Soviet Union Nostalgia

[Arlekino]

Dear Comrades
I grateful wanted to send writings from Lithuanian communism Forum, his name is Zilvinas, he was agree I could post his beautiful thoughts about Soviet Union Nostalgia please read because it gave so truth about reality of Soviet Union life. There are about 6 pages so I would send every day one page.
Yours struggle.

There are some people that wonder what the thing is nostalgia for Soviet Union and how it could be possible? Nostalgija It’s very simple. I’ll try to explain his briefly using four generations as an example.
1) Grandma. Free Smetoninė (before Soviet Union) Lithuania. The family had many children. There was a little something to eat. One of the sons of the family for the last penny is sent to teach in the city. However, the family will have greater to show up. Daughters for bourgeoisies should work all the summer for just regular meals. It was great happiness if their daughters were given away second-hand clothes as farewell. Not that the word "great happiness" it was simply unprecedented festival.
2) Mom. Soviet era. After a decade of war has passed. The family lived in his house and had its own land (some can tell there was no private property, but does it matters how it was legally set up. You just had your land for your needs. Of course not square kilometres size, but more than enough for even very big family), a few cows, a few pigs, sheep, and hens. All children studied. It was mandatory. I would say this was quite a difference in comparison with grandma’s generation. Primary classes were in local village. Higher classes have to travel to the nearest town. To save time children went to boarding school (I do not know if word “boarding” is right. It’s some sort of secondary school where you can sleep at nights) Every weekend children come back to farmstead, helped parents. Every Saturday evening someone in the Village organised dance parties. Musicians were villagers. So many good small adventures happened there. It’s something nice to remember. Maybe it not sounds as paradise, but believe me, my mom remembers it with great dose of nostalgia. Why? It’s just because to be happy do not means to have things. It means to have something to live for, to have someone to love, to have a dream, to have family, friends. After graduating from high school all children were gone through to higher education, received dormitories, scholarships which was not only enough for regular meals and dress, but still was sufficient for gifts for family. Being higher education children received work assignments (unemployment was illegal). Several years later they received flats. Every weekend, children come back to the loving family or go to stay with relatives or friends. Life was simple. Tomorrow was certain. Mind was free. And believe me that was very comfortable.

It will continue more writings.

[Arlekino]

Dear Comrades I posted second part of Soviet Nostalgia writings from Zilvinas please feel free to ask questions or some comments.
Thank you.


Me. I had wonderful childhood. We are runner yards ascended wooden gates. Of course I had to help parents and grandparents and must admit that that part was not most pleasant, but without misery no one can’t tell what happiness is. I was born and lived in city by Lithuanian standards. We had flat. Apartments were just ok. These days ordinary apartments no not look much different, some even worse. Of course few real estates these days are unbelievable luxurious. Main difference that these days there are more big TV’s, fridges, other house machinery, but it’s just technology progress. Sometimes we were concerned about some nice stuff from abroad, it was possible to get it from “black market” although it was not easy. That “black market” were basically sailors. They had opportunities to go to town when loading abroad. Other “black market” was people who had close relatives abroad. It was possible for them to get permission to go abroad to visit relatives. One more source was few big shops in Moscow. There you could get much more than in ordinary shops. But result was not worth the trouble for the most. Prices was not big problem. It was hard to get foreign goods. We had money. We had not much to buy. Can you imagine that?. It may sound funny but ordinary chewing gum from abroad was something unreal to children. We had chewing gum and it was not so bad, but we had only three sorts. Most wanted things from abroad were cassette players. We had them too but design was poor. Foreign players just were so beautiful… Much later we learned that our ugly players had much better sound quality. And when I look back now, I just begin to understand that freedom in our minds was just many cheap beautiful cassette players and chewing gum wrapped into colourful papers with good dose of synthetic aroma. Now we have so many of it and so cheap. But do we still need it? No! Nobody even cares about it. What we care about these days? It’s tomorrow. We are uncertain about it. Is dreaming about nice toys is worse than fear of tomorrow? That explains our nostalgia. Careless living that is what we had and what we have lost. It’s depression what we have got in return. Depression kills dreams. Depression kills love. Competition gives you depression. Capitalism gives you competition. And then you become zombie. But then life was different. It was full of action. There was not much time left for bad moods. We were interacting a lot with friends, relatives, had many sport and culture centres. But you never felt like an idiot just because you classmate’s ribbon costs more than your all wearing.

[Arlekino]

Dear Comrades I posted third part of Soviet Nostalgia writings from Zilvinas please feel free to ask questions or some comments.
Thank you.


Comes to freedom. We wanted it. Oh yes we did! We thought everything will stay same just we will have now that beautiful cassette payers, scented and coloured chewing gum and holidays on sunny beaches of Mallorca. But s uddenly we had to eat only basic meal. Flour and sugar for the vouchers. All are driven to Poland, Yugoslavia. Brings any piece of metal for a synthetic shine jewel as American Indians for colour glass piece gave to everything. “ Smart” get richer. Jobs are not popular anymore for working class. It is a shame even to say that you work. Hordes of “new b usinessman” by train or by bus transporting sweets to Russia then transporting back metal junk and that metal junk further to Yugoslavia. Such kind of “business” had quite a short live About higher education or specialty to purchase already sacrificed. “Business” has been more important. "Business” was cool thing. Want to be cool guy? Then transport spoons by bags to Yugoslavia. Isn’t this sound stupid? But it was real. Is this seems like a good way of living? And what in return? Money? If few earned pennies could be called money then yes. Is no version longer to stay in country because is no work. Everything that was produced then now is imported. Why? It’s simple. It’s just almighty free trade and free competition. Now we are just another market for monstrous corporations. Some time we got money to import goods by selling everything we had - factories, land and so on. But now we’re sold out. Few last years we used to import goods by borrowing money. But these days are over too. Can’t imagine what waits us around the corner. Where was government? They were hard working on how to make money… for themselves and for their sponsors. They must work off their election campaigns.
No free health care, no free education. Now it’s business. What is worst about it that you have no any choice when you’re in trouble. Medicine shipments and prices are under strict control of government. And government is under strict control of “drug dealers”. There is no way “almighty free market” can help you somehow. I wonder what an animal one must be to make money on someone’s health? Apologies to animals they are not worth such a dirty comparison.
So “spoon business” is over, no education, no speciality what’s left to do? Hmmm… Lets go abroad to work in unskilled jobs for a quarter of the price, and take up local worker jobs. Nobody likes people like that. Nobody likes people who come to eat from foreign table and even forget to wash their own dishes afterwards.
Then came uncles from abroad to buy Lithuania.They acted like drug dealers. They have given to the people what was necessary - drugs (money) for free (almost). Well the time has come when all of Lithuania was hooked, then those dealers raised “drugs” prices so high that two remaining resorts would be the rear end to make for themselves or for “dealers”. The situation became critical!Oi ...
Oops ... away from the subject. It is about Soviet Nostalgia. So family and friends there is no time, by the way there’s a little friends, is just a lack of money. Nobody remember where the relatives lives, when their birthdays. There’s no time. There’s only competition that will bring prosperity somehow someday.The dances, the cinema, nobody does paying attention anymore. Someone says movies are better now, but that not make any difference since nobody cares about them anyway. We had about twenty cinemas in our town, now we have two. What happened? So good new movies and nobody wants to go to the cinema? Can explain that. First of all it’s quite expensive if you have a wife and 3 children. Other thing when you have depression and uncertainty about tomorrow ,your thoughts just do not even get close to that. Others say Hollywood movies now are cooked on one template, like everything in capitalism - just beautiful packaging but content can hardly be found inside. ... And in the case it could, it soooo cheap...- It’s easy to explain though: gain = selling price - cost.. The lower the cost the bigger the gain.

[Yazman]

Wow, thank you so much Rasyte, I really appreciate your posting this. If there's any more you're welcome to post it :D Take care.

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

This reminds me of the UK nationalists who go on about there childhood as if it took place in the garden of edan.

[Das war einmal]

Really interesting read. I've already consider the post-soviet economic 'boom' in the Baltic states as fake and manufactured but its good to see it acknowledged out of first hand.

[Uncle Ho]

Really interesting read. I've already consider the post-soviet economic 'boom' in the Baltic states as fake and manufactured but its good to see it acknowledged out of first hand.

All economic booms are manufactured, as the economic statistics used to justify them only represent how prolifically the rich have raped the poor, and they have no bearing on the working man.

However, the politicians trot them out and will swear up and down how important these numbers are, so clearly, they must mean SOMETHING!

Getting people to explain what that something is, however, is a different matter.

[gorillafuck]

This reminds me of the UK nationalists who go on about there childhood as if it took place in the garden of edan.
Except that in this case they're complaining about how people are going homeless and no longer have access to universal healthcare, etc. and UK nationalists are complaining about immigrants. Pretty silly comparison (even though the Soviet Union was a generally bad place to be).

[*Viva La Revolucion*]

I appreciate this because it gives another side to the ''Soviet Union was all bad'' argument. It's refreshing to hear a different account of life in Communist Lithuania. That said, I don't think you can call it 'the truth' because it's just one person's experience. I don't think those who suffered under the regime were telling lies, it was just a different experience for them.

I agree with Hammer & Pickle's comment about the nationalists; their nostalgia is only for an all-white Britain and the changes they're resisting are all to do with people from other countries 'invading' and stealing their jobs. It's a very different situation.

[Arlekino]

Dear Struggle comrades with regards please find attached another chapter which is my favoured, I will post tomorrow last chapter from Zilvinas writings and thanks to you all for reading because that is reality of ordinary Soviet life.


By the way, competition - it's all “engine of advancement”. So everyone is “advancing”, 80% of people will not understand why everyone is suffering from such a deep depression after 10 years because of such an “advancement”. Should understand, but no time to think.Tomorrow morning struggle for the stay is waiting again. Must be ready. The only way to relax is to sink the depression in alcohol although this do not earn desired results. Wake up from fresh brains feel even worse. Alcohol weakens the nervous system. So depression only gets deeper. Who could make use of this crap? Logically, that would be someone who makes drugs to fight depression. Six billion potential patients is nothing to sneeze at.
It not weird that living at such a crazy rhythm have earned people nothing but 100 000 EUR of loans somehow? Who is responsible for that? .. Thus, competition forced them to work as hard ... Where is the yield? I can give you a hint. Remember those luxurious real estates I mentioned earlier? Physicians say “nothing appears from nowhere and nothing disappears to nowhere”. I think they’re right.
So everyone around sees injustice, unfairness, corruption and helplessness. Not to say that most people tomorrow can find themselves on the street because of unjustified and unilaterally raised loan interest.
Exercise books are unbelievably expensive. That’s because you can’t choose to buy them or not to – absolutely inelastic demand. So someone with support of government is making easy money. We know how public tenders are won. All schools are short of money so teachers started to collect money from parents without any legal support. In this sad context we recall good old days of Soviet Union. And suddenly our eyes become wet. Our parents had time to spend with their children and not only parents even neighbours, teachers do. We remember shining eyes and happy smiles on faces of our parents. We remember regular travels to relatives and family friends, touring trips, sport events and so on and so on. WE JUST WERE HAPPY! Nobody mentioned politics, state or legal problems. We had more interesting things to talk about. We just can’t help feeling nostalgia to these days. Someone can argue we could not go for vacation to Bahamas but we can’t these days too. These days we can’t even to go to our Lithuanian seaside. No time. No money.
Earlier we all were patriots of Lithuania. Most part of Lithuanian people hates their own homeland now. They call Lithuania republic of banana. Everyone enjoys bad luck of others. What happened to us? I can tell you! It is the way of living in capitalist regime.
Competition teaches to reach goals by all means. Liberals say competition brings progress. I say competition brings enormous overhead and does tremendous hit to progress but this is other topic. Soviet days we thought we had bureaucracy. These days we can only dream about such a miserable bureaucracy we had. There are more office buildings than living buildings built. Old days we do not even imagine what the heck would be a building of offices. How much factories we had! It would be impossible to count. Now it is impossible to find any factory. Who is feeding this army of vermin if everyone is sitting in offices? We were fed by the west, west labour people to be correct. We are not capable to feed ourselves any more. We learned to require beg from the west and are ready to give away everything including our children and our souls for that. Though west do not feed us for free. One thing is loans. It is impossible for us to pay our debts. Our children will be born with debts for very long time. Second thing is market. We are now new market. Third thing is cheap labour. When we are debtors we should be very quite? Right? So puppets? Where is out freedom? We have won it? No! We had lost it for very long time. We have lost not only our property but our happiness, our freedom, our desire to live. Are there still any questions about nostalgia? Now lets talk about forth generation.

[RHIZOMES]

All economic booms are manufactured, as the economic statistics used to justify them only represent how prolifically the rich have raped the poor, and they have no bearing on the working man.

However, the politicians trot them out and will swear up and down how important these numbers are, so clearly, they must mean SOMETHING!

Getting people to explain what that something is, however, is a different matter.

Yeah, like this one middle class wanker I knew that was like "Communism doesn't work just look at their GDP"

[Das war einmal]

All economic booms are manufactured, as the economic statistics used to justify them only represent how prolifically the rich have raped the poor, and they have no bearing on the working man.

However, the politicians trot them out and will swear up and down how important these numbers are, so clearly, they must mean SOMETHING!

Getting people to explain what that something is, however, is a different matter.


Of course you're right but I was talking about the fact that there was no real production behind the figures in contrast to real economic booms that are made ofnthe backs of the proletariat. A simple economic fact is that behind paper money needs to stand something in the sense of a product be it a good or service. The Baltic states economic growth was based on loaned money, a bit like Romania who borrowed money in the seventies.

[Arlekino]

Ok Comrades could I post last chapter of writings about Soviet Union Nostalgia.

4) Our children. They won’t have nostalgia. They have not lived in Soviet Union. But our nostalgia gets deeper looking at them. When I look at them I’m getting scared about future of mankind. They want warmth when they are young but they do not get it. They get “get out off my head. I have plenty of problems besides you”. And they grow … by themselves. Someday they get into their teens. Difficult age. Then street becomes best friend. Every guy and gal has his own knife under his belt. Only losers have not knives. If you are not smoking – you are jerk. Everyone is smoking. Starting from nine years. Maybe you are different? Then you’re gonna stay alone. No parents, no friends. Everyone is drinking. Cider worst-case. Have not tried drugs yet? You won’t be cool then. Sports? What is this stupid thing? Everyone enjoys sex. You are twelve and still do not fucked someone? Better sit at home then. Fifteen years virgins are like diamonds. So expensive? No, so rare.
American style libertine and useless way of living is thrust to young and still little understanding brain like a drug. Sweet idea of liberty and impunity is thrust to them. Nobody cares about that though. Money or to be exact dependence on money overshadow everything. Injured young brain will hardly recover. Maybe some, but scars left from that injuries will be left forever.
In Soviet times there was a school. It’s like echo of some distant sound these days. It’s good question what’s the point to go to this institution by now. Education system is almost totally. Few decades will not be enough to rebuild it. School has no right to raise and educate children. That is not schools task anymore. Neighbours have not rights to educate children either. Parent rights are too limited too. Law protects children. It protects them from being educated and raised like it should be. We have first results already. Almost every day someone is slain by youngsters. It’s not mafia. It’s the new culture borrowed from overseas. I’m afraid that few years from now you will not be considered a man if not killed someone. As I now, these days if you are eighteen you must have a real gun. Real men walks with real gun. Sports car, thick gold chain on the neck, gun, synthetic muscles, streets slang that’s asset by now. To work is a shame. Nobody who is working lives wealthy, nobody! Where we’re going, people? Maybe it’s time to stop?

[Black Star]

I've read all of this, and while the grammar is obviously a bit wishy-washy, it's beautiful in a haunting way. Especially the end because that's the life of almost every teenager in the 'free' world nowadays. It's very informative into understanding life behind the Iron Curtain. Of course, it's only one person's life so we can't generalize. Thank you for this, Rasyte.

[pranabjyoti]

Of course, it's only one person's life so we can't generalize.
Rasyte (http://www.revleft.com/vb/member.php?u=24985), in his posts, repeatedly mentioned "we", you may call it his personal view, but certainly not "only one person's life".

[Zilvinas]

Hi,

It's me. Author. Sorry for my not very good english.
Soviet union was not paradise, but it was not as bad as you were told.
Off course some people will not agree with me.
But careless life is somethig very good. Belive me.
Life was not so bad. Everyone had what to eat, where to live, education was mandatory, medical care free. Off course it is not everything what you might want to have. But now in Lithuania many people doesn't have it.

[Zilvinas]

Today there's article in Lithuanian newspaper. (I can't paste link :()
Man comitted suicide because he lost his job and could not support his family. All second page of this article is full list of suicides because of similar reasons this year. It's does anyone still think life is better now?

[Coinneach]

Unfortunately there were suicides during the Soviet era as well, and plenty more people going missing due to not agreeing with "communist" policies. You make some good points about the state of the youth today in all countries, but that is not due to nostalgia or longing for the Soviet Union, but due to nostalgia and longing for a time when you believe the world was better off. Older people in the UK share such views about the youth, its a natural thing for the older generations to long for 'back in the day' and to believe that society is degenerating into anarchy and that changing policies are to blame.

In fact if I remember correctly, there was a Sumerian tablet found which said something along the lines of: "Society is in ruin. The young do not listen to their elders, and they do not take heed of the gods." :D

[pranabjyoti]

Unfortunately there were suicides during the Soviet era as well, and plenty more people going missing due to not agreeing with "communist" policies. You make some good points about the state of the youth today in all countries, but that is not due to nostalgia or longing for the Soviet Union, but due to nostalgia and longing for a time when you believe the world was better off. Older people in the UK share such views about the youth, its a natural thing for the older generations to long for 'back in the day' and to believe that society is degenerating into anarchy and that changing policies are to blame.
In fact if I remember correctly, there was a Sumerian tablet found which said something along the lines of: "Society is in ruin. The young do not listen to their elders, and they do not take heed of the gods." :D
Man, IT'S NOT ABOUT THE YOUNG DO NOT LISTEN TO THE ELDERS. IT'S ABOUT THE YOUNG DON'T HAVE THE BASIC NEEDS AS THE ELDERS. Your heading is junior revolutionary, but you talk like a worst reactionary.

[Coinneach]

Well thank you for that wonderful contribution to the debate, now please stop insulting me and turn off caps lock ;)

I'm simply saying that I'm of the opinion that Soviet Union nostalgia is primarily caused by the older generation looking back at what was good, seeing that the youth don't have it and blaming it on the main change since then - the lack of Soviet Union, whilst completely disregarding the worst things about that time. Feel free to react in a civil manner for crying out loud, not all of us here are 12-year olds who've seen some youtube videos so are here because we think its cool.

[pranabjyoti]

I'm simply saying that I'm of the opinion that Soviet Union nostalgia is primarily caused by the older generation looking back at what was good, seeing that the youth don't have it and blaming it on the main change since then - the lack of Soviet Union, whilst completely disregarding the worst things about that time. Feel free to react in a civil manner for crying out loud, not all of us here are 12-year olds who've seen some youtube videos so are here because we think its cool.
In my opinion, those people, who are in your opinion "nostalgic" about former USSR, are more capable of saying about the "worst" things than outsiders like us. My request to you, kindly come to any third world country which was under colonial rule at that time and try to find how many people are "nostalgic" about that period. Just compare the % and I think that will be a lesson in itself.

[narcomprom]

it depends, pranabjyoti. people tend to be nostalgic when there is something to be nostalgic about. People who lost their standing will always pine for the ancien regime.

[Zilvinas]

Nobody says everything was great but nothing was awfull either. Everinthing was normal. I'll try to translate one quote from documentary.
Words of former soviet citizen who currently lives in Manhattan and has good amount of money in his bank account: "Living in Soviet Union and having only 3 rubles in my pocket I coud spend them on alcohol, I could give it to my friend, loose it or throw into waste basket but I knew that I'm not lost without it, i'm not gonna die of starvation, I'm not gonna sleep like dog under the bridge but living in USA and having $3000 in my pocket at no cost I spend it on alcohol, do not give it to anyone and will not loose it because without it I will be NOTHING and when I'll be dying like a dog under the bridge body will help me"
It seems too hard to understand what is the feeling when you know that there is invisible hand which cares about you everytime. It's good. You feel secure. Off cource you do not feel free. Not free to kill. Not free to steal and so on couse the hand sees it too. And youth raises true people cause the feel th hand watching them. It is good. Believe me. In Soviet Union there were many things to improove it's true, but not to break it apart.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Zilvinas, whilst I respect your opinion and the opinion of the former Soviet citizen, it is hard to take one source such as this as conclusive. There are former Soviet citizens of all ilks - socialist, Communist, capitalist and apolitical - who have a range of opposing viewpoints on life in the USSR.

As a historian, I find it fascinating to look at the evidence of former citizens, as really, it is hard to credit/discredit these people as it is with sources from senior Communists or counter-revolutionaries.

[pranabjyoti]

it depends, pranabjyoti. people tend to be nostalgic when there is something to be nostalgic about. People who lost their standing will always pine for the ancien regime.
If they lost their standings due to their own doing, they themselves should be responsible for that. During fight with the colonizers, many freedom fighters lost more than what the "oppressed people of soviet regime" lost. But, in my country at least, they aren't giving interviews to the imperialist controlled media about how bad things are in the colonial rule. (Sorry, no "media" have so far compared the "colonial rules" with the "soviet regime".:)).

[bailey_187]

There are former Soviet citizens of all ilks - socialist, Communist, capitalist and apolitical - who have a range of opposing viewpoints on life in the USSR.

Yes, but the largest Communist parties and groups in Russia uphold the USSR as Socialist

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Well the largest Communist groups amount to a tiny minority, even amongst the left. Many of us are not Communist and do not share this view.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

I don't pigeon hole myself into a particular grouping. I am a Socialist and I am open to new ideas, I prefer not to align myself to a particular dogma. I don't share the Marxist-Leninist or Stalinist way of thought though, no.

I am no more impressed, mind, by the activities of groupings within the left, such as the Trotskyists, who also seem to be happy to score cheap points against Stalinists and other anti-revisionists.

No wonder the left is in a mess. We should really be able to put these problems to one side, whilst we work together to bring down capitalism.

[bailey_187]

Well the largest Communist groups amount to a tiny minority, even amongst the left. Many of us are not Communist and do not share this view.

What?

The second biggest party in Russia is the KPRF. Although they are Reformist, they still uphold the USSR as Socialist

I dont know what the biggest "revolutionary left" (seeing as you dont like the word Communist) party in Russia, maybe Woland can tell us

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

You can't pick and choose when to support parties or not.

A reformist Communist Party that views the USSR with legitimacy is not likely to have a majority of Russia's socialists in its ranks, let's face it.
Besides, there are reformist Communist Parties spread all over Eastern Europe that support, publicly, the USSR in order to promote a certain image for their own party; after all, they are Bourgeois parties now, they want to win elections, not establish another USSR. Belarus and Moldova's anachronistic 'Communist' Parties would fit this bill.

[bailey_187]

You can't pick and choose when to support parties or not.

I dont support the KPRF. I dont support any party in Russia. If i lived in Russia though, i would probably support the AKM



A reformist Communist Party that views the USSR with legitimacy is not likely to have a majority of Russia's socialists in its ranks, let's face it.

What party in Russia does?
Russian Communist Workers' Party – Revolutionary Party of Communists is quite big, does that? I dont know

How many of the "revolutionary socialist" parties support the USSR?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Political_parties_in_Russia


I really dont know what point you are trying to make here. That most "Socialists" in Russia dont think the USSR was Socialist?