of Income and Wealth, V. 39(1), P. 23 (1993)).
@@Rodion_Telyatnik Yes, but taking into consideration that 1. most of these countries were better off before the soviet union. 2. a huge amount of these countries are still Russians who didn’t like the independence of the countries. If you go to for example any Russian dominated city or part of city in Estonia, people will complain about Estonians and how the Russian rule was better. Considerin they make up about 1/3 of Estonia, then the percentage checks out. In other countries there are usually a lot more Russians. The source you seem to rely on doesn’t take into account the fact that Estonian funds were first transferred to state and then signed as the soviet donation or investment into Estonia. Absolutely misleading
@@martavibo2145 1) There was Russian Empire before the USSR, but if you talk about the myth that independent Baltic states were more prosperous in the times of the Great Depression, let's judge by available info for the modern times: economic growth of Estonia in 2000-2020 is 1.9 times by Worldbank constant $ GDP data (at the cost of external debt over half of the GDP), while ESSR had industrial growth 11.5 times in 1940-1960 and 4.2 times in 1960-1980 (Soviet data used by modern Estonian book "Eesti ajaloo pöördepunktid: dokumente ja materjale vene õppekeelega gümnaasiumile", 2008, page 270), and Soviet external debt was taken by Russia alone. 2) There are only 5% Russians in Lithuania (which granted citizenship to them all, unlike Latvia and Estonia) having 2 times higher Soviet nostalgia than Estonia having 24% Russians, so your argument fails. 3) Income from all-Union enterprises in republics was shared to central budget nearly at the same ratio (about 50/50) as spendings there divided between central and republican budgets, e.g., central/republican ratios in bln rubles in the years 1975 and 1985 by official data: 1975: incomes 110.1/108.7, expenses 108.6/105.9; 1985: incomes 205.3/179.5, expenses 202.9/185.3. Republican incomes in both cases include about 8 bln from the central budget as mutual settlement of accounts (due to change of taxes, etc.) Russian/Estonian ratios: 1975: incomes 55.0/0.924, expenses 56.7/0.893; 1985: incomes 103.3/1.738, expenses 101.5/1.691; Equal 1.9 times growth for Russian and Estonian income for the decade.
Here's the referendum that took place before the dissolution of USSR. 70% of the population didn't want the socialist experience to end. But the state was pretty much like "sorry babe will end it anyway byee 💅🏻✨" the economy of today's Russia is equivalent of the USSR at is end. Which means in 30 years the economy finally went back to it's original state. Imagine how big they could've been today... en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_Union_referendum
depends how they utilised said economy. in the end the fell to revisionism and betrayed the working class, hence their fall. had none of that happened we'd see far more agression against russia in the same way we are about china. then again china might be very different without the ussrs fall since theyre dedicated to learning from it
@@nicholascharles9625 I agree. I don't know much about the Chinese government, so I'll say that only as an outsider watching the Chinese economy. I do think they are trying to achieve a standard way of life for most of its citizens, with the zero poverty act, affordable housing and so on. Will they make the transition to full socialist state? I don't know
Well yeah, and so much more. Unlike before, now the economy truly aids the oligarchs, not the people. Life expectancy and health also has only relatively recently reached pre soviet levels. Regional conflicts have re-emerged(Ukraine Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia). The sad state of women in Eastern Europe, not getting equal opportunities as men, forced into human trafficking.
Close to 80 percent! And only 20 percent of people wanted to dissolve socialism and abandon the USSR. Even in raw economy, to this day, the average income in Russia has not in real terms met that of the peak of Soviet society. All while the cost of defeating Germany led to the average soviet worker losing 25 years of wages. That’s what happen when the richest people are only 5 times wealthier than the lowest paid.
It was a referendum to keep the Union, not socialism. Socialism was already on the way out with Peresteoika and Glasnost. If the referendum were honored by the Presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus then the majority of the nation would stay together but with a democratic market economy.
I was born in 1986. I don't remember that last decade of the USSR. I remember 90s well. I remember wars, desperate people, poverty, etc. Then the situation started changing. My mother remembers 70s and 80 s well. She missed that period. She says life was secure and stable. In fact, as I see it now, the USSR had to be changed, transformed. Then we wouldn't have problems we have now. In my opinion, the crisis we have now goes back to the period when the USSR collapsed. As I understand, no one asked ordinary people if they wanted to disintegrate their country. Mostly, they didn't want. It was shame. The country was great!
One day on a lunch break these two older engineers at work had stopped by my desk to reminisce about the old days of the USSR. It was fascinating to hear real life, first hand experiences of what things were like for them. One of the guys is Ukrainian and the other Uzbek. The Uzbek guy mentioned that the whole reason he even had to come to the states is because all of the opportunities for success and the quality of life began to rapidly deteriorate after the fall of the Soviet Union as they were being told that capitalism was showing to make everything glorious. It blew my mind because I'm so used to hearing heavily propagandized negative narratives from western media. They also mentioned how easy it was to find engineering work since there seems to be a shortage of educated American kids entering the profession (according to the boss of the company). Which... The reasons why are another topic for another time, but point being that there seems to be a large number of highly educated people that find their way here from the former Soviet countries. A testament to their education system. A former Russian barber of mine was even an engineer back in the day.
How about the smaller nations that were part of the soviet union? Estonia, lithuania, kazahstan, georgia , etc .. were they happy in the union as well?
@@GotterVibez People are different. People I have met from Kazakhstan,Ukraine, Belorus miss the USSR. People from Baltic countries, as far as I heard, did not like Russians. Well, if it were my will, they should have just been released. They blame us but you know it is strange. When they were with Russia, they were flourishing republics. Many representatives of southern republics of the USSR now work in Russia, though when the USSR collapsed, in some republics Russians faced with aggression. Now, some time later, they suddenly start remembering the USSR with somerhing positive. One thing is clear... Moscow invested a lot in those republics developing their industries, production, sometimes more than in present Russian territories. As for liberties, you think people in Moscow had more freedom than in other territories? The same. In my opinion, people should have transformed the USSR without breaking economic, cultural ties. If that change went that way, people in present day Russia, Ukraine, Belorus and other republics, would be prosperous and rich.
Well, USSR was nothing really like modern Russia or Ukraine though. People from 1970's Russia or Ukraine would laugh hysterically if someone told, that both countries would fight in 2022.
@@Markov092 Given how long the UPA insurgency lasted after WW2, I don't think they'd laugh, I think they'd take a slight pause then dismiss it. In the 1970's the UPA had only stopped operating 15 odd years before.
@@yeyeman6569 Not really. Both Russians and Ukrainians traveled freely to neighboring republics. Differences of both nationalities were very small. Most anti-communist are Western Ukrainians who identify themselves more closer to Polish, than Russians. But I will remind you, without communists and their korenizatsiya policies, Ukrainian nation would not probably exist. At best, today Ukraine would've been some oblast or krai.
@@AndrewTubbiolo the UPA was a pogromist force of anti soviet ultra-nationalists it never enjoyed anything resembling large scale support among ukraines population and at its height had at most about 20,000 members. And was hated by common ukrainians as a result of Nazi Germanys anti slavic policies. so yea people from russia and ukraine probably would laugh at the idea that they'd ever fight
The USSR was called the "prison of peoples". And this film was made for the picture that everything is beautiful and good. But even here there is Sharovarshchina as the basis of Ukrainian culture, which was introduced by the USSR specifically to humiliate it for the Ukrainians themselves. Everything that was really deep and even simply difficult to understand was destroyed and humiliated. The non-Russian language has always been considered something backward and it was fashionable in a big city to beat someone who says something in an "underdeveloped language". And so in many respects and for all "captives".
Never existed on history one "people" "ucranian" this made by fist on brest-litovsk and again under urss. Lenin was a traitor, Yeltsin was another Great traitor of russian people.
If people are about to make snarky comments, the mention (at 5:00) that the rent is three or four PER CENT of the total income hits me pretty hard! Locally rent can be half or even basically ALL of a person's income!
oh wait, it gets better. rent could be zero! if you lived in communal farm. Actually, it was so good, that the chief of the farm held you passport so you wont leave for tropical vacations with all the money you get too often
@@RivieraByBuick No, I can't. My ex-wife took my house and now I'm too old to get a mortgage. Many people for many reasons can't get on, or back on, the property ladder. In the UK where I am, about a third of people rent. It's not because we've never heard of mortgages.
I work 35 hours per week at a minimum wage job and the average rent in my city, which is one of the "wealthiest" cities in Canada, is 60-75 percent of my monthly income.
Same shit anyway isn't it? Putting ethnic groups in force labor camps, and chinas "human harvesting or organs" is really worrying. Only reason China is still communist is because the free world have choosen to trade with it and open industries in China. If that changes China will go side ways fast. And with China soon invading Taiwan that might be a reality soon.
The cost of things didn't matter as much in the USSR. For example, apartment rental was really cheap. But try actually finding the apartment to rent! A young person, after graduating university and getting a job, as long as he or she was single, had no possibility of getting into their own apartment - even if they could easily afford it. A married couple would get an apartment, but in many cases would have to wait for several years for one to become available to them. In the meantime, they'd usually live with one of the parents, and start raising kids in their parents' apartment as well. Once the couple finally got their long-awaited apartment, it was often tiny. My wife grew up in a 40 sq meter (400 sq feet) apartment - a family of three, and her father was a colonel in the army, not a poor or insignificant person! To contrast, when I came to the U.S., graduated university and got my first job as a junior software engineer, I was immediately able to rent an 80 sq m apartment all by myself, and bought a new car. Such a thing would be unheard of in the USSR for a young person of any profession. However, life was reasonably comfortable for me in USSR. As a child, I was well fed and clothed, and got a very decent education. The choices of toys and other entertainment was limited compared to my peers in the West, but I immersed myself in studying music and reading books. It was a good childhood. I had nothing to complain about until I grew close to draft age, and there was that awful war going on in Afghanistan. My happy childhood soon turned into a nightmare - I literally had nightmares about being sent off to Afghanistan and getting killed there, or maimed for life.. In America, young men were also similarly sent to Vietnam, however they could leave the country if they wanted to, and dodge the draft. Soviet young men didn't have such an option, except for rare circumstances.
@@sordomudo6879 Well,a car,food,washing machines,a good house,a holiday,proper medication,tvs,computers,phones,forreign magazines,tea, coffee,clothes,shoes, baby milk etc.There was this joke in the USSR:hard to get are goods with the letter 'E' like 'Everything'.😁
@@georgislavov8130 food ? You eat some special type food ? )))) Foreign magazines ? How many languages do you speak ? ))) Phones ? That era didn’t have mobiles so I believe most of places had landline units in .
@@sordomudo6879 I eat food that's not made of fat and toilet paper or comes from Chernobyl area.I speak 4 languages.With 'phones' i meant analogue ones.Alles klar?
I grew up in the US and in Mexico. Growing up in the early 2000s in our little country city town. Life was very similar to this documentary and everything began to change in the mid 2000s. Its so weird so many similarity's.
@@thysonsacclaim I've lived here since 2004 and yes it's changing and most things not for the better ! We are becoming like the USA everything is on credit because everything is so expensive. It's a shame.
given 11 time zones, i would say at least in summer, the sun doesn't fully set on it. but u r right. there is an exaggeration a la westerner. just a phrase to say something is huge.
The average life expectancy for men was only 65, back then. The average pension was only around 75 roubles per month, too. Much less, if you were a collective farm worker.
@@Ostsol вы фсё врёти, кровавый совок ! Все знают что у мужчин был средний возраст жизни - 25 лет. Как только родился - на завод. Двадцать лет отпахал, а потом кровавые нквдшники воздействием электромагнитных колотушек загоняли мужчин в лагеря, где злые, кровавые советские врачи делали из людей получеловек ! Они сбрасывали на людей брёвна берёзы ! А то что осталось от человека съедали во славу кровавому богу Сатаналину !
Здесь сильно преувеличено. Кажется, что в академических театрах только одни народные танцы и все советские люди их любят смотреть. На самом деле было не так. Мы относились к ним с иронией, как к архаике. Куда больше в СССР любили кино, европейское и американское в том числе.
@@АН-24все из-за уничтожения настоящей культуры. Это делалось умышленно, от того и чувство было такое. К примеру только сейчас, после того как "тюрьма народов" и по прошествию почти 30-и лет, снова пошло возрождение и многое создается по новому, а не через силу натягивается что-то несвязанное и непонятное.
Glory is not just to the workers. It's like those who can stand at the machine, envy the one who was able to organize his work. Glory to hardworking and reasonable people!!!
/// That life vs today's life /// Modest, friendly and relaxed life, with basic offers Vs. Today's luxury and stress life, with anything you need That food, was modest, but with natural taste, all you taste were just amazing That icecream, soda, that sourcream, that brad, those candies, and many many... I remember 💯👍 Btw, all workers could recieve free apartments, 1-2-3 bedrooms, and for free
@@buzifalus states building maybe yes, but exterior of flat apartments were bad designed, brutal with no color In ussr there almost was not design, just plan to build something
Thats because the natural resources were owned by the state where a huge amount of wealth was made, there was no need to overtax its people, the Soviet Union even had lower taxes than the US, which is funny because Americans think high taxation equals Socialism or Communism.
When the State owns the means of production, there is little need to tax. The State is already extracting surplus value and using this to deliver services to its people. Healthcare and education were free and were considered human rights. I am not sure about housing or utilities, but from Russians I know, these seem to be either free or very heavily subsidised. Transportation, child care, sports clubs, culture clubs - these were heavily subsidised and cost a pittance. The supposedly low wages Soviet people received, it should be understood this was basically free personal spending money. All their necessities have been taken care of by the State.
@@puppetmaster579 , with modern "capitalism" those who own the means of production provide almost no value to the government, so the government extracts it from the workers instead. 🤷♂️
Спасибо всем западным комментаторам, кто нашёл для нас добрые слова!... Это очень трогательно!... ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Спасибо Ютубу, что помогает сплачивать человечество!...🎉))))))))))) Всем сердечный привет из России:-))))))) 😍🤩😉
Rent as 3-4% of family income? They're able to spend, have holidays, buy clothes? Wtf... As a bus driver, in the capital city. Trains every 2-3 mins. I feel like this is ideal
A lot of comments are complaining about the title Russia used instead of USSR. Get over it, it was filmed in 1984. Before USSR the whole region was the Russian Empire and during USSR the word “Russia” was used synonymous along with “USSR” in the west, and included all the Russian republics (Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine). In the case of Ukraine, it was a much smaller *cultural* region before and even during USSR but they used the word Ukraine to describe a larger region for administrative convenience. It wasn’t describing the Ukranian cultural region but a far larger administrative region artificially contruxted by the USSR as an administrative function.
@cougsjohnson1 You may look up Sputinkoff Sergei who had a Utube series with a lot of fascinating family, political, food, holidays, shopping, collective farming. education and . personal information stories of growing up in Ukraine in the 70s and 80s. He and his family were under Russian rule and language so very similar to this. He saved money and bought a camera and became good at it .He then came to the US as a camp counselor in Michigan for a summer teaching inner city kids photography in the mid 90s. He wrote a book on his experience in the US. He has visited Ukraine and spent time with his Mother in tbe country with his kids as married a US woman from Michigan ,where he lives.
@@ellenlapel6451 EXACTLY. Somehow people watching this pat themselves on the back for (RIGHTFULLY) recognizing pro-capitalist propaganda yet lap this up as if it ISN'T pro-communist propaganda...all those shows showing off "the high life" of capitalism, ignoring the lies of poverty and inequality, THAT they can recognize--but a film about USSR life that leaves out the MILLIONS in gulags? State executions of dissenters? Deaths along the Berlin Wall? THOSE don't count as the "human face" of the USSR too? (The Ukrainian dancers featured here: *HOW ABOUT UKRAINIANS WANTING INDEPENDENCE?* Nope, not presented, they don't get to "count" as the "human face" of the USSR, GEE I WONDER WHY...oh well, I'm sure that won't crop up at any point in history again at all whatosever.) Kind of like all those capitalist propaganda films pretending everyone's rich and free while ignoring the poor and police brutality? But then Capitalist Hawks AND Communist Apologists BOTH claim to "hate propaganda" yet lap it up and magically lose all critical thinking skills when it's propaganda for "THEIR" SIDE.
not really. Best years were after Stalin Death and untill late 70s. Food shortage did start waaaay before late 80s Perestroika. so in 1984 Soviet people were already highly depressed by the economic decline.
It looks a lot better than the Moscow we visited in 1990. We were gobsmacked at the complete decrepitude. Hotel falling apart, service non-existent and food inedible.
Russia joined the Western world, but all they got was junkfood, cheap furniture, expensive handbags and wokeness. The Western sanctions imposed on Russia were the best thing that could happen to them.
Ahh yes being a backward fascist dictatorship that jails you over speech is far better than what the West has to offer. NVM the bread lines and atrocious standard of living that the Soviet Union actually had that made people want to revolt to begin with.
@@jimraynor9897 Edward Snowden. Juluan Assange. Chelsea Manning. The Canadian Trucker Convoy. The Dutch Farmers. The French Yellow Vests. Abu Graib. Guantanamo Bay. We are every bit as bad as the Soviet Union was. Just better at pretending we're not.
Wonderful...this film verifies everything I speculated about Russia growing up in the US and in the period of the Cold War...I always doubted the western news about Russia by around of age 10 forward, by one simple fact, they never showed me how Russian people lived so that I can compare their lives with mine. Compare my family with their’s. What their fathers were like and mothers, sisters and brothers. This documentary brought it home for me when the youngest boy in the family complained the others have all the fun and he has to stay home. That happened to me with my older brother. When I did stay home I was a thinker, always wondering, I had nothing else to do but to go through books left around in my apartment home in NYC. How did a 10 year old boy like myself in Russia despite the Cuban Missile Crisis enjoyed life without a worry of a nuclear war? I wondered and wrote. Did kids struggle with math as much as me..did they struggle with writing, grammar, as little as me. Russia could not all be the rigidity seen of the Communist Party Officials on the evening news there had to be something about Russia that attracted people to agree with its as a country so opposite to mine. You could not find anything that revealed the interior of life in Russia in NYC. If you could not find it there you can forget about finding information on life in Russia in the rest of the US. I resigned to the notion that they could not find anything about American life as well. The next best thing to complete a empty page was Russia’s past. If I could not find anything on Russia in the present I will dive into her past. But the past did not give me a picture of the present but it did give me a profound ability to link the past to the present and this film did much to do that. The economic life of Maria, living without advertising generates a sociality preventing isolation on finding the best deals, her life as a bus driver, her rent, the cost of foods, the honor system of mass transit so cheap cheating is a taboo. Opposite to transportation so high that cheating becomes the norm. I understand now the real influence of socialism of Russia on America. In my time America had to excel prove to Americans Russia’s model for society was not a better model than America’s. I understand now the reasoning of Putin’s messages about restoring Russia’s greatness. I understand the protectiveness of the Russian state apprehensive about the west in the treatment of eastern European countries, I understand the tragedy that has become Ukraine as a huge concession given to the west, I understand how also had to prove to their citizens the Russian model was better than the American way of life. Meeting Maria was transformative. Meeting Natasha, 9 year old girl, studied in the morning, played with her friends, then went to school in the afternoon shift of school was experiential. Russia’s agrarian and education problem was solved in the time of advanced socialism. Looking back at the Grapes of Wrath, America’s farm and land problems were partly solved the one piece that was not solved was the land itself. The State has title to the land the People would own the home dwellings on the land drew revenue to the State, opposite of taxes, revenue is a stream of income and apartment rents channeled into collective farming equipment for one thousand farmers changed circumstances dramatically funding Natasha’s education, better salaries and new equipment. A remarkable achievement to eradicate illiteracy and a large peasantry. How the Russian potato surplus created Russia’s taste for vodka could be a story in itself for some aspiring writer. As I became more interested in economies as I got older the division of labor in societies was suddenly not as clear to me in America that it was hard to dissect a product and its parts and see in it the various trades and skills that went into the formation of that product. This division of labor that is not a division of labor was suddenly made clear in the Coal Miners of Russia. They had eradicated a significance curse on humanity. To be condemned to one function as in some societies for a lifetime and associated with that function a social label that held you back from a better life was a curse for those born into it. No say from the start what they would be in life. Trained in all aspects of the mining operation a miner could serve in any capacity and earnings depended on out put. This simple change made the difference between a persons’ attitude toward work and freedom from the misery of detailed work. Miner’s Day in Russia. We can learn from the USSR, we should learn from the USSR. The USSR overcame two historical hurdles for mankind that from the days of the ancient to the modern world prohibits a man and a woman from a true emancipation; the division of labor itself. In old age, wisdom is so much stronger, easily attainable, the next hurdle for which 20 million perished was its defeat of Nazism and the witnessing of atrocities made it impossible to not support anti-fascist forces in the west where fascism had not entrenched itself and taken over a country. Spain was that country and the International All -Volunteer Army that fought Franco, who was armed by Hitler, in turn, armed by American companies, were gallant and brave, respected as they fought alongside other more war battled scarred regiments with experience against the Nazis War Machine. The Spanish Republicans got Russian support, the American Lincoln Brigade, the youngest of all detachments, no more than 20 years old on average were defeated but left Spain with a parade that treated them as if they were coming in to fight. I was too young and I was to old to fight in any of America’s wars thereafter, resigned to books about war, economics, politics, I live the same time life cycle as my father; too young for WWI and to old for WWII. It seems history and me are joined at the hip. Russian society was a society like no other; she proves there is another way to exist and really live. Well, time to move on...thanks to the producers and directors and the crew for making this a great journey for me and to the Russian people in this film, for letting me see their lives, they have been immortalized.
This is one of the most thoughtful and insightful comments I have ever read on TH-cam. You could be a writer - if you aren’t already. It was such a pleasure to read your perspective. Bravo
@@annagalas102 It is not necessary. Well, a simple life does not include free health or even security. A simple person in Los Angeles can be condemned to live in a very unsafe neighborhood without the basics.
This video is a distortion of information about culture and political facts not corresponding to reality! In this video they distort facts related to the genocide of the Ukrainian people, under the Holodomor, by the Soviet authorities. Facts about cultural achievements of the Ukrainian people are appropriated by Russia - the country sponsor of the terrorist, which attacked Ukraine and continues to kill civilians to this day. This video is offensive to the entire Ukrainian people, and misleading to people from all over the world!
@@ТотКтоГоворитМногоНеГоворяНиче yes informative - just because you have a chip on your shoulder doesn't change reality for everyone else. go learn about the world from AOC and the like
This Soviet Union place looks great! I’d love to travel there someday, but I can’t seem to find anyplace online that books flights to the Soviet Union. Weird.
@@bradhirsch4845 It's even worse now. All the negatives of the USSR such as the one party state, media censorship, secret police, corruption/nepotism etc. all continue to exist in modern day Russia without the social security and equality of the USSR.
@@Lassemalten Uh huh. Guess it was just a coincidence that the Soviet regime starved millions of Ukrainians to death in the early 1930s and moved in ethnic Russians to take over their homes. They did the same thing in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, too. Ukrainians murdered by the state and Russian speakers were moved in to take their place.
I certainly miss seeing the Soviet Union's ice hockey team play the game the way it was meant to be played and WIN WIN WIN! with class and sportsmanship.
@CalcioEUnico They took the sport to heights never seen before nor since... From 1984 until the mass migration, aka NHL draft in 1992-93, they were practically unbeatable. And FUN to watch.
little czechoslovakia beat them and everybody the world in ice hockey. there used to be a rivalry colourful verbal exchange on the ice. but that is the past now. everything is about the money and politics and not about the prestige of a country. slovak icehockey team brought home a medal from abroad and found the ukrainian flag hanging at the presidential palace where they had been invited. they declined and instead stayed in the streets with ordinary people and fans.
@Mor Ho That's a great story, however... What was "little Czechoslovakia's" national and club team record vs. NHL clubs? The CCCP and Elite League club record vs. NHL clubs is 153 wins 52 loses and 10 draws approximately give or take a game either way in each tally. That's essentially perfection from the 1950's to the 1990's
That is, the creators of this film decided that Ukraine is the human face of russia? I understand that in those days Soviet propaganda convinced that all peoples in this red empire are one people. But doesn't it seem a little stupid to present this film when russia itself showed the whole world its real, not quite human, face? And when the whole curtain that was there then fell long ago and everyone saw the price at which the picture shown in this film was set
Practically a fantasy world. I’m sure there were serious societal problems there and then, but I’d trade my life in 2023 for life there in 1984 - that society looks so inviting vs. what we have today in the USA.
Oh yeah, food shortages, no political or democratic rights, rampant corruption, zero choice in the products available to you, poor pay. Wonderful place the USSR.
This documentary was effectively banned in Australia shortly after it premiered. Essentially conservative elements in Australia opposed to be for not being critical enough, which is stupid because the filmmakers didn't set out to make a deeply critical film, they just wanted to show people in the West everyday life. Apparently if you don't show people that the Soviet Union was a massive gulag, you need to be silenced. You see these same ideas in these very comments, my how times stay the same.
Lol.
This documentary was effectively banned in Soviet Union shortly after it premiered. Essentially Communist elements in Soviet Union opposed it for not being flattering enough, which is stupid because the film makers did set out to make a more humane view by showing everyday life in Soviet Union.
Apparently if you don't show people that the Soviet Union was a workers utopia, you need to be silenced. You see these same ideas in these very comment.. my how times stay the same.
@@ihl0700677525 found one
@@veggiedisease123 Guilty as charged. Lol.
@@ihl0700677525 Lol.
Communism was and still in july 2022 F......SHIT
I feel so sad that in my childhood we were bought up to believe these people were evil and hated us, and that we should hate them. They're just normal people like everyone else. I took it upon myself to learn the language and culture, and to be honest, (almost) every Russian person I've ever talked to has been nothing short of kind, polite, and friendly.
bulshit, this film is propaganda.Who live in the USSR or other east lands?
Don’t worry, they were brought up the same way lol…I know I am one. But everyday people really didn’t want to go to war and kill everyone either, they were just taught the same fear of the west that you were of the east.
And now, on their tv shows they say: we should nuke New York and London and discuss how long the rocket will fly to the destination. Also russian foreign secretary lavrov says Jews are the most antisemitic persons.
Shut up commie.
@@michalsmeringai If it is a propaganda why did you bother yourself and watch it? Do you watch propaganda films during your spare time?
"Harder work means higher pay." If only our modern world worked that way.
Eminem reveal yourself
Everyone lived shit lives. Communism is the worst. Always corrupt because their is no accountability from someone ranked higher than you.
Yeah, work hard not smart. At these times of "hard work" Russia used to import grain from Canada and constantly was on the edge of food disaster. Now they produce enough grain to be one of the biggest exporters of it in the world. Miracle
That's propaganda. But hey you are a dumb College student who thinks America is the worst country in the world so.
@@james_maxwell simply not true! That was a short time when SSSR imported grain, early 60s and very short time, I was in school that time and remeber it.
I grew up in the Soviet Union in the 80s and everything in this movie seems legit except for no one listened to the kind of background music they play here lol
Was it really that bad ?
@@timonurcikan8196 It was not bad at all but my experience is limited to that of a childhood.
@@timonurcikan8196 It depends on period. But generally it was nice times. In the very end of USSR (may be from 1987) we were very poor.
They had incredible disco, jazz, soul and funk music back then. Even the first Kazakh folk rock band called "Dos Mukasan"
Say thanks to capitalism that made everything possible in that time.
That dude was making a couple thousand rubles a month in the 80's mining coal. Probably damn good money
The inflation rate in Russia between 1993 and 2021 was 38,082.56%, which translates into a total increase of ₽9,139,814.92. This means that 24,000 rubles in 1993 are equivalent to 9,163,814.92 rubles in 2021. In other words, the purchasing power of ₽24,000 in 1993 equals ₽9,163,814.92 in 2021. The average annual inflation rate between these periods was 23.65%.
The men working unloading ships in Odessa made the equivalent of 12-13k USD a month in today's money.
@@Vissepisse11 that's a pretty fucking good deal tbh.
@@MR707videos Jesus christ, man was making absolute bank, that's like $225,000NZD a year. Minimum wage is like $40,000NZD here doing 40 hours
Not true, much less than calculations, plus we had deficit of goods
Nikolai says his son sergei was a bit of a surprise as he wasn't in the families 5 year plan.
I'm not even mad. That is the best dad joke I've ever heard.
Edit. Funny wat to call your kid an accident
Я из России. Я родился в 1953 году в колхозной семье. Мой отец был трактористом, а мать работала учительницей в сельской школе. Все что вам рассказывают на западе о России и СССР это ложь. Да был гулаг и репрессии, но в больших масштабах. У нас в России много талантливых историков, которые опровергают антисоветские мифы. Но к сожалению западная пропаганда не даёт правде быть услышаной. Неверете приезжайте к нам и вы во всем убедитесь сами.
@@ДенисМихалев-т1з googlel isnt translating for me so unless you speak english i have no idea what youre saying im sorry
@@nicholascharles9625 something-something USSR apologism) nothing interesting)
@@ДенисМихалев-т1з I am from san diego, california. i am not a stupid follower that blindly kisses the american flag like my peers. the soviets were the only ones that did not give up when invaded in ww2. 80% of the nazis killed were on the eastern front. the americans and brits did almost nothing to help.
@@vgrepairs Provides over 90% of airfuel for Soviet Airforce, provides almost all trucks which are essential for logistics, provides ENTIRE PREBUILT factories to be SHIPPED IN PARTS to be put together in USSR, etc, etc
Kid from San Diego in 2022: "Yeah we did nothing"
As a Russian i always felted that i'm living on the ruins of greater civilization. Now i can see why.
Same
The spirit of the soviet Union will never die! Workers of the world unite.
zr not living in the "ruins" of it u are just currently living in a great nation
When we take Ukraine we will take Poland, Germany, France, Scandinavia, and Baltic states and the USSR will be established once again.
@@ragingroyal729 We can hope, but remember, the borders don't make the USSR, the political and economic system does. A bourgeois Russia will never re-create a socialist country.
Can you imagine a country of 270 millions people and nobody sleep on the street?
Sure, it’s easier to take them a Gulag
Your statement is false
Yea, cause they were killed or sent to Sibir, or some other work-prison to keep up a facade. There "were no" gays or mentally disabled people either. Gay people were killed in cruel ways. I remember there being a home for disabled children only about a kilometer from where I lived. They were never allowed to go outside the tiny yard around it. You're a bot, but maybe a real human will actually read this message too.
yes
@@cgps1612 In a country where housing was most affordable? Once you had a job they provided at least a room, once you got married you received and apartment, and then a bigger apartment once the family started growing. There was no housing problem, and the Gulag system was shut down after Stalin died in 1953. So stop talking about things you are ignorant about.
When i was little in the early 2000's my mother always used to tell me stories of how life was back in her day and she remembers of it fondly.
your mom just misses her youth, when she was beautiful and hot, well, her joints didn’t hurt
People always remember their childhoods fondly
^^^^^ I was just about to say that
@@ryrygoogoo people who were adults when the USSR fell miss it too. And no, people who lived horrible lives in their childhood do not remember it fondly.
@@ryrygoogoo I grew up in 90-s and I strongly disagree with you.
When will people realize that we have more in common with the people we’re told to hate than the politicians who tell us to hate people we know nothing about?
Agree. It's just the system of governance that's different.
@@0401412740 and culture and tradition
wars are always fought by farmer's sons
You have to meet a Russian in person and speak to him about his political and social views. Eventualy you will find yourself hating him without any hint from the politicians. Keyword to start might be "Europe" (he will use word Gay-rope instead). Actually you can start asking a Russian about his opinion on any neighboring country. Because America and Europa are too obvious hate triggers for them.
@James Maxwell that’s a bullshit, you can meet bad and good people everywhere, a lot of interviews tell opposite you said and I can say if you will think with propaganda minds like you - you surely will hate us, but the real thing and the real idea that we all are humans and we all are different and if we wants traditional family in our country it’s our way, we don’t trying to bring our ideas to your countries🙄
to all Ukrainians in the comments asking why is the USSR called Russia in the title of the documentary, it is because people in the West used to call the whole USSR "Russia". some in the West did not and still do not know that the USSR was a union of all of these nations. in the West it is also normal to call nations based on the majority ethnic group, for example Britain is often called England and the Netherlands are often called Holland.
The truth though is ethnic Russians were barely even a majority at ~50% of the total population. It's like calling the US the English.
Yeah but Holland isn't an ethnicity, it's a region...
It was about 1988 and i as a Child not older then 14 was spending Summer holidays in an Harbor in southern Italy. It was common to see cargo ships there, docked. One day i saw One with the Soviet Union flag, never seen before. I said to people there "Hey, tovarish!" And said hallo with my Hand, a man replied. I had no idea that some years later that Empire would collapse. That was the First and the last soviet flag i saw. What Memories!
You Romanian tovaras? We used this word in Romania. Cred ca sti de unde vine : ))
@@expo1706 Pretty sure this person meant "comrade" in Russian.
@@expo1706In russian "товарищ" (Tovarish) means comrade/mate
The poor kid, imagine being born in the 80s, have everything be like paradise, then everything stripped away from you, chaos and crime in the 90s.
I know watching this is both inspiring and heart breaking. I’m honestly blown away by what their life was like it’s astonishing I also love how they didn’t focus on any one region or city they showed life all through out the Union.
It was not a paradise. The 1980s was arguably the worst decade for the USSR. The economy was being neglected in favor of excessive military spending in order to fun the war in Afghanistan.
paradise?? paradise??? it was horrible, decrepit and in decline - standing in line for everything for hours and hours. jesus
@@igvc1876 watch the blasphemy
You must be some paid bot troll!!! It's the only explanation for such a ridiculous comment. People don't "flee" paradises. That's enough right there to tell you it was a nightmare, to leave one's home and country. My family being one of them, who were able to escape Czechoslovakia while under occupation in the eastern bloc. It's incredibly disturbing & frightening you consider a system that resulted in the brutal death of over 100 million people in a short span to be "paradise", but this being TH-cam full of heinous fake comments & propaganda, I'm not surprised!!!
I think I would have been quite happy in 1984 USSR. So many good and compassionate ideas, people seemed to really believe in one another, and in the success of everyone for the greater good of all. It may have been far from perfect, but it is inspiring that they got as far as they did prioritizing science, technology, and social progress. I hope someday that the spirit of these times can once again inspire so many people to believe in humanity not as superstitious, greedy, subjects,to be bought and sold, but as educated, equal participants of a system where all can be afforded respect and evidence based social cooperation that lifts everyone up.
The USSR had zero good and compassionate ideas. Russians are subservient Slavs by nature and prefer being under the lash. For millennium be it the Czars or communism Russians bow down. 'People believed in one another' lol. Just to avoid being shot. Grow up.
Nah comrade, instead we all want our own personal lottery ticket esque chance at becoming slightly better off than the next guy. We risk everything from the planets health, to social backwardness, to repression of women & minorities all the way to exploitation of developing countries all for the 1 in 500,000 chance that we may have a slightly nicer car, house or w.e else than the neighbors. We throw away any hope for real democracy, real equity, and development of the rest of the earth's people all so some westerners can stay a little richer or maybe *OnE DaY bEcOmE* richer. Fuck a better world I want my Lamborghini I want my private 10acre lot.
All of this was a BIG LIE, these people were followed by an agent of the Soviet State, they were forced to speak according to the government, this journalist who accompanied them was DECEIVED.
Tudo isso era uma GRANDE MENTIRA, essas pessoas eram seguidas por um agente do Estado soviético, eram obrigadas a falar conforme o gorverno, esse jornalista que acompanhou foi ENGANADO.
you would be happy queuing for hours every day for simple goods, like bread or sausage? I really wish the time machine be invented, so it would be possible that idiots like you could be send to a soviet queue, so you would quickly learn that "иди на хер, тебя тут не стояло" - mean something else, but not a sign of believe in one another
Lmao dumbest comment on TH-cam goes to you.
Dear Russians, this is how we saw you in the West. Absolutely honorable, warm, honest and beautiful people. With your extremely beautiful and rich culture. What did our regimes do to us.. what happened to you now this beautiful DNA in you must still exist... why do we accept that we cannot trade.. why can my wife (age 62 so from former USSR) and I not come and visit your beautiful country and why can't we invite you to come and visit us... why can't we have fun, share stories, talk about your world famous composers like Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Tchaikovsky... why can't we just be good neighbours without allowing our exorbintant rich milliardair leaders to divide us.
What happened to the world.
Love from the west.
Спасибо, добрый человек!
Thank you for this heartwarming comment. :) It is insane what is happening in the world today.
growing up in the 70's russia, so many memories rushed back watching this. thank u. We have so many videos of moscow between 1980 and 1990 about 40 hours
Create a channel and publish your video please.
What was it like?
Can you share please?
The 70s were boring. The 40s and the 50s were the best, having "Papasha" Stalin alwaus taking care of you :p
@@cyberp0et
Boring or not, its what you do with life that makes it fun or not.
USSR provided all citizens opportunity to do their own destiny, and yet in the 80s, when the Socialist system needed them the most, the people failed it, and now people of Russia are increasingly regretting their foolish decision.
I'd be interested to see a documentary from USSR about life in the United States in that era.
th-cam.com/video/yI2_olezbbA/w-d-xo.html
Here is a Soviet documentary of New York in 1976
@@danielshifron5672 how interesting. it shows the "rich" part of new york, with its great skyscrapers and tourism, but emphasizes the poorer districts and homeless people, an inequality the soviet people were not very familiar with.
This clearly has not been made by US
There are almost no fat people at that time in film. Slim, modern and healthy people.
@@HOMEP11That’s because capitalism pushed food manufacturers to pump it full of ingredients that make these foods literally addictive in order to maximize profits. There are many books written about this subject if you’re interested.
A country without ads… wow.
ahahaha. All this video is an advertisement. Given that she is very deceitful.
@@ТотКтоГоворитМногоНеГоворяНиче In what way.
It's crazy how I grew up with a certain image of the USSR in my head only to find out that the image I had was of post-USSR capitalist Russia/Eastern Europe, and the socialist project of the USSR wasn't all that different from the US.
The fall of the USSR set the development of the human race back by a century.
I grew up in America in a family of miners, steel workers and tradesmen. One thing I noticed about this documentary that Is familiar to me but not to most Americans nowdays... Immediately after saying someone's name their occupation is the next thing what trade they're in. I never even thought about that but people don't do that in Florida or somewhere, Their identity is more wrapped up in what they own instead of their value or skillset.
I studied in former Soviet Union. Actually in Cherkassy a city near Kiev, Ukraine. Most people were sincere. Life was a bless then. They have everything now but have lost their family life.
What a coincidence my mother grew up in Horodysche a village in Cherkasy but moved to Ivano-Frankivksk in the 1980s
Kyiv not Kiev
@@anastasia8343Kiev
@@vladd8948 Comrade Ivan, Kiev will be in federastskom. And in a normal language, this is Kyiv. This is because it comes from "Київ" in your language, it sounds like "Кыйив".
@@ТотКтоГоворитМногоНеГоворяНиче No, porque la Lengua Rusa es mucho más antigua y expandida global mente que la ucraniana que es semi artificial y casi sin hablantes importantes en el mundo. Además, no me uniré a estas tendencias posmodernas que usar etiquetas que complazcan a ciertos grupúsculos ideológicos. En Español siempre se ha dicho Kiev y Odessa (un español fundó esta última) y se va a quedar así, no cambiará por la propaganda del Estado Ucraniano.
”The worker is payed more than the director of the mine”. What if that would be the case in today’s world.
Первую очередь уровня человека социальном положении а потом и финансово
Это и достигли частично в ussr
Wow that was amazing thank you so much for uploading this. It has reinstalled my hope for the future for a better and more just world led by and for the working class. It is possible we know it’s possible. With every thing that is going on in the world at the moment I needed this more than anyone can ever know. This is the goal this is the life. Thank you thank you thank you.
Якщо ви так мрієте про такий світ то їдьте до Північної Кореї, це майже той самий совок. В цьому фільмі вам показали пропаганду совка, обгортку від типу "цукерки" якої або взагалі немає, або яка має смак лайна. Ви дуже довірлива людина, співчуваю вам
@@Golub69I am Bulgarian and this documentary was very similar to that of the ordinary Bulgarians during socialism. I don't care what your grandfather went through or how your great grandfather lost his land given to him by the Tsarist family. I couldn't care less
To be honest. (Born 1979) I wasn't brought up to hate but that the USSR was dangerous. I remember asking my mom at like 7 or 8 "what is communism?" Her answer "everyone is the same" "you can be locked up or worse for speaking out". Remember this was the 80s.
I do know life was hard back then. I do think this documentary rides a fine line of crossing into propaganda but I also know some people experienced this... just not everyone.
I've always loved Russians. Even as a kid we had one in school everyone picked on because he barely spoke English. His family left and ended up here. I fought stood up together against the punks and quickly thumped skulls but we didnt want violence only for it to stop. We immediately became best friends and were inseparable. We were and still are brothers to this day. My family took him in just like his family took me in.
As time moved on early 2k he moved back to Russia. Every year I go to see him and he comes here to see me. Well, pre ukraine we did.
Fact for me is I've experienced russian culture. I've spent a lot of time amongst them and as hard as it is can speak the language enough to not be a pain.
The one thing I ask is please don't think all Russians have hard hearts. They don't. They want exactly what we want. To prosper and be happy. My visits and his visits have been put on ice for now and maybe forever. I do miss my friend and his wife and family over there. They are my people.
It is no coincidence russians vote leaders like Stalin and Putin who opress them and their neighbour countries. And Im not surprised your bro moved back to ruzzia and yourt relationship froze over the years.
If you still have doubts maybe you should move there for good, settle in and live with a ruzzian salary. Then your romanticism with ruzzian culture will come to realization when you experience the hardships in the flesh.
You could both plan a trip to Turkey for example and meet there instead. Since you both can travel then travel same destination.
I was born the same year, never hated or feared Russians but always saw them as regular ass people like myself and people here. I wish our leaders would get their heads out of their asses and stop creating conflicts between us and with other countries around the world. Regular ass people in any country don't want that kind of shit.
Wonderful experience. Nicely human. Thank you for sharing! Let's hope this war ends soon in the least painful way!
Все у вас возобновится! Войны пройдут, мир останется, раны заживут. Ведь с немцами например сейчас дружат и англичане, и французы, не взирая на трагическое прошлое.
All those calm faces.. have no idea what's in store for them and their country in a few years...
The locals seem to have lived a more comfortable life than the working class of many Northern English towns and cities under Thatcher
definitely
Sure, in a film whose participants are carefully selected. Also, don’t forget, it didn’t work out in the end. There’s no free lunch.
Sure
Maybe they thought Western liberalism was far better, a bit like the Europeans believed for a while that the EU and mass immigration was for a better future...
During the nineties most Russians became poor, at the time most of them regretted.
Nowadays the Communist Party still gets 20% of votes, mainly among the older people.
@@icomxwing42No, everything was exactly as shown. We still live off the achievements of the USSR.
Believe it or not. But in the 80s it was possible to get an apartment for free, free education, free medicine, in fact, consumption was shifted from personal to social services. Everyone, but without asking whether they wanted it or not, was dragged into socialism and it worked.
But, you are also right, the resources that were pumped out by Western economies from the CIS after the collapse of the USSR were enough until 2008. Now the economic decline will not be a recession, but a catastrophe. And there is no USSR that could pull everyone out of this pit. In addition, the lack of a counterweight for the United States allowed a situation where problems were simply flooded with emissions... And now a hyperinflationary shock is coming. Also, the absence of a second pole made a large-scale war real, no... now it is inevitable.
What's happening? the US economy and the global economy are the petrodollar, and in addition to hyperinflation due to the emission of the dollar, we face a shortage of resources, since the peak of hydrocarbon production has passed. Consequently, the petrodollar will lose its purchasing power, even if not completely, but by tens of percent, but inflation of 60%? The world will survive what the USSR experienced in the 80s-90s or... he won't survive.
And how to avoid it? Burn inflation... by pumping assets from stagnant Europe to Britain and the USA. It is desirable that the assets fall in price as much as possible, then you can buy them for a song to return the liquidity of the dollar... partly. How? War is the best means. Which is what is happening now.
But this is still not enough, so we are waiting for the fall of the middle class and the Latin Americanization of economies. Only those who have industry and energy will be able to save something. For example, Russia. Unfortunately, the standard of living, which is already not high, will fall by another 20-30%, a little better than the plague in the 90s, but the collapse of national economies awaits the rest.
I am a 41-year old Chinese born in British-occupied Hong Kong and later lived in New Zealand. I remember the USSR well and miss that country. It was one big happy family living together. Then, Gorbachev broke it, egged on by the West, and now, everything has turned to shxt, Armenians are fighting Azerbaijanis, Russians vs Ukrainians. In my entire lifetime, I have only seen ever widening economic inequality and economic insecurity. Society is now much more polarised than when I was young, all driven by economics. When I moved to NZ in the 1980s, there was still substantial social safety net. All of that was taken away because the West "won" the Cold War. In reality, the winners were the capitalists, while workers of ALL COUNTRIES were losers. In 2022, I cannot help but think the world was a much better place when the USSR was around. The USSR wasn't just a country - it was a set of ideas that inspired much of humanity who had only just escaped Western colonisation. People from China to India and the rest of the Global South looked up to the Soviet Union. I wish the USSR was still around to provide much needed geopolitical balance to US hegemony, as well as geo-economic balance against rampant neoliberal capitalism that has destroyed the lives of working people.
how well you have said this! especially about geopolitical balance. I wish more people would understand this. Thank you.
"British-occupied Hong Kong" is a dogwhistle if I've ever hear one sheesh...
@@surroundgatari Britain occupied HK for almost 150 years. Fact.
I completely agree.
Our world is doomed to a new barbarity and the triumph of a new fascism in the vast majority of countries. Of course, the new fascists will not call themselves fascists, but the essence of this does not change. The same principles of political and economic structure will not prevent these new fascisms from attacking each other, just as they did not prevent fascist Germany from attacking fascist Poland once. This is already happening in Ukraine, in Russia, in the United States, and perhaps in some other countries about which I do not have enough information to draw unambiguous conclusions. And all this is due to the fact that communism lost. I hope it's temporary.
i was borne in Russia, not in USSR. But my parents say, that life in USSR was better than in Russia and remember that time with warm and tears. They don't know how in one day our country start to be outsider. It's a tragedy for ordinary russians.
@Мистер лис совок - это лучшее, что случилось с нашим миром ибо только благодаря ему у нас есть все те права и свободы. Если бы не социализм, европейцы до сих пор доили бы свои колонии по всему миру, а так чтоб по всему миру не было социалистических революций им пришлось уровнять права женщин, отменить рабство, нормировать труд рабочих и т.д.
In Soviet times college were free
I was born in the US during the time when the Soviet Union was still around and I don't understand why they were telling us to fear and hate you all right after we had just fought together in the second world war. It's inexplicable and very sad. Both sides missed out on getting to know a lot of other great people because our countries decided not to like one another.
I was 6 years old, and I think Soviet Union was much better than modern Russia,this is my opinion...
@@whoever6458 US was scared because USSR was powerful, and USA wanted and still wants to rule the world. IS is the only country in the world who used atomic bomb on people ( when it was unnecessary), when they saw what they did with that they were scared shitless to get what was coming for such a crime
So, The Soviet Union quite literally was just a Regular everyday place? I mean, they had strict societal expectations, and ultimately separated, but from the stories told back then you'd think It be a wasteland.
No you must jsut be an i"iot to baliave these stories it's like people in China baleaving that Australians take part in cannibalism on a regular basis
Yea, and it’s the same with most communist countries today that still remain. Vietnamese, Chinese, North Korean, Cubans, Laotians, are all just normal everyday people like you and me living lives that are no crazier than our own. They have entertainment, they go to work, they have families that they eat dinner with, they have friends that they spend time with, they have their own struggles and hardships and they also have their own dreams and aspirations. And anyone who has tried to make us think that we are so unfathomably different from our fellow humans is just playing geopolitics in my opinion
NO, THEY ARE COAL MINERS AND WORKING IN THE SIBERIAN GULAGS. IF U BELIEVE OTHERWISE YOUR A BIG COMMIE!! - murican
Yeah so West centric, if it isn’t an American puppet state than its a backward no go zone
🙃Want to know the real Soviet Union listen to Yuri Bezmenov.
It's sad to see friends who used to work together, now fighting in the battlefield.
to be clear... to see russians murder ukrainans...
The fall of soviet union was a mistake...
True that!
Friends only in propaganda words. So many cementeries in all post soviet countries of people killed by soviet union. Ukraine should be free.
Same happened in Yugoslavia , US spreading corporate democracy
Title should be 'human face of the Soviet Union'. Anyways, many thanks for uploading!!
We just called it Russia back then (the whole ussr)
NO, THEY ARE COAL MINERS AND WORKING IN THE UNFORTUNE 500s SIBERIAN GULAGS. THEY ALWAYS STARVE AND EAT ONLY BREAD AND CANNED SOUP. IF U BELIEVE OTHERWISE YOUR A BIG COMMIE!! - west
@@alexbleks Really? May I ask you where are you from? In China the distinction is very clear😂
Russia and USSR were interchangeable terms at the time.
Soviet Union existed on almost all of the land of historical Russia. De facto it was Russia under a new name.
Russia nowadays lost a significant part of its territory and people.. that is why Russia is trying now to get back its possessions.
This is the favourite documentary of Bald and Bankrupt.
Soon to be Bald-Bankrupt-Beaten.😁
Lol
Haha. I thought the same thing Comrade!
You mean the guy who made the fake documentary about "breaking into" Baikonur?
There’s probably a sex tourism documentary around here somewhere, for second place on the list.
I bet some old generation feels nostalgic about soviet time….
great times
I'm a young generation and I feel nostalgic about Soviet times
My interaction with people who are from the USSR is that MOST OF THEM are pro-Soviet and would gladly go back. They all agree the USSR was better than modern Russia, Ukraine or any of the countries it had been broken into.
@@puppetmaster579 I can relate to this. Watching today how people of recently one and whole country fight against each other is heartbreacking. More over, the folks do not need that, the rich want them to fight under the false petriotic sentiment.
Not only old. Feeling safe and protected was a great thing....
born in 93 in the states with middle class parents, and upper middle-lower rich class grandparents on my mother side and middle class on the fathers side and how did i turn out? heroin addict, moved back home at 26 totally strung out, feeling totally helpless. i worked 6 days a week for 8.50 an hr back in 2009/13 and it drove me made. next gig paid 9 and hr til i bitched after a couple years and got $10.00. the dread of picking up such a measly check week after week when you have been doing your job well, keeping customers happy, thus giving the boss what he wants, a store where the public can come and feel welcome. but whats my thanks for that? bottom of the barrel pay. id rather be in the Soviet system. working the same job and my pay is still low and terrible BUT i dont have to worry about rent, about healthcare, about getting around ( no car/insurance/repair bills, registration tags every year), free adult education for my children and myself. who knows maybe i could have gotten that history degree and be teaching about the Great Patriotic War and how Capitalists will do anything and everything to divide and take advantage of the working class, to do anything expect pay them a living wage.
thats what we need now more than ever is a global movement against the capatalists demanding they pay workers proper wages, they pay proper taxes ( that are closely followed and checked to make sure they are used properly). the Soviet System had problems no doubt, but I seriously think the Soviets needed the USA just as the USA needed the Soviets to keep each trying to improve things for the working class. since the collapse in 91 we can see how the US gov doesnt even pretend to care about the working class anymore sad.
What I perfectly understand is, US health system is very expensive even if it covered with insurance.
You can say goodbye for your savings if you get sick in US and your insurance cannot cover your hospital bill.
USSR system was better for low-middle income worker.
@@senoadjiaditya1535which is the vast majority in any country, even the first world
I'm from Bulgaria, formerly the People's Republic of Bulgaria till 1989 when the military overthrew socialism and began the Shock Therapy, which destroyed GDP and slashed wages and pensions into nothingness. Not to mention the hyperinflation... If you wanna know what it kind of looked like, Boy Boy's video on the war in Ukraine covers this period in Russia. Also, if you see someone say "I'm from a former socialist country and we hated it!" Just remember that people that liked socialism don't speak English and you won't find them online, only people who were privileged before socialism actually went to the West and learnt English. That's why you see so many of them online. In reality they are a minority and most people who had to build a family and home in socialism prefer it, so think 55+ yo. That's the problem, those old people don't speak English so you won't meet them online. Also, keep in mind that in school we are not taught about our socialist history, only 1 or 2 pages and it's just negative things. They do this to erase history so they can shape the narrative. If you say "My family/neighbours/people I know who lived it liked it, this is not true!" To your teacher they just tell you your people are nostalgic and are probably getting old and losing their mind, which is of course bullshit.
The US' capitalist class never cared about working class people and worked tirelessly to turn the USSR into the chauvinistic, capitalist mess that is present day imperialist Russia.
Okay comrade.
Same like watching early 80s Yugoslavia documentaries, how would you have guessed at the time that large scale wars, atrocities, sufferings, broken dreams would be forthcoming to USSR territories?
Communism is the son of darwinism, while eugenicism and slavery are what capitalism represents today.
It’s a sad story really
Something similar can be sayd about 60s-70s Iran
Well, the western war planners could have predicted it. Successful socialist states are a big threat to our corrupt/insane CIA.
What about war in Vietnam, Irak, Syria, Yugoslavia, Libya, Afghanistan ?
No system is perfect.
But 70s and 80s was the best time.
There is no point in that phrase "No system is perfect".
The Soviet system was criminal, and if you support it, you're a criminal as well.
@@eridan7790 there is the point and it is in that that everywhere are shortcomings and just because of them you do not have the right to say it is all bad.
2000 to 2010 life was best with western capitalism.
@@hershellacey9405
I'd say you're not wrong either.
2000-2010 was the start of new tech yet still had the 80s and 90s vibe.
It was a transitional period.
As a Chinese we have tough time with USSR but when this giant broke up we feel the pain as well. The red flag is gone with the legend
That's interesting. Why so? China has had incredible economic success since then.
First, it is a lesson for the Chinese communist party that we should never follow the path of Gorbachev by giving up the leadership of the party. Second as a political and social system once followed by half the world now gone with the ussr., from this failure We learned a lot. Third by facing the western world alone, we have to be tough and strong to retaliate any unfriendly and disrespectful language and behaviour which sometimes comes for no reason. In China we have a old saying ,the teeth will feel the coldness when the lips are gone.
@@jackchan499 Thanks for the explanation. I think we might have differing views on several subject but I think it's important to learn and try to understand each other. We are on the same planet and face collective issues, the main being climate change which is a threat to us all. As you might guess I live in Europe and we are shocked and angry about the Russia-Ukraine war since we thought a war and imperialism in Europe (I am refering to Putin's dreams about recreating a USSR) was something of the past. Of course that's another subject but to sum up any differences should always and only be solved by diplomatic means and by using history as a reason to invade we can have wars for the next 1000 years... It's sad that we are now putting resources on defense when there would be so many other things to work on together.
@@Chris-pf8by The Chinese's feeling towards the Soviets, or the Russians to a certain extend, is rather mixed. On the one hand, the Russians did take a huge chunk of land of China in the North East and North West, and the Soviets forced China to give up Mongolia, and all those things happened before the Communists took power, but the Soviets did help the Chinese to build their industry after 1949, then came the Sino-Soviet split and they are basically enemies. The Chinese viewed the Soviet Union as both an imperialist power and a force of good of internationalism. Soviet art is still appealing to the Chinese, even the younger generation, the Chinese prefer, or even romanticize the Lenin's Soviet Russia, many of them are Trots,they understand the terrible things happened in Stalin's time but consider them necessary evil for Soviet to grow strong and defeat Nazi, they derided Brezhnev, dubbing him "Emperor of Medals", and believed Gorbachev is a naive fool
As for Putin, the Chinese believe he is the only guy who is capable of saving Russia from further collapsing, and admire his toughness against the West, People generally are more sympathetic towards Russia because they know that Nato expansion is the root for Russia's military actions, and the US is doing the same thing at China's doorstep, and Russia used to want to join the West in the 1990s, but the West never accepted, it makes the Chinese believe that no matter what concession China is going to make to the West, the West will always view it as a competitor, or worst, enemy, even China is not ruled by Communists. Many people think if Russia fails this time, it might not be able to hold together his current territory, and forever be pushed into the corner of Euroasia mass, and China will be the West's next target to destabilize and disintegrate.
@@bamboobenjamin8015 Thanks for your point of view. I must admit I had not studied the relationship between China and USSR. In my opinion there were two key issues as to why the USSR collapsed: the utopia of a plan economy and the fact that many of USSR states were incorporated by force. As a comparison with EU and NATO: countries have to apply for membership and it's not granted automatically. Countries must WANT to join. Baltic states never learned to trusted Russia post USSR and wanted to join Nato. Looking at Ukraine now they were right all the way. I don't think the West did not give Russia a chance post USSR. In fact political and economic relations were improving a lot post USSR. Even after the 2008 Russia Georgia war and 2014 Crimea annexation the West still continued to do business with Russia and even deepening reliance on Russian energy. Looking back from a Western perspective we were very naive to think that this would guarantee good relations and that Russia would stop there. Now with the full scale war that Russia started we have woken up and want nothing to do with Russia anymore. Of course we would like for China to stop the war as they are the only ones that could do it with one phone call. China is irritated for Western countries speaking out about human rights issue (yes I know that esp. US does not have a good track record, for example Iraq war) but China and the West trade a lot and both parties would have much to lose if that changes. Even if China and the West disagree on issues we are very far from any warfare. As for Nato and EU-US-alliance: after WW2 Europe has seen a long period of peace and pacifistic thinking peace has become the norm. Europe in general is not strong militarily. In this current crisis and multipolar world order we have to ally with the US, even if we certainly don't agree with the US on everything it's still the military might that is closest to our values. As I said before we have big common global issues and war should not be on the list.
Why did you call this film "The Human Face of Russia" if a lot of it refers to Ukrainian culture? Fine..So why didn't you call this movie "The Human Face of the USSR"?
As a person familiar with Ukraine, I will say that this is not even real Ukrainian culture. Yes, there is a bit of folklore, but seasoned with sharovarshina. Any real Ukrainian who knows his real culture hates sharovarshchina. Sharovarshchina was promoted by the Soviets, not by the Ukrainians. At the same time, they destroyed everything that developed Ukrainian culture. They needed an image of a rudiment so that the Ukrainians themselves would reject "their own culture" that they were shown. This happened to everyone who was not Soviet. All achievements are only Soviet, the rest should be a vestige.
@@ТотКтоГоворитМногоНеГоворяНичеno
I am guessing this is an ABC Australia program from 40 years ago, and the title is original to the program
Por que la cultura ucraniana es la misma que la Rusa
@@vladd8948 Ella es diferente. ¿Qué significa igual? Solo necesitas entender de qué se trata primero. Está Rus', y está Rusia. Ucrania fue una vez Rusia, y la Rusia moderna es el reino moscovita. Decidieron distorsionarlo todo desde los tiempos en que querían confundir a todos cambiando el nombre.
In high school history class we learned about the Holocaust, but never about the true toll inflicted on the Soviet Union in ww2. In college I took Russian courses- history, language and literature. But even then it was only touched on. It is only as an adult, through research and films like Come and See & some others that I learned how badly the Soviet people were decimated during the Great Patriotic War.
Did you learn that Hitler and Stalin were originally allies? Two totalitarian dictatorships will have to fight it out at some point..... and they sure did. However, Stalin killed a lot more Soviet citizens than Hitler could have ever dreamed of....
I always have great respect for the people of Soviet Russia, for their tremendous sacrifice and contribution to save the mankind from the evil of Nazi Germany. Nothing could be compared with the loss they suffered, to the heroic bravery, courage and determination of the Soviet red army soldier who liberated almost half of the occupied Europe. Eternal memory to all great people and soldiers of the Soviet Union in the great patriotic war. For that we mankind owe an everlasting debt to them. Today’s western propaganda machine is running full force to demonize Russia and Russian people. This is not only wrong but dangerous. The west has never shown respect for Russia and is not willing to understand the feelings of Russian people. Today’s sad situation is a result of that.
@@Yuohani Reporting about the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not propaganda, it's reality. Nobody's "demonizing Russians" but Putin and his cronies who started this war, basically for the aggradisement of Putin's legacy.
Yes, the USSR took the brunt of the war against Germany but it was necessity and out of self preservation that they had to or succumb to NAZI Germany and be destroyed and enslaved for those not outright murdered.
So Stalin thought he was the chess master not realizing Hitler was just going to bash the chess board. The USSR did their part and suffered greatly but the US and Britain helped them to survive which helped us to survive. They then enslaved Eastern Europe and became a global menace trying to communize the rest of the world.
@@Yuohani The US invasion of Iraq was wrong and an illegal war started by a war criminal named George W. Bush.
The Ukraine invasion is an illegal war started by war criminal named Vladimir Putin.
The Great Patriotic war was fought out of necessity by the Soviet Union and it was victory or death over Nazi Germany. The Allies helped them and by fighting the war the USSR helped the West defeat Germany as well. It was an alliance of necessity.
We all know that Uncle Joe was going to sit back and watch the western powers destroy each other and then go in and take over Europe.
Don't make it out for anything more than what it was 2 sociopaths Stalin and Hitler planning on world domination.
Just like the narcissist Putin and Bush were/are fighting unnecessary wars for their own reasons.
@@Yuohani You keep deleting your responses and you sound like a Russian shill trying to rationalize Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Dos vadenos comrade.
This was filmed in 1984, just one year before Gorbachev's perestroika reforms which liberalised and destroyed the USSR from 1985 to its collapse in 1991.
Only good commie
@@lockdown1776 Yeah nazi
How devastating. Looks like paradise, and here in America we were told Gorbachev was a good guy who finally saw reason and liberated the USSR into capitalism. I can't believe how stupid I was to believe that. Look at what all these soviet states turned into because of that traitor. I'm not a commie but they had life better than we did and probably ever will. Too bad some humans suck and ruin everything good.
@Critique Everything shit take
@Critique Everything interesting. If it was a capitalist state why did other capitalist countries hated it much worse than each other?
What the capitalists did to Russia in the 90s is an absolute crime.
they rescured the Communist from boredom, over- work and much needed spice in their life. Ask anyone who has been to North and South Korea or even East Berlin before the wall fell. There were zero stories of those trying to break out of West Berlin.
@@kratoleaf7619 wtf are you even saying?? your sentences are nearly incomprehensible
@@kratoleaf7619 they replaced it with war, unemployment, poverty, and Putin/death so idk maybe political ideology isn’t the problem with the Russian government structure. (Its impossible to have a democracy in a republic held together through force)
What Stalin did to Russians was murder. Like 10 million murders. And that's just the murders.
@@kratoleaf7619 Like the statistics of Taiwanese running away to China - 10% of Taiwan's population lives and works in China xd
The living standard was high in west germany because the US powers injected it with billions of dollars immediately after the war (just like japan) calling it an "economic miracle on the rhine". Economic miracle my ass. While warsaw pact countries had to rebuild without outside help, and then have to deal with dumb children saying "look how much better life became in west/south/whatever compared to communist country. No shit its better if you build their infrastructure and give them free money. Read washington bullets.
This. life looks so fulfilling. Way more fullfilling than anything going on today in the U.S. Wholesome, family values, and community.
It’s easier to have these things when people don’t have to worry about whether they can afford a roof over their head and the food in their belly.
oh. so you didn't see Ukraine. i guess.
@@qlukva-zhurwouldn’t have happened if the USSR was existing. Capitalist Russia now thrives on war like all capitalism
Odessa wasnt not Russia in that time period, Odessa was territory of Ukrainian Soviet Social Republic, territory of modern Russia had a name Russian Soviet Federative Republic, its different countries that was inside one big union, author forgot that USSR consists of 15 Soviet Republics, Russia was only one of them
Not only Odesa. They used Ukrainian folk clothesб songs, dances and many other sings.
It seems that the author is an interested person in the spread of Moscow lies.
Odessa, nikolaiv, kherson, all cities on south "ucraine" east "ukraine" was rebuild by russian empire under "Catharina" and potenkin not "ucranian" this time this word "Ucranian" not exist. "ucraine" was invention of brest litovsk threatment, and lenin accept this and build one "new" republic and "people" for divide russian people. Now russians call themselves "ucranians" never existed on history one "ucranian" state or people!!!!
Odessa was a town founded by the a russian Tsar, and secondly at the time no one makes differences, ar that time. Although after the Maidan a lot pro-russians took places demonstration in the city took place ( and ukrainian nationalists burned some of them in a fire in the house of the syndicate).
@@philippesabatier5739 Not right, first signs goes to 1415, when Lithuanian prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky found a Kochubei stronghold there, after some time it becomes a trade hub-town, in 1484 this lands was Conquered by Osman Empire, long story short... in 1789 Russian Empire conquered this land with Stronghold and on May 27 1794 Catherine(II) the Great, Empress of Russian Empire issued a rescript to Vice-Admiral Osip Deribas (José de Ribas) regarding the establishment of a military harbor with a merchant port in Hadzhibey(There was several names similar to each other, but i dont know original name). On September 2, 1794, Metropolitan Gabriel (Banulescu-Bodoni) of Ekaterinoslav consecrated the foundation of the city and laid the first stones for the foundations of three Orthodox churches in it. in a nutshell: Lithuans found Stronghold here, Osman makes it trading route, russian empire built a port and set a modern name
@@philippesabatier5739 About Ukrainian Nationalists, watch full chronicles, few pro-russian activists bring weapons, and they also changed their planned route (or maybe it was changed for them), and on that day they went to intersect with the route of pro-Ukrainian fans, first two victims was activists from Ukrainian nationalists, they were shot, and pistol bullets from Makarov was found in their bodies, if someone didnt killed those two activists, if pro-russian forces didnt intersect into planning route of Ukrainian activists, it wont happen, what reaction else you supposed from people if you bring weapons? of course russian activists retreat to that house, and if you watch records you will see, how ukrainian activists tried to build a ladders to help people get out from house on fire, also after that suddenly main chief of firefighter department in Odessa, and Police chief flew to Russia, firefighters didnt come in time, and people died, dont try to tell Ukrainian nationalists is pure evil here
th-cam.com/video/ZgIVE62J-hs/w-d-xo.html
Man, physical laborers getting paid a lot. What a world they lived in.
Unpleasant work got paid more. Generally, though, income disparity was pretty low. City bus driver: $250; executive in a factory: maybe double that (less than $600).
@@ocudagledam you lived in USSR?
NO, THEY ARE COAL MINERS AND WORKING IN THE UNFORTUNE 500s SIBERIAN GULAGS. THEY ALWAYS STARVE AND EAT ONLY BREAD AND CANNED SOUP. IF U BELIEVE OTHERWISE YOUR A BIG COMMIE!! - west
@@ocudagledam same thing in yugoslavia
@@tribinaaux4043
Yugoslavia had worker cooperative economy with partial market mechanisms whereas USSR complete command planning.
As a minimalist I live my life similar to this in the west.
There is nothing minimalist about the USSR... it raised generations of hoarders, because although the prices were more than cheap, they were scarce. So even if the clothes didn't fit or you didn't need something, you just bought it, because there was a high chance youd never get to buy them again
@@sylvann7501 I can assure you that in most former soviet republics, people do not miss the soviet union or the benefits of socialism. Especially in Estonia, where Estonia's riches got distributed to the rest of the world. However, the Russians that were brought here do miss the USSR. The quality of life in general as many of the social programs declined. Education level was already at a high rate and many social programs were in place (including health care and private property). Since it had been so scarcely populated, the poverty rate was lower than under the Soviet rule, in which hundreds and thousands of people were brought in to "Russianize" not just Estonia or Baltics, but all the Soviet Republics.
The worst part is that although we had agreements with leading countries, the UK or more specifically, Winston Chruchill single-handedly betrayed the country. Reportedly in recent history in WW2, Winston Churchill was the greatest enemy of the State of Estonia.
Rather than USSR giving benefits to Estonia like many countries received (like Kazakh), Estonia actually suffered more than that.
@@martavibo2145 By surveys, in the most of East Europe and Soviet republics people say life was better in the socialist times ("Workers in eastern Europe and former Soviet states prefer socialism", The Communists, 26 July 2019), for example:
"72% of Hungarians say that most people in their country are actually worse off today economically than they were under communism" (Pew survey, 2010).
"Majority of Eastern Germans Feel Life Better under Communism" (Spiegel, 2009)
~60% Ukrainians say life was better in the USSR by Gallup, SCORE/USAID, Sputnik surveys.
43% of Slovaks say life was better under communism, and only 32% say the opposite (Focus poll, 2018).
28% of Czechs say they were better off under communism, and only 23% say they have a better life now (SC&C poll, 2011). 38% of over 40 year-olds believe that their lives were actually better under communism (NMS Market Research survey, 2019).
Sputnik-reported surveys in 2016-2017 among the people who were aged 10 or over in 1991, percentage of those who say that life was better in the Soviet times:
Armenia: 71%
Azerbaijan: 69%
Kazakhstan: 61%
Kyrgyzstan: 60%
Moldova: 60%
Belarus: 53%
Georgia: 51%
Pew survey in 2017 adds responses for Baltic states whether break-up of the USSR harmed their countries (considering that Pew gave 40% for Ukraine instead of 60%, it is biased):
Latvia: 33%
Lithuania: 27%
Estonia: 15%
Estonia was a recipient of Soviet funds. National Income Produced minus National Income Used for the period 1970-1988, in billion rubles:
Russia +155
Ukraine +85
Belarus +52
Azerbaijan +27
Armenia +8
Lithuania +6
Moldavia +4
Latvia +4
Georgia +3
Turkmenia +1
Estonia -2
Tadzhikistan -7
Kirghizia -8
Uzbekistan -18
Kazakhstan -71
(M.V. Belkindas, M.J. Sagers. A preliminary analysis of economic relations among union republics of the USSR: 1970-1988, Soviet Geography, V.31(9), P. 629 (1990))
The Baltic republics also had way higher salaries (M.V. Alexeev, C.G. Gaddy. Income distribution in the U.S.S.R. in the 1980s, Review of Income and Wealth, V. 39(1), P. 23 (1993)).
@@Rodion_Telyatnik Yes, but taking into consideration that 1. most of these countries were better off before the soviet union.
2. a huge amount of these countries are still Russians who didn’t like the independence of the countries. If you go to for example any Russian dominated city or part of city in Estonia, people will complain about Estonians and how the Russian rule was better. Considerin they make up about 1/3 of Estonia, then the percentage checks out.
In other countries there are usually a lot more Russians.
The source you seem to rely on doesn’t take into account the fact that Estonian funds were first transferred to state and then signed as the soviet donation or investment into Estonia. Absolutely misleading
@@martavibo2145 1) There was Russian Empire before the USSR, but if you talk about the myth that independent Baltic states were more prosperous in the times of the Great Depression, let's judge by available info for the modern times: economic growth of Estonia in 2000-2020 is 1.9 times by Worldbank constant $ GDP data (at the cost of external debt over half of the GDP), while ESSR had industrial growth 11.5 times in 1940-1960 and 4.2 times in 1960-1980 (Soviet data used by modern Estonian book "Eesti ajaloo pöördepunktid: dokumente ja materjale vene õppekeelega gümnaasiumile", 2008, page 270), and Soviet external debt was taken by Russia alone.
2) There are only 5% Russians in Lithuania (which granted citizenship to them all, unlike Latvia and Estonia) having 2 times higher Soviet nostalgia than Estonia having 24% Russians, so your argument fails.
3) Income from all-Union enterprises in republics was shared to central budget nearly at the same ratio (about 50/50) as spendings there divided between central and republican budgets, e.g.,
central/republican ratios in bln rubles in the years 1975 and 1985 by official data:
1975: incomes 110.1/108.7, expenses 108.6/105.9;
1985: incomes 205.3/179.5, expenses 202.9/185.3.
Republican incomes in both cases include about 8 bln from the central budget as mutual settlement of accounts (due to change of taxes, etc.)
Russian/Estonian ratios:
1975: incomes 55.0/0.924, expenses 56.7/0.893;
1985: incomes 103.3/1.738, expenses 101.5/1.691;
Equal 1.9 times growth for Russian and Estonian income for the decade.
Here's the referendum that took place before the dissolution of USSR. 70% of the population didn't want the socialist experience to end. But the state was pretty much like "sorry babe will end it anyway byee 💅🏻✨" the economy of today's Russia is equivalent of the USSR at is end. Which means in 30 years the economy finally went back to it's original state. Imagine how big they could've been today...
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_Union_referendum
depends how they utilised said economy. in the end the fell to revisionism and betrayed the working class, hence their fall. had none of that happened we'd see far more agression against russia in the same way we are about china. then again china might be very different without the ussrs fall since theyre dedicated to learning from it
@@nicholascharles9625 I agree. I don't know much about the Chinese government, so I'll say that only as an outsider watching the Chinese economy. I do think they are trying to achieve a standard way of life for most of its citizens, with the zero poverty act, affordable housing and so on. Will they make the transition to full socialist state? I don't know
Well yeah, and so much more. Unlike before, now the economy truly aids the oligarchs, not the people. Life expectancy and health also has only relatively recently reached pre soviet levels. Regional conflicts have re-emerged(Ukraine Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia).
The sad state of women in Eastern Europe, not getting equal opportunities as men, forced into human trafficking.
Close to 80 percent! And only 20 percent of people wanted to dissolve socialism and abandon the USSR. Even in raw economy, to this day, the average income in Russia has not in real terms met that of the peak of Soviet society. All while the cost of defeating Germany led to the average soviet worker losing 25 years of wages. That’s what happen when the richest people are only 5 times wealthier than the lowest paid.
It was a referendum to keep the Union, not socialism. Socialism was already on the way out with Peresteoika and Glasnost. If the referendum were honored by the Presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus then the majority of the nation would stay together but with a democratic market economy.
Heavy labor dockworker paid more than the executive who sits behind a desk all day, that's exactly how it should be.
Ye right 🙈
And thats precisely why the whole thing collapsed.
They did get some things right. Corruption was the killer and made the thriving black market
Depends on the merit. Equity does not create global superpowers. Equality and incentives do
It absolutely isn't quite the opposite@@teamtoken
I was born in 1986. I don't remember that last decade of the USSR. I remember 90s well. I remember wars, desperate people, poverty, etc. Then the situation started changing. My mother remembers 70s and 80 s well. She missed that period. She says life was secure and stable. In fact, as I see it now, the USSR had to be changed, transformed. Then we wouldn't have problems we have now. In my opinion, the crisis we have now goes back to the period when the USSR collapsed. As I understand, no one asked ordinary people if they wanted to disintegrate their country. Mostly, they didn't want. It was shame. The country was great!
@marius popa Ok, why do then people of those generations remember this period with love and respect?
You just need to send Putin back to the 80s where he belongs.
One day on a lunch break these two older engineers at work had stopped by my desk to reminisce about the old days of the USSR. It was fascinating to hear real life, first hand experiences of what things were like for them.
One of the guys is Ukrainian and the other Uzbek. The Uzbek guy mentioned that the whole reason he even had to come to the states is because all of the opportunities for success and the quality of life began to rapidly deteriorate after the fall of the Soviet Union as they were being told that capitalism was showing to make everything glorious. It blew my mind because I'm so used to hearing heavily propagandized negative narratives from western media. They also mentioned how easy it was to find engineering work since there seems to be a shortage of educated American kids entering the profession (according to the boss of the company). Which... The reasons why are another topic for another time, but point being that there seems to be a large number of highly educated people that find their way here from the former Soviet countries. A testament to their education system. A former Russian barber of mine was even an engineer back in the day.
How about the smaller nations that were part of the soviet union? Estonia, lithuania, kazahstan, georgia , etc .. were they happy in the union as well?
@@GotterVibez People are different. People I have met from Kazakhstan,Ukraine, Belorus miss the USSR. People from Baltic countries, as far as I heard, did not like Russians. Well, if it were my will, they should have just been released. They blame us but you know it is strange. When they were with Russia, they were flourishing republics. Many representatives of southern republics of the USSR now work in Russia, though when the USSR collapsed, in some republics Russians faced with aggression. Now, some time later, they suddenly start remembering the USSR with somerhing positive. One thing is clear... Moscow invested a lot in those republics developing their industries, production, sometimes more than in present Russian territories. As for liberties, you think people in Moscow had more freedom than in other territories? The same. In my opinion, people should have transformed the USSR without breaking economic, cultural ties. If that change went that way, people in present day Russia, Ukraine, Belorus and other republics, would be prosperous and rich.
Thanks for posting this. Appreciating this during the Russo-Ukraine war of 2022.
Well, USSR was nothing really like modern Russia or Ukraine though. People from 1970's Russia or Ukraine would laugh hysterically if someone told, that both countries would fight in 2022.
@@Markov092 Given how long the UPA insurgency lasted after WW2, I don't think they'd laugh, I think they'd take a slight pause then dismiss it. In the 1970's the UPA had only stopped operating 15 odd years before.
@@Markov092 they probably wouldn't be so suprised given the hatred ukrainians have always had for communism and the USSR
@@yeyeman6569 Not really. Both Russians and Ukrainians traveled freely to neighboring republics. Differences of both nationalities were very small. Most anti-communist are Western Ukrainians who identify themselves more closer to Polish, than Russians. But I will remind you, without communists and their korenizatsiya policies, Ukrainian nation would not probably exist. At best, today Ukraine would've been some oblast or krai.
@@AndrewTubbiolo the UPA was a pogromist force of anti soviet ultra-nationalists it never enjoyed anything resembling large scale support among ukraines population and at its height had at most about 20,000 members. And was hated by common ukrainians as a result of Nazi Germanys anti slavic policies. so yea people from russia and ukraine probably would laugh at the idea that they'd ever fight
Yugoslavia was similar to this.Of course, our model of socialism was unique
Correcto amigo, ¡Viva Yugoslavia!
@@vladd8948 o/
@@vladd8948 hablas español?
@@theimperialcactus2359 Evidentemente mi estimado, ¿y usted?.
@@vladd8948 si si hablo español
The USSR was called the "prison of peoples". And this film was made for the picture that everything is beautiful and good. But even here there is Sharovarshchina as the basis of Ukrainian culture, which was introduced by the USSR specifically to humiliate it for the Ukrainians themselves. Everything that was really deep and even simply difficult to understand was destroyed and humiliated. The non-Russian language has always been considered something backward and it was fashionable in a big city to beat someone who says something in an "underdeveloped language". And so in many respects and for all "captives".
No
@@caiolima-l8fyes
Yes
"ukranian" neonazist regime Propaganda....
Never existed on history one "people" "ucranian" this made by fist on brest-litovsk and again under urss. Lenin was a traitor, Yeltsin was another Great traitor of russian people.
I lived in Socialist Yugoslavia and it was pretty cool, well better than what came after the fall of yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was the best one of the bunch.
If people are about to make snarky comments, the mention (at 5:00) that the rent is three or four PER CENT of the total income hits me pretty hard! Locally rent can be half or even basically ALL of a person's income!
I make around £28,000 pa. working from home. My rent is £14,400 p.a. of that. Then's there's £2,000 local tax on top of that. £2,000 utilities. Jeez.
oh wait, it gets better. rent could be zero! if you lived in communal farm. Actually, it was so good, that the chief of the farm held you passport so you wont leave for tropical vacations with all the money you get too often
@@jonathanbrowne988 it`s your own choice to live like that. You can always take a mortgage with an interest rate of 3-4 %.
@@RivieraByBuick No, I can't. My ex-wife took my house and now I'm too old to get a mortgage. Many people for many reasons can't get on, or back on, the property ladder. In the UK where I am, about a third of people rent. It's not because we've never heard of mortgages.
I work 35 hours per week at a minimum wage job and the average rent in my city, which is one of the "wealthiest" cities in Canada, is 60-75 percent of my monthly income.
So much of the ussr was a first world country. Absolutely incredible
Its my soviet childhood full of joy n happiness
Slava Stalin.
🙄
@@carl5192 ???? U r hating ussr for no reason?
@@amogus6nine No I enjoyed this documentary. However, I'd imagine even most Russians with sense know Stalin was a senseless murderer.
@@carl5192 yea got the point
Sometimes I do wonder what if Soviet Union became like China in a sense that they never became revisionist.
Same shit anyway isn't it? Putting ethnic groups in force labor camps, and chinas "human harvesting or organs" is really worrying.
Only reason China is still communist is because the free world have choosen to trade with it and open industries in China. If that changes China will go side ways fast.
And with China soon invading Taiwan that might be a reality soon.
Impossible,buddy.Chain's way is economic expansion,USSRs/Russian federation's only a military one.They can't produce&sell anything.Except vodka.
China didn't become revisionist?
We the people of India are forever grateful to the people of USSR for support received to liberate Bangladesh.
The cost of things didn't matter as much in the USSR. For example, apartment rental was really cheap. But try actually finding the apartment to rent! A young person, after graduating university and getting a job, as long as he or she was single, had no possibility of getting into their own apartment - even if they could easily afford it. A married couple would get an apartment, but in many cases would have to wait for several years for one to become available to them. In the meantime, they'd usually live with one of the parents, and start raising kids in their parents' apartment as well. Once the couple finally got their long-awaited apartment, it was often tiny. My wife grew up in a 40 sq meter (400 sq feet) apartment - a family of three, and her father was a colonel in the army, not a poor or insignificant person!
To contrast, when I came to the U.S., graduated university and got my first job as a junior software engineer, I was immediately able to rent an 80 sq m apartment all by myself, and bought a new car. Such a thing would be unheard of in the USSR for a young person of any profession.
However, life was reasonably comfortable for me in USSR. As a child, I was well fed and clothed, and got a very decent education. The choices of toys and other entertainment was limited compared to my peers in the West, but I immersed myself in studying music and reading books. It was a good childhood. I had nothing to complain about until I grew close to draft age, and there was that awful war going on in Afghanistan. My happy childhood soon turned into a nightmare - I literally had nightmares about being sent off to Afghanistan and getting killed there, or maimed for life.. In America, young men were also similarly sent to Vietnam, however they could leave the country if they wanted to, and dodge the draft. Soviet young men didn't have such an option, except for rare circumstances.
Yeah ,everything was cheap but there was nothing to buy...
@@georgislavov8130 you sound rather cranky , what couldn’t you buy ?
@@sordomudo6879 Well,a car,food,washing machines,a good house,a holiday,proper medication,tvs,computers,phones,forreign magazines,tea, coffee,clothes,shoes, baby milk etc.There was this joke in the USSR:hard to get are goods with the letter 'E' like 'Everything'.😁
@@georgislavov8130 food ? You eat some special type food ? )))) Foreign magazines ? How many languages do you speak ? ))) Phones ? That era didn’t have mobiles so I believe most of places had landline units in .
@@sordomudo6879 I eat food that's not made of fat and toilet paper or comes from Chernobyl area.I speak 4 languages.With 'phones' i meant analogue ones.Alles klar?
I loved in Russia for three years from 83 to 85 at Dobrininskaya in Moscow. Those were wonderful times!
I grew up in the US and in Mexico. Growing up in the early 2000s in our little country city town. Life was very similar to this documentary and everything began to change in the mid 2000s. Its so weird so many similarity's.
My spouse is Mexican and has said the same. In some small areas it is still this way, in more remote places. But it is all disappearing.
@@thysonsacclaim yes and at the turn of the next century, African villagers will be saying the same thing. It's the degenerate world we live in.
@@thysonsacclaim I've lived here since 2004 and yes it's changing and most things not for the better !
We are becoming like the USA everything is on credit because everything is so expensive.
It's a shame.
Better life than the shit we live in today.
why do you think so and from which country are you?
based
@@романенко-ц8п , from your Ukraine. And yes... In the USSR life was better than the shit we live today.
@@АндрейФилатов-ц8ъ No it wasn't, free Ukraine is better.
@@truesosense7722 cap
Great documentary!
For those who play Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic, this is very great and mandatory to know the history, excellent video
0:16 "It's so big, the sun never sets on it."
Something tells me this fellow really loves Russia. He just made a comparison with the British Empire!
Well at least they weren't shipping slaves
Actually that was a saying for the Spanish empire during Felipe II reign
given 11 time zones, i would say at least in summer, the sun doesn't fully set on it.
but u r right. there is an exaggeration a la westerner. just a phrase to say something is huge.
"Retirement age is 60 for men and 55 for women"
... I hate my life wtf
i love this comment
The average life expectancy for men was only 65, back then. The average pension was only around 75 roubles per month, too. Much less, if you were a collective farm worker.
@@Ostsol вы фсё врёти, кровавый совок ! Все знают что у мужчин был средний возраст жизни - 25 лет. Как только родился - на завод. Двадцать лет отпахал, а потом кровавые нквдшники воздействием электромагнитных колотушек загоняли мужчин в лагеря, где злые, кровавые советские врачи делали из людей получеловек ! Они сбрасывали на людей брёвна берёзы ! А то что осталось от человека съедали во славу кровавому богу Сатаналину !
@@Ostsol retired parents was able to help their kid by money. Now kids should help their parents by money
Don't worry, they raised it.
Most surprising thing to me is that in Soviet Russia, people actually smiled and laughed
this just shows the level of racism of the western propaganda machine
If you don't smile and laugh while the government is filming you, be prepared to be sent to Siberia
what a dumbass observation. surprise, people are not robots!
The most stupid comment I've ever seen...
Commie actors arrange by the communist govt LMAO
I gotta say, those dances that are performed are really impressive. You have got to have some strength to do those well
Здесь сильно преувеличено. Кажется, что в академических театрах только одни народные танцы и все советские люди их любят смотреть. На самом деле было не так. Мы относились к ним с иронией, как к архаике. Куда больше в СССР любили кино, европейское и американское в том числе.
@@АН-24все из-за уничтожения настоящей культуры. Это делалось умышленно, от того и чувство было такое. К примеру только сейчас, после того как "тюрьма народов" и по прошествию почти 30-и лет, снова пошло возрождение и многое создается по новому, а не через силу натягивается что-то несвязанное и непонятное.
Those dances are Ukrainian culture, but now russian
@@faradoss ??? Z-man?
@@faradoss Why are those dances now Russian?
Very interesting. Thanks for uploading
glory to the workers of the world
You repeat Marx slogans he synthesized from the Hegallian dialectic, any Dog can learn to love it's cage if it has never hunted.
@@leeboy2k1 lol
glory to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk - the hardest workers of us all.
Glory indeed to the workers!✊️
Glory is not just to the workers. It's like those who can stand at the machine, envy the one who was able to organize his work.
Glory to hardworking and reasonable people!!!
/// That life vs today's life ///
Modest, friendly and relaxed life, with basic offers Vs. Today's luxury and stress life, with anything you need
That food, was modest, but with natural taste, all you taste were just amazing
That icecream, soda, that sourcream, that brad, those candies, and many many... I remember 💯👍
Btw, all workers could recieve free apartments, 1-2-3 bedrooms, and for free
the natural landscape and architecture were awesome too compared to modern littered asphalt pavement cities
@@buzifalus states building maybe yes, but exterior of flat apartments were bad designed, brutal with no color
In ussr there almost was not design, just plan to build something
Soviet Union 1984 wage tax 6% , Belgium 2022 wage tax 55%.
Thats because the natural resources were owned by the state where a huge amount of wealth was made, there was no need to overtax its people, the Soviet Union even had lower taxes than the US, which is funny because Americans think high taxation equals Socialism or Communism.
When the State owns the means of production, there is little need to tax. The State is already extracting surplus value and using this to deliver services to its people. Healthcare and education were free and were considered human rights. I am not sure about housing or utilities, but from Russians I know, these seem to be either free or very heavily subsidised. Transportation, child care, sports clubs, culture clubs - these were heavily subsidised and cost a pittance. The supposedly low wages Soviet people received, it should be understood this was basically free personal spending money. All their necessities have been taken care of by the State.
Belgium still exists, USSR doesn't. This is why
@@puppetmaster579 , with modern "capitalism" those who own the means of production provide almost no value to the government, so the government extracts it from the workers instead. 🤷♂️
Сейчас в России налог на ЗП 13 ПРОЦЕНТОВ
Спасибо всем западным комментаторам, кто нашёл для нас добрые слова!... Это очень трогательно!... ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Спасибо Ютубу, что помогает сплачивать человечество!...🎉))))))))))) Всем сердечный привет из России:-))))))) 😍🤩😉
Rent as 3-4% of family income? They're able to spend, have holidays, buy clothes? Wtf... As a bus driver, in the capital city. Trains every 2-3 mins. I feel like this is ideal
Socialism provided a dignified standard of living for so many. There’s a reason it’s statistically so popular amongst those who lived under it.
truth!
A lot of comments are complaining about the title Russia used instead of USSR. Get over it, it was filmed in 1984. Before USSR the whole region was the Russian Empire and during USSR the word “Russia” was used synonymous along with “USSR” in the west, and included all the Russian republics (Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine). In the case of Ukraine, it was a much smaller *cultural* region before and even during USSR but they used the word Ukraine to describe a larger region for administrative convenience. It wasn’t describing the Ukranian cultural region but a far larger administrative region artificially contruxted by the USSR as an administrative function.
Agreed.
Does anyone know where I can find more Soviet Youtbe videos like this? I love them, and need more !!!
@cougsjohnson1 You may look up Sputinkoff Sergei who had a Utube series with a lot of fascinating family, political, food, holidays, shopping, collective farming. education and . personal information stories of growing up in Ukraine in the 70s and 80s. He and his family were under Russian rule and language so very similar to this. He saved money and bought a camera and became good at it .He then came to the US as a camp counselor in Michigan for a summer teaching inner city kids photography in the mid 90s. He wrote a book on his experience in the US. He has visited Ukraine and spent time with his Mother in tbe country with his kids as married a US woman from Michigan ,where he lives.
Гостелерадиофонд on youtube
I wish this country still exited
Anyone with a heart do.
Cry more
@@herkuskalnietis1247 Not crying as much as you would like because China is still here and will stomp on you soon enough
All free people of the Europe are GLAD that this Mordor empire is dead... sick sick sick
that is the dumbest thing ive ever heard.
Great documentary! Big thanks to creators!
Nostalgia... Crying...
It's funny how an everyday life documentary can beat years of bad propaganda
hmm?
Doesn't a documentary following only decorated Party Members also count as propaganda?
@@ellenlapel6451 EXACTLY. Somehow people watching this pat themselves on the back for (RIGHTFULLY) recognizing pro-capitalist propaganda yet lap this up as if it ISN'T pro-communist propaganda...all those shows showing off "the high life" of capitalism, ignoring the lies of poverty and inequality, THAT they can recognize--but a film about USSR life that leaves out the MILLIONS in gulags? State executions of dissenters? Deaths along the Berlin Wall? THOSE don't count as the "human face" of the USSR too? (The Ukrainian dancers featured here: *HOW ABOUT UKRAINIANS WANTING INDEPENDENCE?* Nope, not presented, they don't get to "count" as the "human face" of the USSR, GEE I WONDER WHY...oh well, I'm sure that won't crop up at any point in history again at all whatosever.) Kind of like all those capitalist propaganda films pretending everyone's rich and free while ignoring the poor and police brutality? But then Capitalist Hawks AND Communist Apologists BOTH claim to "hate propaganda" yet lap it up and magically lose all critical thinking skills when it's propaganda for "THEIR" SIDE.
This documentary IS propaganda.
They only show some of the things in soviet russia, not ALL of the things...
As Spock my favorite character from Star Trek would say “fascinating”. Love documentaries like this! Especially older ones.
Leonard Nimoy who played Spock was Ukrainian.
@@CelestialWoodway Did not know that! Very cool!!
@@CelestialWoodwayLeonard Nimoy was an American from Boston. His parents were Jewish immigrants who fled Ukraine. Because reasons, darn good reasons.
peaceful times, these were the golden days of the soviet era
not really. Best years were after Stalin Death and untill late 70s. Food shortage did start waaaay before late 80s Perestroika. so in 1984 Soviet people were already highly depressed by the economic decline.
It were also times of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
@@Davej82 Yeah but you know if you were younger or older than 19, you were fine
@@RivieraByBuicky family says those were best times so
@@MACTEP-il1eu no
I guess the Russians, like American ladies were also into big hair well into the 1980s
It looks a lot better than the Moscow we visited in 1990. We were gobsmacked at the complete decrepitude. Hotel falling apart, service non-existent and food inedible.
Going to 90s was not soviet 😭
@@yogurtandtea It was in 1990. The fall happened a year later. The week we arrived, they'd just lifted exchange controls and "Glasnost" was underway.
@@FTFLCY yes, ik, just a bad time i meant xddd it didn’t fall in one day i mean
1990 perestroika was at its best technically the system had already collapsed from the 1988
@@FTFLCY where are you from
Russia joined the Western world, but all they got was junkfood, cheap furniture, expensive handbags and wokeness.
The Western sanctions imposed on Russia were the best thing that could happen to them.
Ahh yes being a backward fascist dictatorship that jails you over speech is far better than what the West has to offer. NVM the bread lines and atrocious standard of living that the Soviet Union actually had that made people want to revolt to begin with.
@@jimraynor9897 Edward Snowden. Juluan Assange. Chelsea Manning. The Canadian Trucker Convoy. The Dutch Farmers. The French Yellow Vests. Abu Graib. Guantanamo Bay.
We are every bit as bad as the Soviet Union was. Just better at pretending we're not.
no, the countries that embraced the west were east germany, the baltics and poland, now thriving in the free world
Gottem.
@@danielius2815 what's about Czech, Slovakia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Greece, Italy? Do they thrive?
I really enjoyed the video thank you Kim, I am Brittish but know that the Russian people are friendly and welcoming.
My experience of the general public in Russia was that I found them very accommodating. I am not keen on the government however.
@@adamellis8851 So they tried probably to 'shake' something off you.When the russian acts friendly its: BEWARE.I know them well.
@@georgislavov8130 ok.
@@adamellis8851 you're welcome👍
Friendly? 🤔😄😄
I love how ppl still think that the soviet union was always gulag and shit when in the 80s and 70s life was very decent
This is an interesting documentary about life in the USSR during the mid 80s.
Soviet union ☺️
Wonderful...this film verifies everything I speculated about Russia growing up in the US and in the period of the Cold War...I always doubted the western news about Russia by around of age 10 forward, by one simple fact, they never showed me how Russian people lived so that I can compare their lives with mine. Compare my family with their’s. What their fathers were like and mothers, sisters and brothers. This documentary brought it home for me when the youngest boy in the family complained the others have all the fun and he has to stay home.
That happened to me with my older brother. When I did stay home I was a thinker, always wondering, I had nothing else to do but to go through books left around in my apartment home in NYC. How did a 10 year old boy like myself in Russia despite the Cuban Missile Crisis enjoyed life without a worry of a nuclear war? I wondered and wrote.
Did kids struggle with math as much as me..did they struggle with writing, grammar, as little as me. Russia could not all be the rigidity seen of the Communist Party Officials on the evening news there had to be something about Russia that attracted people to agree with its as a country so opposite to mine. You could not find anything that revealed the interior of life in Russia in NYC. If you could not find it there you can forget about finding information on life in Russia in the rest of the US. I resigned to the notion that they could not find anything about American life as well. The next best thing to complete a empty page was Russia’s past. If I could not find anything on Russia in the present I will dive into her past.
But the past did not give me a picture of the present but it did give me a profound ability to link the past to the present and this film did much to do that. The economic life of Maria, living without advertising generates a sociality preventing isolation on finding the best deals, her life as a bus driver, her rent, the cost of foods, the honor system of mass transit so cheap cheating is a taboo. Opposite to transportation so high that cheating becomes the norm.
I understand now the real influence of socialism of Russia on America. In my time America had to excel prove to Americans Russia’s model for society was not a better model than America’s. I understand now the reasoning of Putin’s messages about restoring Russia’s greatness. I understand the protectiveness of the Russian state apprehensive about the west in the treatment of eastern European countries, I understand the tragedy that has become Ukraine as a huge concession given to the west, I understand how also had to prove to their citizens the Russian model was better than the American way of life.
Meeting Maria was transformative. Meeting Natasha, 9 year old girl, studied in the morning, played with her friends, then went to school in the afternoon shift of school was experiential. Russia’s agrarian and education problem was solved in the time of advanced socialism. Looking back at the Grapes of Wrath, America’s farm and land problems were partly solved the one piece that was not solved was the land itself. The State has title to the land the People would own the home dwellings on the land drew revenue to the State, opposite of taxes, revenue is a stream of income and apartment rents channeled into collective farming equipment for one thousand farmers changed circumstances dramatically funding Natasha’s education, better salaries and new equipment. A remarkable achievement to eradicate illiteracy and a large peasantry. How the Russian potato surplus created Russia’s taste for vodka could be a story in itself for some aspiring writer.
As I became more interested in economies as I got older the division of labor in societies was suddenly not as clear to me in America that it was hard to dissect a product and its parts and see in it the various trades and skills that went into the formation of that product. This division of labor that is not a division of labor was suddenly made clear in the Coal Miners of Russia. They had eradicated a significance curse on humanity. To be condemned to one function as in some societies for a lifetime and associated with that function a social label that held you back from a better life was a curse for those born into it. No say from the start what they would be in life. Trained in all aspects of the mining operation a miner could serve in any capacity and earnings depended on out put. This simple change made the difference between a persons’ attitude toward work and freedom from the misery of detailed work. Miner’s Day in Russia. We can learn from the USSR, we should learn from the USSR. The USSR overcame two historical hurdles for mankind that from the days of the ancient to the modern world prohibits a man and a woman from a true emancipation; the division of labor itself.
In old age, wisdom is so much stronger, easily attainable, the next hurdle for which 20 million perished was its defeat of Nazism and the witnessing of atrocities made it impossible to not support anti-fascist forces in the west where fascism had not entrenched itself and taken over a country. Spain was that country and the International All -Volunteer Army that fought Franco, who was armed by Hitler, in turn, armed by American companies, were gallant and brave, respected as they fought alongside other more war battled scarred regiments with experience against the Nazis War Machine. The Spanish Republicans got Russian support, the American Lincoln Brigade, the youngest of all detachments, no more than 20 years old on average were defeated but left Spain with a parade that treated them as if they were coming in to fight. I was too young and I was to old to fight in any of America’s wars thereafter, resigned to books about war, economics, politics, I live the same time life cycle as my father; too young for WWI and to old for WWII. It seems history and me are joined at the hip. Russian society was a society like no other; she proves there is another way to exist and really live.
Well, time to move on...thanks to the producers and directors and the crew for making this a great journey for me and to the Russian people in this film, for letting me see their lives, they have been immortalized.
If you want simple life you can live simple life in USA. But this your choice. Under the communism regime we never had a choice and we knew it.
Thank you with all my heart and may God protect your way.
From Russia with love ❤
@@fairwind8344 My pleasure.
This is one of the most thoughtful and insightful comments I have ever read on TH-cam. You could be a writer - if you aren’t already. It was such a pleasure to read your perspective. Bravo
@@annagalas102 It is not necessary. Well, a simple life does not include free health or even security. A simple person in Los Angeles can be condemned to live in a very unsafe neighborhood without the basics.
Thanks a lot for uploading - really informative and enjoyable to watch
This video is a distortion of information about culture and political facts not corresponding to reality!
In this video they distort facts related to the genocide of the Ukrainian people, under the Holodomor, by the Soviet authorities. Facts about cultural achievements of the Ukrainian people are appropriated by Russia - the country sponsor of the terrorist, which attacked Ukraine and continues to kill civilians to this day.
This video is offensive to the entire Ukrainian people, and misleading to people from all over the world!
Informative? 🙊🙉🙈
@@ТотКтоГоворитМногоНеГоворяНиче yes informative - just because you have a chip on your shoulder doesn't change reality for everyone else. go learn about the world from AOC and the like
I miss more slow-paced documentaries like these.
How old are you?
I can see why Russians were nostalgic for the Brezhnev times during Yeltsin reign
Seems like the problem wasn’t communism or capitalism. The problem both systems had/have is corruption.
So why did every social issue skyrocket in ex Soviet countries just after they switched to a capitalist economy ?
@@aby110 not sure what you mean “skyrocket”?
This was so very interesting. Thank You for sharing. Xx
This Soviet Union place looks great! I’d love to travel there someday, but I can’t seem to find anyplace online that books flights to the Soviet Union. Weird.
You have to use the internet from the 70s, that'll get you there no problem
It's called the Putin regime now. Different name, but the same thing.
@@bradhirsch4845 It's even worse now. All the negatives of the USSR such as the one party state, media censorship, secret police, corruption/nepotism etc. all continue to exist in modern day Russia without the social security and equality of the USSR.
@@bradhirsch4845 Na not same thing in Soviet union everyone was equal in fascist Russia ethnic russians is much more worth then non ethnic russians.
@@Lassemalten Uh huh. Guess it was just a coincidence that the Soviet regime starved millions of Ukrainians to death in the early 1930s and moved in ethnic Russians to take over their homes. They did the same thing in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, too.
Ukrainians murdered by the state and Russian speakers were moved in to take their place.
I certainly miss seeing the Soviet Union's ice hockey team play the game the way it was meant to be played and WIN WIN WIN!
with class and sportsmanship.
You're not alone in this.
I bought my Kharlamov #17 CCCP jersey last year... :)
@CalcioEUnico
They took the sport to heights never seen before nor since...
From 1984 until the mass migration, aka NHL draft in 1992-93, they were practically unbeatable.
And FUN to watch.
little czechoslovakia beat them and everybody the world in ice hockey. there used to be a rivalry colourful verbal exchange on the ice. but that is the past now. everything is about the money and politics and not about the prestige of a country. slovak icehockey team brought home a medal from abroad and found the ukrainian flag hanging at the presidential palace where they had been invited. they declined and instead stayed in the streets with ordinary people and fans.
@Mor Ho
That's a great story, however...
What was "little Czechoslovakia's" national and club team record vs. NHL clubs?
The CCCP and Elite League club record vs. NHL clubs is 153 wins 52 loses and 10 draws approximately give or take a game either way in each tally.
That's essentially perfection from the 1950's to the 1990's
Those were the days
excellent documentary 👍👍👍
That is, the creators of this film decided that Ukraine is the human face of russia? I understand that in those days Soviet propaganda convinced that all peoples in this red empire are one people. But doesn't it seem a little stupid to present this film when russia itself showed the whole world its real, not quite human, face? And when the whole curtain that was there then fell long ago and everyone saw the price at which the picture shown in this film was set
Now I must hear the Soviet anthem.
Of course:
th-cam.com/video/Th-Z6le3bHA/w-d-xo.html
Now we must hear the Soviet Anthem, comrade.
turn on the Russian, it has not changed much
Practically a fantasy world. I’m sure there were serious societal problems there and then, but I’d trade my life in 2023 for life there in 1984 - that society looks so inviting vs. what we have today in the USA.
The Soviet Union was the closest we got to true communism in would give anything to live there instead of the hell that is late stage capitalism
1984 USA beats modern USA. Culture and Society are far worse now then back then. That is just a fact.
Oh yeah, food shortages, no political or democratic rights, rampant corruption, zero choice in the products available to you, poor pay.
Wonderful place the USSR.