The idea of a site about the USSR (Soviet Union) has been in my head for a long time. But it was not clear what kind of format it would be. A blog, a photo archive, a historical site, or something else? And yesterday I heard the Beatles’ Back in USSR and it came together. It will be a return to the USSR. Of course, only a virtual one, as much as possible.
Most of all, of course, it will be about the eighties. Because those were the years of childhood and youth – the sweetest years of life. When you remember those years, it feels like it was always sunny there.
Lenin Library (Unsplash License)
Let’s try to figure out what was so attractive about life in the USSR, besides the fact that the grass was greener and the sun shone brighter – we already understood that :)
Advantages of living in the USSR
Socialism. Social benefits were available to everyone. Education was free. Secondary, specialized, higher, and postgraduate. Medicine was also free. Whether they (education and medicine) were the best in the world, as they were positioned, is a question. Pensions, travel vouchers, sanatoriums, clubs, sports sections.
Happy childhood. There was a slogan: “For our happy childhood… etc.” That was true. Clubs, sports sections, pioneer camps – all this was either free or for a symbolic fee.
Armament. The USSR had the best armament in the world. Because “Good must come with fists” (M. Svetlov). During the “Cold War” there was the so-called “Arms Race”.
Science. The science of the USSR was the best in the world. This is evidenced by the successes in nuclear energy – the first nuclear power plant was built, the first satellite was launched, the first man flew into space. It may seem strange, but the first computer was also created in the USSR.
Culture. World-famous writers, poets, musicians, theater and circus artists.
Soviet sports. Everyone could do sports from childhood and absolutely free of charge. All conditions were created for this. From the promotion of a healthy lifestyle to sports complexes. And it is not surprising that in many sports disciplines we had no equal.
Guaranteed work. It was almost impossible to lose your job. Quite the opposite. If you didn’t work, you were considered a parasite and an antisocial element.
Housing. Everyone in the USSR had the right to housing. It could be just a room in a dorm or a communal apartment, but it was guaranteed. To get a separate apartment, you had to stand in line. But apartments were actually given out. For example, I lived in a free apartment as a child. It was possible not to stand in line. There were so-called cooperative apartments. Payment in installments, almost like a mortgage. But without interest.
Space. In the USSR, cosmonautics developed at an accelerated pace. We had to show the capitalists the advantages of the socialist system. Therefore, the first satellite, the first man in space, the first spacewalk – these are all the merits of the USSR.
Food. Of course, it is difficult to judge the naturalness and taste of food from the past now. But the opinions of many who were there coincide. The food was chemical-free and very tasty. I personally remember rubbery, but amazingly tasty cutlets.
Household appliances. Not all appliances were equally good. But there are bright examples of brilliant quality. For example, refrigerators. Two of them, made in the Soviet Union, are in the country and are still in working order. Or, let’s say, cameras – they were valued even abroad and are valued now.
Convincing arguments? Are we going to the USSR? ;)
P.s. Of course, the USSR had its shortcomings. I remember them too, but I kept silent about them deliberately, so as not to spoil the positive picture of the fairy tale to which we wanted to return.
Using:
https://v1.ru/text/gorod/2020/12/23/69653596/
https://www.eg.ru/society/359832-chto-v-sssr-bylo-luchshe-chem-seychas/