Englishman Reacts to... What Life in the Soviet Union Was Like

[@RobReacts1]

If you are enjoying my reactions to all things Poland, make sure you go and watch out trips to Poland on our vlog channel and subscribe! We have vlogs from Gdansk, Kraków and Wrocław. kzbin.info/aero/PLw4JaWCFm7FeHG7Ad5PtaZzoYd1Vq5EXW

[@pandzida98765]

If someone complains about capitalism, they should be taken back in time and told to live for a year in the Soviet Union, East Germany or in today's North Korea. Then he will quickly stop complaining that capitalism is bad.

[@CMDRSloma]

I was 9 years old when PRL and communism ended, but I still rememberer queues in front of the grocery shops, my grandma and my mum had to stand in order to but rationed stuff. I still have some old rationing cards from that time. Grocery shops were all w nearly empty shelves but vodka, vinegar, milk were always there as far as I remember. My whole family wasn't is terrible situation as had big a farm where I spent my summer break every year and most of the farms weren't collectivized in Poland compared to Soviet Union. My dad was allowed to have even small business, as he worked as a private plumber and employed four other guys. And then everything changed overnight with hyperinflation, mass unemployment in the early 90ties. Poland might be a prosperous country now, but it still has a lot to catch up, especially with terms of income, and forget statistics because these do not reflect what life is in poorer parts of Poland, specifically on the eastern side of Vistula.

[@witoldknitter4995]

I remember when Vladimir Brodski,musician from Soviet Union, came to Poland,when was martial law said "I felt like at home, because in Soviet Union martial law was all the time"....!

[@HEN-Huzar]

In Poland there were also recordings using old x-rays. I was born in 1981. I remember when I was a few years old, a lady in a fish shop gave me and my mother caviar paste "ABBA" from under the counter just because I had curly blonde hair.😅 Just like that boy on the tube😂

[@_Arrashii]

Remember we weren't part of USSR, so we dont know how it exactly looked like. PRL wasn't the same, fortunately.

[@paulinama8517]

I was born in the late 1980s but I know it from history lessons and stories. I am surprised that these facts surprise you xd When older generations talk about what happened and what absurdities there were, we pee ourselves laughing.

[@agnieszka7231]

I was born in communism. From my childhood I remember queues for everything. There was only vinegar in the stores. The cards were for meat, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes and gasoline. Sick system. My grandparents lived through the period of Stalinism, when people disappeared from the streets - historians say there were 150,000 victims of Stalinism in Poland. After Stalin's death, there was less political murder and then Poland gained the reputation of "the funniest barracks in the camp". Our solution to the madness we were forced to live in was to laugh at everything. I remember when in 1989 the news reported historic information. Actress Joanna Szczepkowska said, "Ladies and gentlemen, on June 4, 1989, communism ended in Poland." My mother and grandparents cried with happiness.

[@Myndir]

Poland was definitely the funniest. Polish joke from that period: "Under capitalism, man exploits his fellow man. Under socialism, it's the other way around!"

[@aleksanderdomanski222]

Rob, point is not in prices but availability. Beer was maybe cheap but kinda sparse. I mean there was constant shotrage of that, not due to excesive drinking (not mostly) but due to low production (a common fault of planned economics). At least that was in 80`s cos that how far my memory goes. In most cases you could go to the shop but there was raely beer there, or often any useful stuff (it was kinda common joke that in grocery there was only winegar to buy). They "throw it" (as people said those times) and in matter of hours (sometimes 2-3) it was all sold out. Sometimes there were lines forming even before delivery due to people having some tips about it. So people were hunting for such occasions. And shop clerks had goodlike social status. They could "hide under the desk" (another saing) rare commodities then sell them to friends and relatives. Or just had knowledge where some goods will arrive so they would inform those lucky ones they "liked". But remember - eastern block was not about price but you being able to find shop with things you wanted. Or having a connections (very important thing) that helped You to get that things. Otherwise you had to go for black market and buy things at much higher price (often many times higher). i remember that for some really rare commodities (like TV or washing machine) lines were forming days before delivery and waited patiently (often family members taking turns). That hapened oten due to people having tips, then that knowledge spreading like wildfire. Sometimes people were joining lines without knowing what it is for. If it was that meant it was worth it. And you could alvays sell not needed commodity on black market for nice money gain. There was even a kinda job of line waiter - someone who for money hold place in line for those unable to (due to work for example) but having a bit more money than others. Anyway that was whole other, very weird world. People often had money but there was not much of real value to buy for that. Which meant that in most cases money had not as much value as in our world today. If You visit Gdańsk write me, and i might act ad Your free guide and explain some things for Your better understanding. (and show some real places, not so obvious "tourist" ones). And do not be afraid to PM me for any questions you might have. ps: This video is in many aspects a total BS. For example cars - they were at atrocious quality. Quite often when you bought them yo hat do go to garadge for total check and repair what was already broken (i am talking about brand new car). They were so crude and kinda tough cos they were based often on very oudated western technologies (where cars had to be like that). And factories were simply unable to do any more advanced things with some basic reliability do they had to do crude ones.

[@KokoSzanel-r2e]

I remember standing in these lines with my family, each family member in a different line to buy whatever we could. You had to get up early in the morning and sometimes you had to work all day long or exchanged with someone in the queue. Anyone who had a family of sellers had goods "under the counter", i.e. a store employee kept something for him so that he wouldn't run out. Therefore, sellers had quite a high social status. Especially in the butcher shop, where you could get a fresh piece of meat. It was these absurd absurdities that made people want to fight the system which humiliate people that way

[@mago82]

I was born in 1982 in Poland, so when this hell ended after the 1989 elections I was only 7. But I do remember standing in queues with my mum and my sister. I remember using newspapers as toilet paper because sometimes there was no toilet paper and you had to go to special places where you exchanged old newspapers or books for toilet paper. I do remember that it was a struggle to get anything. My dad went to nearby cities to get some canned ham for Christmas because there was a company that produced cold meats. I remember him travelling to different parts of Poland to get paint or wallpapers. He travelled to different parts of Poland to get a special baby formula for me because I was so ill. I specifically remember one time standing in a queue. My mum, after a day at work, collected my sister and me from kindergarten and we went to the shop. We were standing for two hours and we were just about to buy some lousy meat when some important guy cut the line and took that last piece. We came home, my mum threw her shopping bag on the floor and started to cry. I also remember the feeling of relief that I could feel from the adults in June of 1989 when finally communism ended in Poland. You could literally feel it. People seemed... how to put it in words... so light and relieved, they were finally smiling.

[@mago82]

When my dad was in Solidarność in our town and went to his workplace and there was a strike, he told my mum to take my sister (I wasn't born yet then) and go to his parents' who lived in a nearby village. At least they would have something to eat. Now we laugh when watching "Miś" or other films about those times but it was scary and stressful to live then. I was born at the beginning of martial law and my dad borrowed a car from our neighbour to drive my mum to hospital. They were stopped by soldiers who were in the streets because the labour started when there was curfew. The soldiers let them go and contacted others to tell them not to stop that car

[@yurikropotov3135]

dude names communist's time as an 'hell' but sounds none about things that commyes gives for free to him: medical care, after school's a university education, individual living place, free loans, air travelling cheapest in a world, no drugs safe society. Also that were a same commyes that gives an 8hrs/day workday length standart, worker life insurance, social care e.t.c. Before October Revolution this social stuff wasn't exists at any country on the planet. Things that he's rememberence : queues and bad toilet paper.

[@no_triggerwarning9953]

I visited Moscow in 1987 when the USSR was opening up under Mikhail Gorbachev; he was the leader from 1985 until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. It certainly didn't look like a super power with the empty shops. There was no rationing, just a shortage of goods. Corruption was a problem as staff in shops knew when goods were being delivered so people would bribe staff to tip them of when goods were coming in or staff would put goods aside for people that had paid a bribe. There were also well stocked shops at the airport that only foreigners could shop at. These had prices marked in Rubles however you could only pay in hard foreign currency. There was a board with the conversion rate of about 20 major western currencies to Rubles at the cashier. Cars in the USSR were expensive and had a waiting list of years from placing your order so if you had one you looked after it.

[@robertmurray8763]

Family members lived in Hungary 🇭🇺 during the 1970s, and they didn't like continually being spied on and rationing, shortages many products that we think as staples. They would fly to London and go shopping, because they were Canadian citizens.

[@yuukonen]

Meanwhile PRL the paradise of "etykieta zastępcza", "produkt niepełnowartościowy" 20:48 even if it's all u know, it's not like all info was banned from the west, people in PRL or USSR were aware that we are behind in everything n when there's no products in your local groceries store it's hard to just "be ok with it" those things are quite hard to ignore, obv you just live through that but ... it's not fun, the other questionable thing during those times was questionable education which was for some reason not mentioned in this video

[@TheseTagsAreUseless]

could you react to some video about what life in communist poland was like to compare to that video about ussr

[@RobReacts1]

If you know of any videos. sure

[@TheseTagsAreUseless]

@@RobReacts1 unfortunately i don't know any good video, but maybe someone knows and want to share in the comments

[@kikiv1993]

@@RobReacts1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJW5paeZltxlj8U

[@akasharaider5644]

Toilet paper was a luxury, and even when you could get it it was hard and with huge parts of old news papers, sometimes big enough to read them... 4 soup bars p/month per family, contact to the family was impossible almost. First ... only some people have had telephones in their homes, (my family waited for telephone 23 years - till 1996, two years later I had my first mobile) so to phone a family on the other side Poland we must send letter and set a time and place and or go to someone who has phone or go to the Post Office and book the phone to another city and wait in queue (yes, like for everything else) sometimes minutes, sometimes hours... And then even when you talk with the family all calls were controlled (cenzored) and you couldn't speak openly cuz you could be arrested for everything. I have PTSD from my childhood and I was always scared that my mom be arrested so even when she was 2 min too late from work I've started crying. Every day... I remember when Milicja was first called Policja (Police)- then for the first time I've stop of being affraid... It was in '90...

[@DremoraKynmarcher]

To mi przypomina sytuację z mojego dzieciństwa. Papier toaletowy to był bardzo deficytowy towar. Do zatłoczonego autobusu wsiadła kobieta z dziesięcioma rolkami papieru na sznurku. Takie pęto miała z tego papieru przewieszone przez ramię. Kto żył w tych czasach to pamięta. Więc tak, dziesięć rolek, ciasny autobus, wszyscy patrzą na to bogactwo i każdy zazdrości ale stara się zachowywać cywilizowanie. Ale atmosfera była gęsta. Aż wreszcie pijany facecik z tłumu nie wytrzymał i jej wygarnął na cały głos: "No jak to się popisuje, no!". Chyba pierwszy raz wtedy dotarło do mnie, do dzieciaka wychowanego w komunie i nie znającego innego świata jaka to jest paranoja.

[@akasharaider5644]

@@DremoraKynmarcher Dokładnie. Ja jeszcze mieszkałam w sąsiedztwie Skupu i ze szkołą i oczywiście prywatnie przynosiliśmy makulaturę i butelki się nosiło za te chociaż kilka rolek papieru. Ale to był luksus, dosłownie. Miałam 12 lat jak usłyszałam, że w innych krajach mają papier we wzorki i motylki i podpaski w kokardki i nie umiałam sobie nawet czegoś takiego wyobrazić. Ale dorastając w tej paranoi i stojąc w kolejkach w Społem za czymkolwiek miałam bolesną świadomość, że jest źle. Dlatego mam PTSD. Dziś wszystko zamawiam online. Nienawidzę zakupów.

[@DremoraKynmarcher]

@@akasharaider5644 mam tak samo 😃Wszystko zamawiam. Jak mam iść do sklepu to muszę się mentalnie przygotować parę godzin wcześniej.

[@akasharaider5644]

@@DremoraKynmarcher Dokładnie. A tak bez stresu pod drzwi i nie muszę robić listy bo sobie na bieżąco doklikuję na listę zakupów w sklepie i dodaję do koszyka.

[@Al1en_Boy_The_5th_Kind]

And basically it’s still going on there like this 🤣

[@Nouharel]

In the East European Food stores here in Germany you can get Russian beer in 2 Liter bottles.

[@ZBYSLAW1000]

I was born 1965.Remember this time.My youth.

[@AngelikaCiurej]

Oczywiście Polska nie należała do ZSRR a była jedynie pod wpływem. Ja nie pamiętam PRLu bo urodziłam się w 1992, ale moi rodzice i dziadkowie doskonale pamiętają. Nie można było nic kupic. Dostawało się bloczki z przydziałem wagowo ale tylko niektórych produktów. Np tylko 700 g mięsa na miesiąc dla jedej rodziny i nie mogłeś ani kupić ani dostać więcej niż było przydzielone. Na takim kartoniku miałeś jeszcze 1kg cukru, mąkę, kaszę i słodycze, ktore mogłeś zamienić na alkohol. Ludzie do sklepów przychodzili o 1 nad ranem i ustawiali sie w kolejce. Rano przyjeżdżał towar. Często okazywało się, że nawet kiedy stałeś od 1 rano w kolejce to przed Tobą była kilometrowa kolejka i kiedy przyszła Twoja kolej to nie bylło już towaru dla Ciebie i wracałeś po 8 czy 15 godzinach stania w kolejce bez towaru. Nie było w ogóle materiałów, żeby można sobie uszyć ubrania. Niemcy i rosjanie wszystko wyczyścili w czasie wojny i po wojnie. Dlatego ludzie głównie mieli wlasne małe gospodarstwa, zeby mieć mleko, robili własny ser, śmietanę i masło. Sadzili ziemniaki i jarzyny. Gdyby ludzie liczyli tylko na państwo i na towar w sklepach to z głodu umarłoby 80% polskiego społeczeństwa. Dodatkowo nie było demokracji, reżim, cenzura, obalenie przezbkomunistów jedynego demokratycznego rządu prawdziwego Polaka- Jana Olszewskiego. Pałowanie na ulicach, mordowanie Polaków za sprzeciw wobec władzy. Od zakończenia wojny do 1989 zostało zamordowanych 180 000 Polaków z 10 mln ktorzy przez dekady prowadzili pomarańczową rewolucję przeciw władzy.

[@kj4923]

For peasants in the 1930s, who did not like to give away everything they produced, life was not difficult, just short.

[@dawidkucinski5214]

In Russia: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (CCCP) In Poland: Związek Socjalistycznych Republik Sowieckich (ZSRS) or... Związek Socjalistycznych Republik Radzieckich (ZSRR)

[@RobReacts1]

Ah I was wondering why it was CCCP

[@yuukonen]

In what universe do we say ZSRS, it was literally changed "into polish-polish" in 1946

[@dawidkucinski5214]

​@@RobReacts1 in general Soviet Union only in cyrilik :)

[@AngelikaCiurej]

​@@dawidkucinski5214przecież to nie prawda. ZSRR lub ZSRS nie obejmowało Polski. U nas używało się tych nazw dla wszystkich 18 republik radzieckich, ale Polska nie była nigdy republiką radziecką. Polska była tylko pod wpływem i nazywało się to PRL. Mieliśmy te same zasady ale nie byliśmy ich własnością terytorialną!

[@meechneek]

See you soon in Wroclaw, Rob 🍻

[@meechneek]

What was Soviet Union like? Well, take a look at North Korea or China today, and it will be somewhat similar at quite a few points. Or you might want to read the classic again - G. Orwell '1984'. IT was something like that, also depends on which period of Soviet Union we're talking, pre- or post-Stalin.

[@lukaszbastler4234]

This movie shows only a top of the iceberg, life was much more cruel

[@andrzejbabiarz8961]

Chryzantemy Złociste. reakcja na to to bęzie złoto (te z przed 15 lat)

[@kacperkusinski5297]

They drinking all the time from centuries

[@ITTom]

Całkowicie się nie zgadzam z tym video. Autor traktuje temat powierzchownie a przez to wkradło się dużo przekłamań. Np.: To że ruskie samochody były siermiężne, nie powodowało automatycznie że byly dobrej jakości. Także Rob, nie bierz tego na poważnie.

[@karolinalatko1802]

We (Poland) weren't a part of the USSR, but Soviets were ruling in Poland for many years. I was born in 1987 - only 2 years before 1st free elections in Poland - so I can't remember those times, but my parents told me a lot about it. Those were harsh years, especially after martial law was introduced. There were soldiers patrolling the streets. One of them pointed his machine gun at my father because dad had an alarm clock in his bag (it was ticking), and the soldier thought it was a bomb. If you happen to find a video about life in Poland under Soviet ruling, watch it. I'm curious about your impressions :)

[@viola_thenatureheals]

I had a different experience of the time when happened martial law, it was not as bad as you say and I come from quite big city.

[@nusior]

@@viola_thenatureheals for normal people it was awful time. So this begs the question why you had different experience...

[@viola_thenatureheals]

@@nusior Because there was a normal family life with the difference that it was poorer than in the West.

[@CezaryStachurski]

Część Rob pozdrawiam 👍

[@RobReacts1]

Część

[@Melh21]

With the alcohol angle…. I’ve seen videos on KZbin that state that peasants were paid for their hard slog with vodka back in Galician Poland / ukraine regions….. 😅😅😅

[@pinotpinotpinot]

On homosexuality: I find it odd that the vid mentions the repressive Staline era politics, but not that the Soviet Union was actually the first country to decriminalize homosexuality.

[@bartoszjasinski]

Rob, can you tell more about Nigel Farage? You describe him very... colorful, but I don't know who he is and what he does. If you have a time for this ofc.

[@RobReacts1]

He is on the far right in the UK. He fought for us to leave the EU. Spouts a lot of misinformation

[@CMDRSloma]

@@RobReacts1 And he can be called russian stooge, since he loves Putler so much.

[@exactlyLondon]

Cześć Przyjacielu!

[@PaweStefaniuk]

FSB? Wasn't it a time KGB?

[@movemelody1]

I can't watch the video, because the words "Sovet Union" makes me sick.🤕

[@paulinama8517]

what? what? - sierp i młot :P

[@KM769]

Russia in 1917 was big, backward and poor country with stupid government (first car Mikolai, then 2 revolutionary governments) involved in world war agains Germany and Austria-Hungary, that were more modern countries (also with stupid governments). German army decided to finance to move Russian communists agitator Lenin from Switzerland (where he was living) to Russia to destabilise Russia and it unfortunately turned out to be enormously successful, because Lenin managed to make coup and take power in Russia in November 1917 (that it is called ‘october revolution’, because Russia had ancient Julian’s calendar changed in western Europe in XVI century). Lenin made peace treaty with his secret allies from Berlin and Viena and withdrown Russia from I world war and started ‘red terror’ to kill or expel his all real or potential enemies. Soviet Russia (called in 1922 Soviet Socialistic Republics Union CCCP or USSR) become totalitarian terror state similar to revolutionary jacobin’s France in 1793-94 or later Nazi state in Germany (Nazi Germany was mix of revolutionary state and antisemitic ideology taken from white Russian migrants to Germany). This totalitarian state lasted after death of Lenin (1924) until death of Stalin (1953). After 1953 terror was gradually diminishing and USSR turned into authoritarian dictatorship without mass terror but with the same revolutionary ideology and with system of prisons and concentration camps called GULAG. USSR had growing economic problems, collapsed and was dissolved in 1991 by Jelcyn who wanted to take power from USSR leader Gorbatchov by dissapearing his country. Since 1991 former soviet republics become independent states, but Russia still did not accept it until today and made series of wars (Czeczenia, Georgia, Ukraine now). I reccommend Timothy Snyder’s lectures about Ukraine for more deep explanation. For Polish history Norman Davies, for Russian history Richard Pipes. In 1920-21 and 1932-33 USSR had famine disasters, second one was mostly driven by Stalin’s politics to exterminate Ukrainian independent farmers (called ‘kulacs’), because they didn’t want to give their farms to government. In early 1920s some parts of USSR had peasants uprising against communist government and Lenin decided to use chemical weapons against it. British philosopher Bertrand Russell went to Moscow in 1920 and talked with Lenin (Lenin probably wanted him to be ‘usefeul idiot’ propagandist), Russell after going back to UK informed that Lenin in conversation was very amused when talking about killing people. Yes cards for goods were intended to give equal distribution. In Poland we had cards after war and second time from 1976 to 1989 (amount of goods on cards was changing).

[@kenoby2330]

The Gulags were dismantled in the early 60s by Khruschev.

[@bobwisdom7749]

Define capitalism rob you need to watch tik history you will learn so much

[@smiechuwarte-qt8pn]

Things are worse in Putin's Russia today than in the USSR . There is complete lawlessness. If you are from Putin's mafia, you can do whatever you want and no Russian law applies to you. As long as you don't say anything unflattering about the mafia boss . I was born and raised in communist Poland, but communist Poland, compared to the USSR, was an oasis of democracy compared to the Russian concentration camp. In Poland, 87% of agricultural land belonged to private farmers and there were private small family businesses. They had never heard of anything like this in the USSR. Even today, in Putin's mafia Russia, there is no private land ownership for ordinary people. Only people linked to Putin's mafia have private land .

[@biozesuck]

Can you explain why Nigel Farage is disguisting human being?

[@RobReacts1]

Because he tries to divide people by creating extremist opinions. Just take the photo in regards to his illegal migrants issue... they wernt illegal migrants at all

[@biozesuck]

@@RobReacts1 Can I get an example of his opinions?

[@27moniczek81]

He is a known liar.

[@biozesuck]

@@27moniczek81 What did he lied about?

[@golden1983golden]

lol or like in Poland in Warsaw - limits on the toilet paper rolls- 7 rolls per year

[@RobReacts1]

That's why everyone needs a bidet 😜

[@agnieszka7231]

@@RobReacts1 Interestingly, right after World War II, bidets were in hospitals and offices. They were liquidated because the "communist" people did not know what they were for ;)

[@kacperkusinski5297]

Wikipedia en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki Felix Dzerzhinsky