It’s also interesting how people who’s 50, who would have been around 18 when the USSR collapsed or their country seceeded and would have spent their entire adulthood and potentially a part of their teenhood bearing the shockwaves rocking every part of their country under the newly established capitalism (their supposed liberation and salvation and who their new governments claimed would fix literally everything and make them not miserable anymore) that nearly destroyed plenty of Eastern European countries, are overwhelmingly against the USSR, but the trend goes to far more favorable of the USSR the older you get. I’m sure it’s just nostalgia though, the oldest people are just behind on the times and their opinions don’t count.
Edit: I fixed a miscalculation I made regarding how old people were when the USSR collapsed. My bad.
The USSR collapsed in 1991 so you would be 18 then if you’re 50 now. It very much depends on where in the USSR you were, the countries resisting their imperialism got the worse of it. In the baltics most older folks lost family or friends to the occupation so their views on it aren’t actually favourable, especially if they remember the time before occupation.
Here there is a cesspit of inexperienced communists. That means you are dreaming of something written in books or explained by other dreamers but haven’t yourself experience the “superior” lifestyle of the “new man”.
I haven’t read all the links in detail but at least the statistics concerning my country are total bullshit. They aren’t faked but the results are misrepresented in a more perverse and I dare to say “comunist way” (meaning the same practices that dominated my country and society for 45 years).
L.E.: it seems my comment hit a sensitive spot. Thank you!
Would Chinese people tell you they hate their government? Is Chinese authoritarianism a good thing just because the people within China don’t complain?
Harvard even discusses their methods of gathering honest information from locals and how they try to ensure people aren’t lying because they’re afraid of retribution. Surely the most famous and prestigious university in the US would have thought of that.
It’s unsurprising that many Russians look back fondly to the time when they had imperial domination over more than a dozen foreign countries, looting them for resources and using them as military puppets.
Russia is sometimes included in that, I wasn’t. My apologies for being unclear. Russia is the former imperial center of the Soviet Empire, so they benefited dramatically from the labor and resources of their colonies. They also never adopted the kind of modern democratic capitalism which was a competing ideology to communism during the Cold War, instead adopting a form of fascism, so I thought it was obvious to anyone that when making the comparison between capitalism and communism in Eastern Europe, a good faith participant in a discussion would look at Bulgaria, Poland, East Germany, etc.
When you’re contrasting communism and capitalism, it’s strange to do it by asking someone in a fascist kleptocracy whether they miss being at the heart of a massive empire
Russia is about the only former communist nation which is worse off now, excepting perhaps Ukraine - blame Russia for that, too - and it’s because they’re Russia, not because they’re ex communists.
Non-russians especially in Central Asia voted to not dissolve the USSR at a much higher rate than Russians in 1991, so claiming it was a Russian empire is a bit nonsensical.
For those interested, Dessalines’ “what would be X like under communism” is a helpful aggregated of discussions regarding this: https://dessalines.github.io/essays/socialism_faq.html#what-would-x-be-like-under-communism
Hey! Literal communist propaganda. Honestly, the better thing to do instead of this is just ask someone over 50 who lives or lived in Eastern Europe.
“Did people in the USSR hate their governments?” - https://dessalines.github.io/essays/socialism_faq.html#did-the-citizens-of-the-soviet-union-dislike-their-government
“Did the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries have functioning democracies?” - https://dessalines.github.io/essays/socialism_faq.html#did-the-soviet-union-and-the-warsaw-pact-nations-have-functioning-democracies
It’s also interesting how people who’s 50, who would have been around 18 when the USSR collapsed or their country seceeded and would have spent their entire adulthood and potentially a part of their teenhood bearing the shockwaves rocking every part of their country under the newly established capitalism (their supposed liberation and salvation and who their new governments claimed would fix literally everything and make them not miserable anymore) that nearly destroyed plenty of Eastern European countries, are overwhelmingly against the USSR, but the trend goes to far more favorable of the USSR the older you get. I’m sure it’s just nostalgia though, the oldest people are just behind on the times and their opinions don’t count.
Edit: I fixed a miscalculation I made regarding how old people were when the USSR collapsed. My bad.
The USSR collapsed in 1991 so you would be 18 then if you’re 50 now. It very much depends on where in the USSR you were, the countries resisting their imperialism got the worse of it. In the baltics most older folks lost family or friends to the occupation so their views on it aren’t actually favourable, especially if they remember the time before occupation.
The economically left in Russia are also socially conservative (unlike in most western countries).
Tell that to Ukraine and Kazakstan!
Here there is a cesspit of inexperienced communists. That means you are dreaming of something written in books or explained by other dreamers but haven’t yourself experience the “superior” lifestyle of the “new man”.
I haven’t read all the links in detail but at least the statistics concerning my country are total bullshit. They aren’t faked but the results are misrepresented in a more perverse and I dare to say “comunist way” (meaning the same practices that dominated my country and society for 45 years).
L.E.: it seems my comment hit a sensitive spot. Thank you!
Would Chinese people tell you they hate their government? Is Chinese authoritarianism a good thing just because the people within China don’t complain?
Most don’t, supported by a Harvard study of all things, not the CPC or Chinese media: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/long-term-survey-reveals-chinese-government-satisfaction/
Harvard even discusses their methods of gathering honest information from locals and how they try to ensure people aren’t lying because they’re afraid of retribution. Surely the most famous and prestigious university in the US would have thought of that.
Damn good read. Thanks
If capitalism destroyed Eastern Europe, it’s news to Eastern Europe
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/03/24/75-of-russians-say-soviet-era-was-greatest-time-in-countrys-history-poll-a69735
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1128057/russia-opinion-on-dissolution-of-the-ussr-by-age/
It’s unsurprising that many Russians look back fondly to the time when they had imperial domination over more than a dozen foreign countries, looting them for resources and using them as military puppets.
You said:
Are you backing down on that statement now or are you saying that Russia isn’t in Eastern Europe?
Russia is sometimes included in that, I wasn’t. My apologies for being unclear. Russia is the former imperial center of the Soviet Empire, so they benefited dramatically from the labor and resources of their colonies. They also never adopted the kind of modern democratic capitalism which was a competing ideology to communism during the Cold War, instead adopting a form of fascism, so I thought it was obvious to anyone that when making the comparison between capitalism and communism in Eastern Europe, a good faith participant in a discussion would look at Bulgaria, Poland, East Germany, etc.
Silly of me the think that someone who lived in Russia during the USSR would know what it’s like to live under communism
When you’re contrasting communism and capitalism, it’s strange to do it by asking someone in a fascist kleptocracy whether they miss being at the heart of a massive empire
Russia is about the only former communist nation which is worse off now, excepting perhaps Ukraine - blame Russia for that, too - and it’s because they’re Russia, not because they’re ex communists.
Non-russians especially in Central Asia voted to not dissolve the USSR at a much higher rate than Russians in 1991, so claiming it was a Russian empire is a bit nonsensical.
Check out the sources on this Wikipedia article
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_Union_referendum