Inside Gorbachev's USSR (1990)

[@cougsjohnson1]

It's amazing how people all want the same thing, no matter what Country they live in: Decent Salary, roof over their head, and a chance to provide a better life for their family in the future.

[@aj897]

Pretty basic, not that amazing lol

[@user-pn3im5sm7k]

Which is precisely why communism will never work

[@barbadolid5170]

It seems we are all humans after all

[@AnhNguyen-hn9vj]

ya.

[@Blackpilld]

No shit. What did you think?

[@Mattreyu199]

This is a priceless look into the final days of the USSR. It really sums up why it happened much better than just reading about it. Hearing the actual people talking about their problems and utter desperation to have a better life in contrast with the worthless -people- bureaucrats "in charge" is telling.

[@jzamo1990]

and you have Putin now trying to claim back territory that used to be USSR! Delusional

[@shinmen.takezo]

Just out of curiosity my friend, do you think capitalism will offer a better life?

[@jameslove-vani797]

Nothing at all like now ...

[@Mattreyu199]

​@@shinmen.takezoRegulated, I'd say a lot more opportunity to have one. Pure unregulated capitalism is or can be just as bad as communism with a few differences.

[@shirley-ie5vj]

@@shinmen.takezo Anything is better than the hellhole depicted in here. Everything is so run down, shoddily constructed, mismanaged, incompetent and/or dirty, takes an animal to live like this. Or someone who has never known anything else. The supposedly terrible 90's were in a way a huge boost to quality of life of the horde. At least they gained food options other than rotten, trampled potatoes, smelly fish wrapped in pravda and a loaf of bread.

[@Ergilion]

I was 6 years of age when this was filmed. I remember a little bit of USSR. The empty grocery stores my mother took me to. My footsteps echoed down empty halls and I liked running around there. It was sunny and empty. There were piles of milk cartons. The shelves were full of cans of some preserves and juice nobody wanted to buy but that was it. There was always bread though and it was always fresh. But aside from that buying something decent was a challenge.

[@ΕλένηΜαμώλη]

И в то время я был ребенком в Греции, у нас был капитализм, но я рос из бедной семьи. Помню, что в 1980-х было хорошо как для богатых, так и для бедных. С 1996 года банки начали выдавать нам кредиты. К к 2007 году они задолжали всему миру. Тогда я понял, что падение Советского Союза было плохо и для капитализма. Анархия никогда не хороша. Китаю удалось изменить экономическую модель, не падая, как Советский Союз. Если вы все еще в России, хотел бы услышать ваше мнение о 1980-х. И лучше ли сейчас для многих людей, чем тогда.

[@Ergilion]

@@ΕλένηΜαμώλη я уехал из России в августе этого года. Разумеется сейчас люди живут лучше чем в 80х. Сейчас, даже не смотря на войну и санкции в России намного больше возможностей для простого человека, чем во времена СССР. В 80х нельзя было вести бизнес, нельзя было легально снимать или сдавать квартиру, нельзя было ездить за границу и даже в некоторые города внутри СССР. Переехать в другой город было очень сложно. Я уже не говорю о всеобщем дефиците и бедности.

[@МарияМатвеевна]

@@ΕλένηΜαμώλη всё плохо. Очень плохо.

[@СергейБаламут-э6м]

В 6 лет ничего ты не помнишь, не надо врать тролль!

[@СергейБаламут-э6м]

​@@МарияМатвеевнаДля чаечек не существует "лучших" времён, у них всегда всё плохо 🤣

[@DianaDeLuna]

I was a nerdy young girl taking Russian in college. Pretty sure I saw this when it first aired. I went to the USSR in 1988. Empty shelves were everywhere, even in Moscow. I wondered how everyone didn't starve...was not yet aware of the dacha & private garden plot culture of Slavic people.

[@tat.1299]

Поэтому выживут те, кто имеет землю и непротив на ней работать. Поэтому наша семья обзавелась домом с большим участком земли, погребом, есть корова. В те годы мы выжили, потому что мои родители очень много работали, добывая пропитание. Теперь я обязана делать это, чтобы помочь себе и своим детям.

[@randybobandy9828]

The women in this video all look pudgy and overweight... 😂 They must be getting enough food somehow

[@donald8354]

Comunism does not work. I don’t know why people want to live in a system like that?

[@civmike]

@@tat.1299🍻

[@BeckBeckGo]

@@tat.1299 genuine question. Given the system at that time, how did hard work lead to increased pay? Was it black market or some sort of free trade that may not have been allowed? I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but really want to know how that works in situation like this.

[@bryankerr9174]

What a priceless piece of history.

[@IdusMartiae44]

I would love to see a documentary where we re-visit the same people today. I remember a documentary in where a journalist went to the DDR town Rostock and interviewed workers and others about their life. This would have been late 80s. She went back in the second decade of the 2000s and met a lot of the same people. The title: "From us to me" (2016)

[@electron8262]

That must be interesting. Do you happen to remember what it was called?

[@IdusMartiae44]

@@electron8262 Made some research and was able to find the name - "From Us to Me" (2016)

[@Ergilion]

Those two kids from the Uralmash factory workers room are around my age. They are in their late 30ies or early 40ies now. Hopefully they made a life for themselves by moving to Moscow or even abroad. Those students singing Katyusha in a bus on their way to a potato field reminded me of my mother. She is dressed like this on old photographs I had of her. The first man on the left from Abalkin in the Kremlin conference room is Grigory Yavlinsky. Then a young democrat and economic adviser to the government he later founded a liberal party Yabloko and has been in its leadership to this day. This party, once influential, is today nothing but a token opposition with no influence or public profile to speak of and is only allowed to exist as a decoration, a simulacrum of democratic institutions. Yavlinsky (born in Lviv by the way) condemned the war with Ukraine in its first days but hasn't been much heard from ever since. He is widely believed to be a spent force as a politician for a long time now. This documentary makes me deeply sad for my country. So much hope was in the air in those days, so much potential was unleashed in the 90ies. So much progress has been made. In 2000s and early 2010s I thought that everything will keep getting better and better. We were happy and content, enjoying life, buying cars, traveling the world. Who would have thought back then that it would all go up in flames. That it would all end in a bloody massacre. So many generations of Russians have despaired in their motherland before. We thought we were the generation destined to live happily at long last. Alas, that was not to be.

[@IdusMartiae44]

@@Ergilion I'm trying to find the right words to answer, without sounding shallow or using some cliché. It's not easy. I really appreciate your honest reflection and feedback - thank you very much! Russia seems to be a country with fantastic nature, resources, culture and people, so much potential. It makes me sad to think about all the suffering that people must endure, wherever it is. Clichè? Maybe, but it's also the truth. I wish you all the best!

[@NUFCOfficial]

They probably regret the breakup of ussr

[@ericthiel4053]

It blows my mind everytime I think about it, it always blows my mind that the party put people who knew NOTHING about certain industry in charge of those industries.

[@andy91091]

Very similar to the current regime That’s ruling over the USA.

[@barrydaemi6287]

The party only appointed people loyal to the communist party or the faction that they were part of; merit was never a consideration.

[@RhodesianSAS-gn4qp]

Thats how it used to be under communism, now you have a different type of socialism implemented mainly in America, and that is Corporatism, where untalented, uneducated imbeciles take high positions only because they are esasy to control and will obey every oder without questoning, and as long as they suck up to their boss they will have siccess guarantreed. While the taletned, dedicated employees with excellent KPI's are fired only because of a different opinion on politics or how the company operates.

[@TomasFunes-rt8rd]

Cabinet reshuffles ("ministerial musical chairs") in our democratic countries achieve the same result - ministers in charge of industries who know buggerall.

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@TomasFunes-rt8rd Yes exactly that's why you have career politicians as part of government positions they know nothing about, you can have a woman as minister of defense when women can't be conscripted into the military or a person as minister of education who has never been a teacher or university professor , ridiculous

[@johnbailey3351]

I remember travelling to Moscow in the early-to-mid 1990's. Went to two types of food stores. Privately owned western styled grocery stories where most Russians coud not afford to shop and where the "day's" currency conversion rate in rubles to DM or USD was prominently displayed at prices on individual items were in either DM or USD. Then there were the Soviet style stores. I was amazed at the line system in the Soviet style stores with all the lines, one line to orde, one line to pickup and a final line at which to pay. Going in to the store I was assigned to get into the paying line while those I went to the store with got into either the ordering or picking up line. At that time, the Russians were experts at waiting in line. My wife's family lived in a smaller city and grew a lot of food at the Dacha.

[@bradjames891]

According to my Russian history book, it's not just that most Russians could not afford to shop there: it's that they were not permitted to either.

[@100KeepIt100]

Waiting in line in Russia is still an art form.

[@-tarificpromo-7196]

@@100KeepIt100In socialist states of America. If you’re not in line, you just hurry to fund inflation. Must be fun counting your currencies in the thousands or millions when you check-out.

[@janedonna5202]

Currency conversion was the death of USSR. A closed economic system with foreign trade only done by gov can eliminate inflation. Under Brezhnev life wasn't bad like Gorby years.

[@c4774]

​@@100KeepIt100хоть в России был

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

I can only imagine how soul crushing being a Soviet Miner would be.

[@medwayhospitalprotest]

The difference was, that one of them could become the leader of the country.

[@justforever96]

​@@medwayhospitalprotestthere is nothing to stop any American coal miner from becoming Senator or President either, if he can find the time and the supporters. That's not easy, but do you think the same exact thing doesn't apply to Soviet miners? How many coal miners became high ranking national leaders in the USSR, please give me a list. It's no less likely in either place. Mostly because people with the intelligence and ambition to end up in a place like that rarely end up being coal miners.

[@shitba9096]

​​@@justforever96 need money

[@ludmilaivanova1603]

also the British miners when Thatcher closed the mines...

[@shitba9096]

@@ludmilaivanova1603 the slag

[@katieluv8422]

This is an awesome piece. It's hard to get this kind of journalism anymore.

[@captaincurd2681]

47:24 Trump in Russia.

[@bennykrebschristensen5215]

If at all.

[@DG1TAL]

You should watch "Russia 1985-1999 - TraumaZone" by Adam Curtis, released in 2022.

[@bennykrebschristensen5215]

@@DG1TAL Thanks for the recommendation.

[@scottgordon8902]

This channel is posting awesome time capsule type videos !

[@quite1enough]

Mark Masarsky has sadly passed away Jan 27th 2021, at the age of 80. He also participated in working group of final edits of Russia's constitution in 1993.

[@richiehoyt8487]

In death, his corpse could probably mix more concrete than his enterprise ever did while he was alive, so rapidly must it be spinning on account of the liberties currently being taken, day in, day out, with that constitution! ( Even ignoring for the moment the fact that the hands that held the pens used to frame that constitution were guided firmly, pantograph style, by the iron grip of American Neo~Con and Big Business interests _anyway..._ Not that I would attach any blame to Mazarsky for that.

[@Lyzzzander]

@@richiehoyt8487 he owned brick factory in USSR. Name any other guy who did this

[@lulloa47]

The golden days of journalism and qualitative documentary.

[@nathancoleman7235]

I was 20 years old in 1990 and watched almost as much PBS as the networks back then and I don't know how I missed even hearing of this documentary then. but now, thanks to you Guardia, I can play catch up.

[@Sina-z8j]

Hello, please tell me if communism is better or capitalism, I don't mean the Soviet Union, was it good or not I am 23 years old and Iranian and I think a combination of both is the best

[@nathancoleman7235]

@@Sina-z8j Capitalism and Communism both had their share of ups and downs.so they both were a little bit of both.neither were 100% perfect.

[@user-jj1bp3es3j]

This is another propaganda creation. There was lots of betrayal and organized sabotage from the people in the leadership. I have lived through those times and no good words for traitors like for gorbachev and yeltsin from me. Until gorbachev time we had pretty good and constantly improving life in the USSR.

[@user-jj1bp3es3j]

I remember coming to the US in the late 90-ies and watching this type of bs propaganda creations, including on PBS. And it was shocking. They just painted the USSR in the darkest possible way, whereas me growing up over there I had the happiest childhood and experienced nothing as dark and gloomy as portrayed in these "documentaries". And I am from a very average Soviet/Russian family.

[@orangejjay]

​@@Sina-z8jNothing is 100% perfect. There's always human greed and the craving for power that causes problems. Capitalism can be good but it too promotes greed and thanks to deregulation in the 70s and 80s, it's caused a greater gap in wealth for people than what we've ever seen before.

[@Obiterarbiter]

I would love to see what these managers and business owners are up to now. It's been over 30 years since the USSR has fallen.

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@Obiterarbiter One of the people in this show Mark Masarsky went onto help write the Russian constitution and was involved in companies buying up gold for the Russian government's gold reserves so his experience with the failed gold mining venture in the 70s and early 80s came in handy.

[@mwl5]

Was thinking the same thing

[@John3.36]

Probably became Oligarch billionaires.

[@cryptocsguy9282]

One other person who appeared in this episode Igor Stogonoff the guy who worked at Uralmash died of a heart attack 😳 in 1991 , it's mentioned in the other episode, called After Gorbachev's USSR Russia 1992. The guy in charge of the Soviet farming industry Starodubtsev's brother ended up being one of the people arrested for the failed coup of August 1991 that helped bring the USSR to an end & in 1993 he founded the Agrarian Party of Russia to continue to promote collectivism in the Russian farming industry, I'm guessing the Starodubtsev sibling who appeared in this episode from 1990 & in the episode from 1992 also joined that political party since their ideology is in line with his views.

[@sandwichninja]

@@John3.36 There are no _"Russian Oligarchs"._ Only jews with Russian surnames getting fat while feeding off the people.

[@ARNABOSS]

this video is a precious piece of ppl's history, thanks for sharing

[@MM22966]

The thumbnail: "Comrade, do you think we are losing the Cold War?" "Nyet, of course not. Do you want to order the McBurger, or the Chicken McNuggets?"

[@eriklabusch8278]

Good luck with that no more McDonald’s now it’s Russian McDonald’s with some cheap logos ripped off same taste different design despite the sanctions Russians still love their McDonald’s even if it’s American and capitalistic or western despite Russia, closing them self off they seem to still like western delicacies

[@bradleysmith9431]

Where is that?

[@MM22966]

@@bradleysmith9431 I don't understand your question. The McDonald's in the vid was in Moscow, if you meant physically where is it.

[@bradleysmith9431]

@@MM22966 I meant what's the timestamp of the thumbnail. I couldn't find it

[@MM22966]

Probably on or around 31 January 1990, which is when it opened. (Given the press coverage, this is likely) @@bradleysmith9431

[@ekesandras1481]

why was there such a shortage of sugar? Because Gorbachev made a strict anti-alcohol campaign, banning Vodka from most stores and making it very expensive in the remaining. What did people do? They bought sugar to brew alcohol at home until there was no more sugar available.

[@waltch5711]

Russians are such alcoholics. In the 1860s their government made like 40% of their revenue from taxes on vodka

[@dannyzero692]

stopping a Slav from purchasing alcohol and you get disaster

[@youthoughtaboutit6946]

Removing Alcoholism from a society used to it is like trying to remove roaches from a house absolutely infested by it.

[@poppers7317]

People who are addicted just do anything for their addiction.

[@bickyboo7789]

Gorbachev made his own alcoholism everyone's problem unfortunately.

[@vinstatic420]

Thing is, as a citizen of a post soviet country myself, nothing has changed since then really. The same people who ruled back then are still in charge and people are still struggling except those who make money in foreign countries which can buy more stuff here. In a way we continue to deal with the same problems as the old ones, just with a new coat of paint.

[@rafaelcestari]

The system changes, but the nomenklatura remains. This happens in basically every country. In Brazil we have a saying: Different flies, same shit. 😂

[@JackThelRipper]

How are the grocery stores stocked??

[@nefertarivivi5613]

​@@rafaelcestariwhat a funny saying!

[@E-Busch]

И какие же вы проблемы решаете, интересно?) В Твиттере днями напролёт пишете "Россия это буквально 1984" и обсуждаете соевую книжку Гарри Поттер? Пока я вижу только низкопоклончество перед западом, абсолютное непонимание политики и экономики. А всё потому что вам повесили лапшу на уши подобные "документальные" фильмы с серо-блевотным цветокором и зловещей музыкой)

[@vinstatic420]

​@@E-Busch First of all, if you're responding to a comment written in English, then you should write in English as well. I'm Bulgarian but you don't see me using it for no reason. Second of all I'm not doing anything to "solve" anything because that's impossible. The people who run the government and media have studied the sphere of politics and history all their life in order to secure their positions, influence the masses and do whatever they want. For the average person it is not feasible to learn everything that ever happened from every viewpoint or the technical aspects of being a politician just so they can improve slightly at spotting who's lying and who isn't. More often than not, every politician is just lying or wording their stance in a way where you think it's reasonable. For 20 years I see politicians on TV describe every problem in the country in full detail, only for no action to be taking besides stealing more money and butchering more things. Or only doing a few good things for a limited time to just build their public image. Tactics as old as time. Moving on from why I'm not "politically active", I don't care about Harry Potter and I'm not basing my opinions on American documentaries or media. I have specifically been studying the history of communist countries myself the past 4 years which included researching viewpoints from every side as well as watching communist state media, footage, listening to relatives, comparing stories, even watching favourable USSR documentaries. I don't support America but Russia and the USSR suck for a wide variety of factors. The combination of past socialism and current capitalism in post soviet countries is worse than capitalist countries who never underwent socialism. Why did the politicians who "built socialism" in the eastern block were also the same who sold off everything in the end to enrich themselves? This is getting too long

[@jessehepburn]

This is gold. Thank you for posting this.

[@savasolarov8424]

This is a very good documentary. Thanks for the upload.

[@boontjes5528]

What an excellent insight and valuable document…. Perestroika just never stood a chance in this system. Thanks for sharing!

[@darbyohara]

It could have worked if Gorbachev enforced it strictly and fired anyone interfering

[@lordfizzz]

Theres not a single "journalist" today who can come close to work like this

[@albundy7198]

That’s bc most of the liberal media support socialism so they won’t speak the truth about how that form of government does nothing but create poverty starvation and death. But that’s bc they live in a capitalist country where they have all the benefits and freedoms to hate the very system that made them all wealthy

[@SgtJoeSmith]

hi im with msnbc and this never happened

[@JoniAntonio]

All perspective, back then he would have been accused of being an american shill

[@Steven-tl8fs]

Dude times are different. You can't film the ugly side of Russia. Why don't you go do it since no journalist can. Show them how it's done.

[@Game_Hero]

You really should seen the Life In the Taliban's Afghanistan by Vice, completely blown away by the quality of the reporting.

[@glengamble526]

I have been to St. Petersburg, on a few occasions. And it’s a gorgeous city. Granted, it’s probably the most ‘European’ of all Russian cities, but it’s still incredible. And I’ve found there’s a real distinction between generations in Russia: the older folks tend to walk around more downcast-looking and less outwardly friendly, chatty etc. I’m told (by Russian friends) that this is generally a hold-over from Cold War days and a culture of general distrust. Neighbours were literally encouraged to turn in their subversive neighbours. Whereas younger Russians I see tend to be more friendly and open. But even then, there is a general Russian trait of ‘not smiling for no reason’. And I get it. It actually makes sense-and makes a real smile that much more impactful. But I’ve found that, regardless of which generation you’re dealing with, if you take the time to talk and get to know them a little, Russians can be lovely people. And the stereotype of women being beautiful? Well, Ive found it to be true…walking through central St. Pete’s was like a super model convention.

[@eustab.anas-mann9510]

The young women are beautiful then on a random day in their fifties they turn into babushkas.

[@mughug9616]

Are the rural towns where the bulk of the Russian people live doing as well? From what I see from Russian bloggers, too many rural areas forty years later are not much different than seen in this video.

[@troymash8109]

After viewing thousands of them interviewed since Feb 2022? I've developed a negative opinion. In fact, they have no place at the table with actual civilized nations. Ostriches who stick their heads in holes while horrors are carried out by their own.

[@JKRoss-zm3zu]

@@mughug9616 About three-quarters of the total population of Russia live in cities and only 25% - in rural settlements.

[@bradjames891]

Just as Tsar Peter the Great intended it to be.

[@Chris-ey8zf]

"As a general rule, when things look bad there's always some dickhead who can make them worse." - Terry Prachett

[@dreacul]

Back in 1987 Gorbachev came to Romania in Bucharest, on his way to a big factory from my neighborhood together with Ceausescu he stopped at the local market and he also visited my block. Yep, Gorbachev entered my block where my parents still live.

[@alonelymockbird3899]

How is the image of ceausescu in romania today ?

[@kaijudude_]

​@@alonelymockbird3899mixed. He was hated in the 90s and 2000s. These days there's nostalgia for him especially among Romanian nationalists. His brand of communism was a nationalist one so he's viewed the same as Stalin is among Russian nationalists and fascists.

[@independentthought3390]

@@kaijudude_ I think that's a shame.

[@kaijudude_]

@@independentthought3390 agreed. I think it's because people in Romania have lived under corruption and poverty that they want a return to dictatorship. Under Ceaușescu they had stability but no freedoms, I guess some people prefer that over freedom.

[@independentthought3390]

@@kaijudude_ Yes, people should look to the future, rather than past, especially when the past is as troubled and problematic as that of Romania. With all its problems, modern Romania is a ten times better country to live in than the Romania of the '70 or '80 ever was, and things are slowly, but visibly improving, so there are good reasons to be optimistic.

[@jimh6254]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

[@Heywoodthepeckerwood]

Oh poor baby.

[@HenrikHolmesson]

​@@Heywoodthepeckerwood WTF kind of response is that?

[@Heywoodthepeckerwood]

@@HenrikHolmesson a correct one.

[@HenrikHolmesson]

@@Heywoodthepeckerwood You're not very bright.

[@djtall3090]

We won't get fooled again!

[@dust195]

Most of the latter struggles of the soviets when it comes to economy is that they put all their eggs in two rigid baskets. The industrial production in Ukraine and Russia (as stated in the video) was the first. The second basket however, was that their food was mostly coming from East Germany and Poland. Low and behold, when the food leaves the country ceases to exist.

[@justforever96]

As they shut down more farmland to stop climate change and restrict use of fertilizers and GMOs to reduce yield. Surely if we just stop growing so much food it will solve all of our problems, people just need to eat less! Not like they won't just grow the same amount but elsewhere. And then ship it in on vessels and trains. Sounds very efficient.

[@dust195]

@@justforever96 Corporate AI disinformation bot. Nobody is talking about current geopolitics, go spread propaganda for Monsanto somewhere else.

[@mikeb5372]

That's about like blaming the fact that the china in a china shop isn't bolted down for the damage an elephant causes in the china shop.

[@Zuflux]

These people have nothing, yet they had hospitality. It's in a way, sad. We so so many russians here, who despite a hard century are hoping for a better tomorrow. Fighting for it. Today we see where it led, and it's a tragedy in 3 parts.

[@arthas640]

That's pretty common with farmers and nomads. Life was extremely hard so turning away guests could end in that person dying, so those cultures often had informal if not formal rules of hospitality. In many Slavic countries that involved offering guests bread and salt, in others it involved offering bread and milk or tea. Islam was a religion founded largely by nomads and they have laws both for the guests and the host, Jews and Christians are similar with the guest required to be thankful for aid and the host required to treat guests well and welcome them with open arms. Rural farmers and other hard working poorer people tend to observe those rules much closer, Ironically its often wealthier and less traditional people (especially middle and upper class city dwellers) who disregard those customs.

[@yeetnama9094]

​@@arthas640Jews are definitely not the same as Christians. Look to Israel for their views on hospitality and grace towards the foreigner 😂

[@TheJcrist]

You mean it is leading to the Western system going bankrupt while Russia is getting stronger day by day?😊

[@ryans3074]

things were going so well, the better tomorrow had arrived and then one dictator decides its not enough and now the world can see the better tomorrow being replaced by russias current system

[@Justanotherconsumer]

@@yeetnama9094not all Israelis are Meir K’s followers.

[@chitownbangin]

Such an excellent documentary.

[@Cthulhuismyhero]

Thank you for making these available.

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

good documentary. Now we can better understand microeconomics of MRTS Margina rate of technical substitution Most of the farms employed more labour and less capital to overcome shortages of machinery! That led to diminishing marginal returns or decreasing returns to scale as we study in Microeconomics 101.

[@clarencethomas5311]

This is so interesting, thanks for posting.

[@lhaley9873]

I worked in a house and the owners were 2 doctors that were going to the USSR to exchange ideas and techniques in medicine. When they came back yhey wouldn't talk about it, they were shell shocked by the decrepit conditions.

[@fanfam]

Documentaires likes this should by all over youtube. This is how we learn... this is how our kids learn. Not the mindless crap they get in school and we used to have too. In school sheeps are created. Endless working from paycheck to paycheck not thinking big or for ourselves. We weren't made to fit in. We are made to stand out.

[@civmike]

Yep, well put 👌🏼

[@texaswunderkind]

What is your highest level of education, and what do you do for a living? You sound like an unemployed incel beta male living in his mom's basement, surfing 8chan and complaining that is all someone else's fault.

[@justforever96]

What does that even mean? All 7,000,000,000 of us are "made to stand out"? How does that even work? Everyone just works really hard to do things differently from everyone else, so we don't have any sort of uniform culture or traditions anywhere in the world? You don't think it would get kind of hard to think of ways to make sure you "stand out" when everyone is doing something different already? And if everyone is standing out, that means everyone is uniformly doing the same thing, and you just end up with an even more homogeneous system than one with various cultures and traditions that different groups of people are absorbed into. It's like a club where the only rule is that no two members can wear the same clothing. It essentially becomes the uniform of that club. And the fact is that most people very definitely are _not_ "made to stand out". Humans are social animals and instinctively conform to the values of their group, are very uncomfortable being the one singled out as different. That's why they are so easy to control. You may wish that wasn't the case, but it absolutely is and wishing won't change it. And in my experience most people who talk the loudest about not confirming are actually the most inclined to conform into the ideas and values of their adopted groups. Like "punks" who claim individualism.. but all adopt the same manner of dress, the same music, the same political ideas. Try being a punk who chooses to dress in khakis slacks and a polo shirt, see how well you are accepted by your "free thinking" associates. Freedom is only acceptable within the prescribed boundaries. Humans are absolutely meant to be part of a larger group, has been that way though all of history, in every case, and until it became fashionable to pretend to do otherwise, those who didn't fit in were ostracized. And even after it became fashionable, even "being individual" was just alternative way to fit in. I dare you to go around and start openly advocating for taboo ideas. Start telling people that you are for elimination of age of consent laws, that Hitler wasn't so bad, say you stand with Putin. I dare you, you want to stand out, that's a great way to do it. But you won't because you won't want to be judged and ostracized for thinking outside the allowed lines.

[@korallrev3497]

this is gold. I would like to see something similar this to the ex Yugoslavija where my family is from

[@darkalice650]

Here, in YT, about Romania: DOCUMENTAR RECORDER. 30 de ani de democrație (engsub). But it's all the same.

[@korallrev3497]

@@darkalice650 thank you komsije

[@thisisbridger]

Reading Lenin's Tomb at the moment and this is the perfect visual companion! Thank you for sourcing this curious doc

[@nervechews6781]

Even more tragic with the benefit of several decades' hindsight. They can't seem to escape the weight of hundreds of years of that culture.

[@justforever96]

Hundreds of years of what culture? communism wasn't even around for a hundred years. Not in the USSR form anyway. Unless you are counting serfdom and communism as the same thing. But yes, weird how living in a certain way over many generations can't just be shaken off and changed over a few decades and an entirely new way of life and thinking adopted universally. Who would have expected that?

[@davidblakley5762]

I lived in Moscow (1992-1993), Ashgabat (1994-1995), and Vladivostok (1996-1997) and not much had changed yet while I was in each of those cities during those timeframes.

[@coolsceegaming6178]

How the hell did you go from one end of the country to the other?

[@jaimeleschats5543]

@@coolsceegaming6178 I don't know, but I'd guess it wasn't on foot.

[@coolsceegaming6178]

@@jaimeleschats5543 oh yeah I assume they didn’t walk it, I’m just wondering how as in “what circumstances made this happen.”

[@Katonich]

Ты там вообще бывал после девяностых? 😂 Эти города ОЧЕНЬ изменились, я не говорю про многие другие города, но эти уж точно

[@ProffyChaos]

Thank you for uploading these videos. It is so valuable seeing a contemporary documentary of what was going on. Nowadays, documentaries don't cover events when they are happening but rather have become stories - a beginning, a middle and an end. These type of documentaries show us what is, they don't tell us how it ends, they just tell us what is going on and ask more questions.

[@wysoft]

17:47 the moment Soviet Ron Swanson begins contemplating anarcho capitalism

[@scottlund4562]

Haha thought the same!

[@aviationist]

Lol

[@AliNo-r3n]

😂😂

[@soberCFD]

Это такие давние воспоминания, моё детство. Родителям было трудно, чтоб нам было беззаботно.

[@СергейКомисаров-т4ц]

при Горбачёве люди стали жить в 2 раза лучше, появились любые товары, машин на дорогах стало в 2 раза больше, - где разрешают Торговлю - там сразу появляется полно любого товара, - а с Заводов все сбежали в Кооперативы - зарплата в Кооперативах в 2-3 раза выше, - на Заводах пошли пустые цеха, все смеялись над ними - продаж не имеют, а зарплату ждут.

[@rinkashikachi]

@@СергейКомисаров-т4ц видео посмотри сначала, а потом говори про любые товары

[@СергейКомисаров-т4ц]

@@rinkashikachi - при Горбачёве люди стали жить в 2 раза лучше, - появились любые товары, машин на дорогах стало в 2 раза больше, -- - где разрешают Торговлю - там сразу появляется полно любого товара, - это Правило, -- - с Заводов все сбежали в Кооперативы - зарплата в Кооперативах в 2-3 раза выше, - на Заводах пошли пустые цеха, - все смеялись над ними - продаж не имеют, а зарплату ждут.

[@rinkashikachi]

@@СергейКомисаров-т4ц понятно. тупой бот, который умеет только методичку повторять. получать новую информацию, анализировать ее и критически мыслить не способен

[@СергейКомисаров-т4ц]

@@rinkashikachi - Горбачёв - это вообще-то Перестройка, - пошёл Свежий Воздух, - разрешили Торговлю и Кооперативы, - разрешили читать Книги и слушать Музыку, покупать Джинсы и машины, -- - появилось Полно любого товара, - надой возрос с колхозных 4х литров до 9ти литров, - люди стали жить в 2 раза лучше, - машин стало в 2 раза больше, - все строили 6 соток - т.е. появились Стройтовары. -- если у вас что-то другое - значит вы Не жили при Горбачёве. -- Пустые полки пошли у Коммунистов - над ними все смеялись, были рады что бредовый Коммунизм наконец сдох, - на улицы выходили Миллионами, пели песни, подняли Флаг России - какой был до нашествия террористов 1917го, - Коммунисты стали выкидывать Партийные билеты.

[@bojanstanic939]

What a beautiful and proud woman at 7:03 fighting for her dignity and integrity. As someone who has analyzed Russian society for almost a decade, these ordinary people and their stories were always of my primarily interest.

[@김송-x2g]

Who is also attracted by the beauty on the coverage

[@auro1986]

a system made to prevent food shortages wastes food more than system made to waste food

[@SuperReznative]

It's happening now in North America, by design.. His help us all

[@caiolima-l8f]

No

[@arthas640]

It's funny but I once read a story of a Native American visiting a city for the first time. He was shocked at how little went to waste with the factories using everything, even boiling down the hooves for glue. Despite the image of Natives putting everything to use it wasnt uncommon for most of the carcass to go to waste; they had a hard time boiling large bones since they had small pots and they couldnt really store broth or other things so they fed them to dogs or left them behind whereas the factories could put everything to use. In modern farming they're always looking at ways to improve yields so they even develop ways of making things easier to harvest and ways to make things more efficient. Communism tends to be extremely inefficient even down to farming in part because they lack entrepreneurialism, you cant criticize things or offer up ideas to improve things, theres no competition, and the rigid corrupt system is often resistant to change. You can see how inefficient things are under communism when you compare yields of Russian farmers to American ones, the Americans end up with yields several times that of their Soviet counterparts in similar environments. You cant see it when you compare East Germany to West Germany too: they started out similar prior to and during WW2, both were almost completely devastated and had to essentially rebuild from scratch so they started out very similar in 1945. By 1950 the capitalist West was already rebuilding faster and had a per capita income significantly higher than the communist East. The West continued to grow faster than the East and by 1989 the West's per capita income was several times that of the East. Communist apologists will often try to claim that things like welfare and benefits such as healthcare and housing were great under communism but you can see how poor healthcare and housing were by comparing average lifespans: capitalist countries like the US were slightly higher in the early 1900s until the 1950s, but countries like the US saw rapidly rising lifespans while communist countries like Russia rose much slower, stagnating in the 60s, 70s, and 80s while capitalists were living longer and longer. By the time the USSR collapsed the average Soviet was living around 67 years less putting them at roughly #90 in the world compared to the US at around #25 of the longest living people in the world.

[@yeetnama9094]

​@@arthas640As an American, I can unequivocally say that we owe Germany reparations for what we did to them...Japan, and ironically Poland

[@matthewjones39]

@@yeetnama9094What do you think the European Recovery Plan was?

[@christophercostello2713]

great doc, thanks for the upload

[@superidea-channel]

Это очень символично, начать фильм с голой ж..ы. Именно в таком состоянии мы находились в тот момент. --- It's very symbolic to start the film with a bare butt. This is exactly the state we were in at that moment.

[@CapAnson12345]

It's not a bad looking butt though.

[@tarquinbullocks1703]

Very informative. An excellent documentary.

[@dameanvil]

00:44 🌾 The confiscation of land in the 20s and 30s alienated generations from owning land, impacting agricultural struggles for years. 03:40 🛠 Gorbachev's perestroika aimed to modernize the Soviet system but faced resistance, leading to worker strikes and disillusionment by miners. 09:09 🍞 Decades of agricultural failures led to massive inefficiencies in food distribution, contributing to widespread shortages despite agricultural potential. 14:33 💼 Gorbachev's reforms aimed to grant more autonomy to farms, allowing for leasing land and encouraging entrepreneurship, yet faced skepticism and hesitation from farmers. 23:23 🏭 Heavy industries like Uromash struggled with outdated methods, worker exodus, and conflicts between central planning and newfound managerial freedom. 29:42 💰 Central control over resources and fixed prices hindered industrial progress, leading to stagnation and worker disillusionment. 31:05 🏠 Inadequate housing, low wages, and poor working conditions were significant reasons for worker dissatisfaction and exodus from industrial plants like Uromash. 35:37 💼 Gorbachev's perestroika encouraged the emergence of "cooperatives" or private enterprises, allowing a new economic landscape in the USSR. 36:59 🏠 The concept of homeownership gained traction amidst Gorbachev's reforms, challenging the traditional state-owned housing model. 37:47 💸 Perestroika opened avenues for private ventures, allowing individuals like Masarsky to seek state loans and engage in private construction projects. 39:13 🔀 Masarsky faced risks operating in a communist state due to conflicting ideologies and the societal skepticism around private industry. 40:19 🏗 Various cooperatives contributed to the economy, engaging in different sectors like construction, highway building, and brick production. 41:22 🔨 Bartering became a norm due to shortages; Masarsky bartered bricks for equipment but struggled with a lack of lumber due to state control. 44:25 🏚 State projects suffered from material shortages, leaving unfinished homes and highlighting inefficiencies in the state's construction processes. 46:04 💼 The disconnect between state-approved projects and actual customer needs led to dissatisfaction among builders, renters, and the state itself. 47:36 💰 Calls for a shift to individual homeowners as customers emerged, challenging the state-centric approach to housing projects. 50:13 ⏭ Advisors debated the pace of reform, with some advocating for bold measures while others stressed caution to ensure economic stability amidst social upheaval. 53:31 ⛏ Miners voiced desires for ownership in their workplaces, seeking more autonomy and control over the profits, reflecting a growing demand for change within the Communist Party. 55:19 🔄 Gorbachev faced a crucial dilemma: pursuing bolder reforms risked economic turmoil, yet without significant changes, the economic crisis persisted, testing the success of perestroika.

[@iouri-belov]

Uralmash en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uralmash

[@lucca3113]

no "confiscation of land". the land was the people's.

[@dameanvil]

@@lucca3113 you are right. the correct term would be nationalization, as the nation will get back its property.

[@justforever96]

Jesus, I guess you had nothing much to do today, huh?

[@dameanvil]

@@justforever96 First, I am not Jesus. In a way, I have as much time as you do. The only difference is: my post helps other people.

[@frillylily8005]

Really Good documentary should have much more views

[@jacobsmith4422]

This should be seen by everyone in the U.S.

[@FINNIUSORION]

there's a very peculiar and fascinating psychological trait you often see in people who have been in prison systems for very long periods of time, they gain their freedom and then very quickly repeat their offence or do something to get themselves back into the prison system. the thought of freedom scares them. they've had their lives dictated to them for so long its overwhelming to them. you see the same thing in people who have escaped from north Korea. that's what this reminds me of. these people were having freedom thrown at them and they didn't know what to do with it. and I've worked in and around the lumber industry for over a decade. in 2010 us dollars a mill that size in America would profit more than one million dollars per week easily. that's per week. the soviet system must have been insanely inefficient.

[@djtall3090]

and corrupt

[@michaelfernandez3182]

This is an excellent documentary. At the 33:00 minute part you see an HR exit interview with a woman leaving a Russian state back enterprise. I have to say that a Russian HR meeting is exactly how I would have imagined, lol!

[@0Reevs0]

more like every HR meeting

[@korallrev3497]

hr is the same in the west. They are ment for the workers but never dears to speak up against the owners since they are employed themselfs

[@Immigrantlovesamerica]

It was hilarious. "Why do you want to leave?" "They pay me based on how much I work, i get a better salary and flexible time to spend with my child". "Alright, we lost a worker" lmao

[@JanuszKrysztofiak]

@@Immigrantlovesamerica Possibly a smart choice of hers. It is said Uralmash employed 50k employees; it barely employs ~2k nowadays. Staying there would mean losing the job or having a job in a few years without salary (often, in post-Soviet Russia, enterprises kept workers but paid no salaries or paid them in kind).

[@ramielthefifthangel]

Pizza party wasn't a thing back in the USSR. This is why factory lost all the workers :DD

[@HollaForDolla]

fascinating piece, shows just how much change was needed behind the iron curtain.

[@ayem8709]

this was the video that made me rethink everything i thought i knew about capitalism. good journalism like this is so hard to find now

[@justincoleman7856]

My first memory of Russia was when the Berlin Wall fell. After that, the media wouldn't report anything from Russia because of just how bad things were. I was just a small child when this documentary was released, so I'm just now getting a better understanding of the struggle that families had to deal with back then & unfortunately the government was just as horrible back then as I'm sure it still is now.

[@Chris-ey8zf]

"And then, somehow, it got worse." - common Russian joke about their history

[@JanRozsypal-s7x]

Berlin is not in Russia (and was not in Soviet Union), you should check it out. It is as if I said My favorite American city is Paris (no it isn't, it stinks)

[@amore2013]

Как можно быть уверенным ниразу там не побывав? Абсурд какой-то.😂

[@brianticas7671]

Naw. Putin has fixed Russia. Russia is doing better now than ever man. Putin isn't a bad president man

[@lrfuv651]

​@@brianticas7671 me and many other Russians would so disagree with you

[@leoa4c]

Great documentary. Many thanks.

[@GagariinYang]

I was in my first year at Moscow college when Gorbachev came to power. I supported the reforms at first, but even for me, a communication student, it was clear that it would not bring good consequences. At the time I was a convinced communist, for real, today I am no longer. I remember writing articles praising Gorbachev's stance. By 1990, I had already turned against him. I believed that the USSR could be a great country if the reforms focused on strengthening the country's economy, as China did, but it began to lose control of the reforms and this weakened the USSR.

[@RuggedSource]

I've been researching North Korea and because of my interest in North Korea, I've also read several books on famines & communism as well. I think there is/was two huge flaws with communism. First being the government (officials) become extremely lazy. Second the lack of and speed of communication. You're basically trusting the government to manage everything. When you have poor management & communication, things will slowly fall like dominos. Poor management also leads to poor planning for the future. Which is why in so many cases like in this video, tons of materials are being wasted. Humans become extremely lazy when they have a nice warm cushy job, especially when higher up officials could easily blame people under them for poor results.

[@jaka2274]

i agree completely, these where the big problems. I think its sad tho that they thought privatizing would solve that. Instead of just doing the glasnost, making the system les centralized and more democratic. That should get the lazy out (he's not doing his job properly, lets vote in someone more dedicated.) Being able to criticize lazy and/or corrupt government officials would solve half, investing in improved communication would do the other. (i can only imagine what internet could've done) I mean; only giving quality products to people who found a way to fool the system and thus are richer than the rest is a whole new kind of corruption that gets introduced via privatisation.

[@ericperu1542]

I agree with most of what you said but I believe there is a philisophical issue with communism as well: The assumption that all persons working under it will work selflessly and without greed. 100 years of communism has proven that men have their own desires and will find a way to fulfill them. The level of corruption and inepitude is a direct result of trying to create a utopia devoid of personal interest outside of those concerning the state.

[@jaka2274]

@@ericperu1542 so do you suggest if you create a legal outlet for that greed (like in free market), that will prevent the corruption? If a greedy individual stops at nothing to get what he wants, how would allowing and rewarding that greed stop the corruption from growing? wasnt the west just as corrupt, only its legal so it is named innovative (or smart) business? What is considered corrupt in sovjet times is giving people with more money, friends or power better products or services, thats exactly what the free market is designed for is it not? You get what you can get, not what is fair that you deserve. I would call military industrial complex a school example of corruption, only in the usa it is just law full, so it is not considered that way. What is the difference except the right to exploit?

[@independentthought3390]

@@jaka2274 Sorry, but this could not work under communism. You'd need a true socialism for something like that to work, which communism is not. Communism, by design, can only be led by the communist party, and communist party alone. Which means, it can only have a centrally planned economy, where all the planning is done by the party, which has monopoly over decision-making. The communist party would ultimately need to be dissolved, and the political and economic system transformed into true socialism, if changes like you describe were to succeed.

[@arthas640]

@@jaka2274 That less centralization/more democratic/more open system is largely what killed the USSR though. One of the only things that kept the USSR together since day 1 was the propaganda and the Soviets divide and rule tactics. They kept people divided, limited travel, tightly controlled media, and fed people a steady stream of disinformation so they wouldnt know how bad things were under Soviet rule. They constantly told people that the capitalist world was the rich enslaving the working class and told them communism was benevolent and provided for all their needs. They also told most of the poorer regions of the USSR (basically everywhere outside of some of the major cities) that their area was the only one suffering shortages and that shortages were temporary; once people realized that pretty much everywhere was facing shortages, mismanagement, and terrible conditions they realized how bad things were and the USSR rapidly collapsed. Mao did much the same during the famines and people in each county were the only ones experiencing starvation so that people didnt realize that the CCP had failed everyone. The Kims did and continue to do much the same. Much like fascism, communism cant survive democracy, which is why they always strive for single party rule. There exists communist parties in most countries around the globe but when you look at the countries who have elected communist officials and they're extremely few and far between. The only high ranking officials I know of who are communist and got elected were a few prime ministers and presidents in Nepal and a few state level officials in a couple states in India. Communists know that which is why they extinguish democracy; they know Marxism is deeply flawed and they overcome those flaws by brute force.

[@theoavg]

I would like to see a similar video that compares USA and USSR during the Great Depression

[@Naltddesha]

This was a very interesting watch- thanks for the upload!

[@Bestofthebest383]

i was kid at that time, and that was hardest time for my family . Parents were not sure if they will get paid salary and we can buy simple food

[@MikeG42]

Excellent video comrade 👍

[@3mate1]

I was 10 years old in 1990 and I can clearly remember the way things were in in America, looking at this... I understand why my dad was steadfastly against the Soviet Union and worked every day of his life in the defense industry. We didn't have a care in the world compared to these Soviet collective farmers. It was Ninja Turtles, Super Mario Brothers, Saturday morning cartoons and store shelves full to capacity of every type of good these people lacked.

[@joaorobertoborgesmanodecas3917]

Is interesting how elder people liked the USSR , but people that only lived during Gorbachev government don’t

[@Sammysapphira]

This is because the elderly people lived through the "golden years" of communism and socialism when there was plenty of other peoples money to spend. The reason the young disliked it is because they faced the consequences of running out of other people's money. There was no prosperity. Only expenditure. I think you'll find a person who wins a million dollars and spends it all will be quite disliked by their children whom inherited nothing from.

[@ZxZ239]

lots of people are saying how bad it was the end of USSR and how the fall is inevtiable, but this documentary shows me the exact opposite, i see smart and movitated people recongize they have a problem and the need for change, not everyone agrees on exactly the pace of change and what is need to be done, but I see hard working people with passion and wants to do what is needed. I think that if there were no military coup and all that, it would have been very possble that over the years, some sort of reform is introduced and everyone get used to it and the country is saved. Look at China, their economic sitaution was FAR worse than the USSR at the time of their reforms and step by step, slowly they are able to reform and became a superpower of today.

[@Brett.1984]

Great find dude. Thanks for uploading.

[@EnclaveMVP]

I always love your content keep it on God bless everyone Keeping humanity alive

[@danielwoolman8969]

I see a KZbinr named Bald and Bankrupt who travels those areas today and many of the old timers say that life was better back then compared to now. It is interesting.

[@arishem555]

it was 100% better before soviet union collapse. It was not perfect. But. Imagine you have free place to live, free schools, free medicine, affordable food (but limited). Imagine you have no crime and it is safe to be anywhere any time. What would you choose? To have ability to buy anything (you cannot actually buy anything, supply is very limited nowadays and quality just awful) or to have some shortages but safe place to live? Iimagine we had music school in Ukraine (and have them now). To attend school monthly payment was around probably two visits to Mcdonalds nowadays. Very cheap and affordable. It was donated by government and government understood that they need to raise that kind of people, that quality. Take for example Ukraine, - when we had lots of research facilities and space rocket factories. Where are they now? Barely surviving. China tried to buy Motorsich and other companies. But now with the war country is looking more like Cambodia or others South Asia countries, - where people just scrambling bread crumbs to survive.

[@derekschulz7813]

​@@arishem555Finally someone who actually knows the history in the comments. People seem to forget that the West was trying to undermine the Soviet Union from its very beginnings. Our meddling and infiltration is what made life hard there, not the system of government. If America and other world powers left them in peace, I'm positive communism would've thrived. Capitalism and Imperialism ruins everything.

[@mdjey2]

It is all illusion. People like to believe those best memories from childhood. Many people in Latvia believed that life was better before USSR when they lived in USSR, now some people think that USSR was better than what is now. It is useless to compare when USSR wasn't sustainable and that is why it fall. It takes time to rebuild everything new funds needs to be gathered and so on. Baltic and Poland managed this the best, Ukraine not so much. In Ukraine you couldn't sell land still before 2020. That is ridiculous.

[@jaszjordanabdillagough7923]

This usually comes from a psychology of old people because they werent able to grasp on the new age of living where the goverment isnt going to take care of you anymore. And they couldnt grasp it not through their fault but because it had been going on for 70 decades and you cant just train your mind to fend for yourself within a year or so. So obviously the saying "Better the devil you know" comes to place. Ask todays generation if they think it would be better to go to that lifestyle again and they would laugh at you because they grew up with the eocnomy growth therefore where able to adapt to the current lifestlye. You cant teach an old dog new tricks.

[@apjpisared]

@danielwoolman8969 Ukraine banned him cos of his connections to a Russian oligarch. Russia banned him for having opinions. He's generally a seedy character though, a small time crook, who tries to abuse women and steal money. See his campaign to raise money from the poor Kolya in Belarus, he kept all the funds for himself. He stole money in Britain several times. He got off on raping a woman in 2001 on a technicality. Hardly someone to ''learn from''.

[@only-legitness]

Amazing documentary, very insightful and concrete. thanks to the creator and thanks for uploading.

[@Т1000-м1и]

The quote at 43:29 is amazing

[@CherryCokeNixon]

You really get a sense that things were about to change and open up over there. It’s sad Russia never got to be truly free.

[@eriklabusch8278]

The problem is the Russian mentality. They always need to have a leader to tell them what to do and how to think they just go on about their daily lives and let the government do whatever basically the Russian people have no say in their government. Everything is pretty much all controlled, the news media, you can’t even have an opinion about the government or anything whatever the Kremlin says is the basic line here no different from “The Party 🎈 Line”

[@UnrecycleRubdish]

It was doing well for about 35 years before things starting going downhill

[@dixonhill1108]

They rushed freedom, they should have made a 30 year plan instead they let it fall apart in 6 months.

[@ivan_topor]

Она свободна. От дурачков вроде тебя

[@klown463]

Russia is more free than Western Europe and arguably the US at this point as well

[@leoalex3271]

Хороший фильм. Я прям явственно вспомнил то время - полная дезориентация, когда старые смыслы уже не работали, а новые еще не появились.

[@dutchschultz3076]

Thanks for the upload mike.

[@danrodrigues3531]

Imagine going to your local store and not having any meat with the exception of some fish. But then you notice flies landing on the employee's head. (6:39)

[@arthas640]

I once saw a comparison of the average diet of a Soviet Russian (who were often the second wealthiest group in the USSR behind East Germans) compared to the average American. The Russian ended up getting something like 10-20% of the meat, 10-20% of the fruit, a fraction of the fish, a fraction of the dairy, and a fraction of the sugar while consume several times the grain, beans, and root vegetables and cabbage. As someone who likes to study pre-modern diets it was like comparing a modern diet to a medieval peasants. The meat Russians did get was often pretty low quality too, things like Doctors Sausage and salt pork/bacon was common while beef and chicken wasnt, and real chunks of meat were much less common than sausages or similar ground meats (which were often extended with fillers, trimmings, and organs).

[@bradleysmith9431]

"I'm hungry" "Here's a bar of soap" 😂

[@arthas640]

@@bradleysmith9431 Interesting fact: would have tasted terrible but sometimes people ended up eating soap during famines. Depending on the time period and who made it some soaps were mostly plant oils or rendered animal fat mixed with surfactants, sometimes even something as simple as potash. When my mom was young (late 60s or early 70s) her grandma made some of her own soap out of rendered tallow and sometimes with natural perfumes like mint, sage, or lavender.

[@justforever96]

Not having meat was the truth most of humanity lived for thousands of years. Meat was a rare treat for most people, it's way to expensive and hard to get compared to grains and vegetables. So I think you would survive. I'm not in any way a vegan or whatever but I do think most of society would not be harmed at all by a huge decrease in meat consumption. We funny really need steaks and burgers every day. Especially not if fish and dairy are available.

[@justforever96]

​@@arthas640and do you think Americans were healthier for that difference? I doubt it. Now that we are all overweight and dying from heart disease.

[@katheriner8575]

Thank you for this. Very educational.

[@BrianSmith-yq7ys]

When the one woman was going through the exit interview “Do you think this private enterprise will survive?” Well gee I haven’t gone through their books yet and checked their profit margins

[@ALLRNDCRICKETER]

Its almost like an interrogation instead of an interview

[@napoleonbonaparte4396]

@ 8:45 "not enough food is available in the entire country..." Is she means entire country USSR, she is wrong! Food was plentiful in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. Usually, Russians used to say that Georgians live better than us. On the other hand, Russians called "Spekuliant" to Georgians. "Spekuliant" means when someone sells something high prices on the black market. Georgian farmers did not depend on government. Did not follow the Soviet rules.

[@colinbodnaryk7518]

The houses in the mining town remind me of the houses my great grandparents built when they came to Canada in 1899

[@pavel94732]

Кто бы что не говорил, но по мне так очень душевно было. Спасибо кстати что мой дом засняли😆

[@Aleksa_Lomako]

🥴 Україна понад усе 🇺🇦♠️❤️ Слава Бандері 🤣

[@pavel94732]

@@Aleksa_Lomako А вот и наши сектанты, не ценящие свою жизнь. По человечески вас очень жалко((

[@civmike]

@@pavel94732❤

[@AB1377V]

@@Aleksa_Lomako Героям Слава!

[@TRIALEX3]

Душевно? Отсталость во всем - а он про душевность…

[@ceilconstante640]

I just ache for the pain and daily frustrations they were suffering through. This kind of life would put a lot of strain on marriages and families. But they had to stick together to survive.

[@JanRozsypal-s7x]

considering they all look healthy (and none of anyone I know in post-communist countries recalls anything like this), it is just propaganda, in V4 countries, people in big cities would riot because they couldn't get oranges (American sanctions got much more pronounced in the 1980s and it affected mainly access to goods sourced outside of the communist block), this is rather being entitled to something than suffering. The famine was taking place just in pockets within the proper Soviet Union. In Czechoslovakia for example, the United farms were run like enterprises, some more than others, and there was lots of competition, use of new technologies etc., famine was absolutely out of the question. In Soviet Russian, they were less entrepreneurial in agriculture. And lack of commercialization of agriculture lead to zero protection against natural whims and therefore famins since the beginnings of human society.

[@ceilconstante640]

@@JanRozsypal-s7x Very good points! It's easy to get caught up in propaganda.

[@kihondosa4]

I remember in the year 2000 i was in Phuket, Thailand. The locals were telling me that there was a big house that belonged to Gorbachev, the tool of them Rottenchildren.

[@RavishingEddie]

One thing that this wonderful piece highlights is how bad things get with bureaucracy. Whatever the countries strategy of governing, it must absolutely avoid bureaucracy or keep it at a minimum. Marxism is the worst at that.

[@lordcolinb]

History always repeating itself

[@skeinovsky_tut1]

Нееет , ваша западная демократия нам больше не нужна . Нам хватило 90х

[@lorenzo1660]

This excellent documentary explains very well how the USSR collapsed. Thanks for sharing.

[@Elemental_Entity]

The thumbnail is not in this vid.

[@oliviolanza1933]

The ladies singing Katyusha❤

[@bradgrier4228]

What a concept "THE MORE I PRODUCE THE MORE I MAKE"

[@luciferdzhugashvili]

Never let a crisis go to waste.

[@supercoolyguy]

Com'on Man 🤡

[@hj8750]

Удивительно, как люди из западного мира, имея лучшие учебные заведения, пишут такую чушь в комментариях. Уважаемые, это период после перестройки, когда СССР сошел на капиталистические рельсы Очереди и пустые полки появились в 80 годах

[@olysyuk]

Изучайте, если умеете читать: "В нестоличных регионах по-прежнему царил продовольственный дефицит. В ряде городов снова вводилось распределение «по карточкам»: в 1975 году карточки были введены в Волжске, в 1979 - в Волгограде, в 1980 - в Свердловске, в 1981 - в Казани, Новосибирске и Нижневартовске, в 1982 - в Челябинске и Вологде, в 1983 - в Куйбышеве, в 1984 - в Омске" ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%82_%D0%B2_%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A1%D0%A0

[@HelsinginKaupunginAsunn]

Putin da, ura

[@hj8750]

@@HelsinginKaupunginAsunn 🤡

[@JonathanWJ]

Great video! Do you have the second part mentioned at the end, called "Nationalities"?

[@rts3618]

I also would love to see that one too. Couldn’t find records of it

[@bigawdays5724]

What the man said about capitalist socialism that gives me the Chinese cracteristic Communism vibe.

[@Bone74838]

I am from Finland, i had a friend at work, and she would tell about these times when she was a kid. She said she would have to also wait in line for 4 - 5 hours just to get some eggs and meat. She was from Kazan Russia, later Moscow.

[@duartesimoes508]

Hedrick Smith also wrote a very interesting and highlighting book in 1976 about the Russian's everyday life, aptly called "The Russians" and published by Readers Digest.

[@kurtfrancis4621]

Very good book. So was his updated "The New Russians".

[@lukei6255]

I love the housing complexes there. Lots of greenery, everything within the walking distance and pedestrian friendly, kids can play outside. In australia our suburbs seriously suck and constant driving is a pain. People also are isolated and go mental.

[@RickR69]

That's your takeaway from this lol? Jesus.

[@andrewo7306]

At this times we didn't buy bread in stores. We went straight to farms and traded our goods for grain. And made bread home. Our family lived not bad .we had averting. Mutch mutch better then other people.

[@TomasFunes-rt8rd]

Thanks for this, Mike Guardia, I subscribed ! But please do tell : regarding that thumbnail of the McDonalds devushki, is that anywhere in this video...? I know one of the original Moscow McDonald's girls, and hope to give her some hard-hitting nostalgia !

[@SalvadorButtersworth]

Did you send it to her yet?

[@TomasFunes-rt8rd]

@@SalvadorButtersworth Sorry, no - I was waiting for the answer to my question : "is that thumbnail pic of the McDonalds girls anywhere in this video" before I contact her (in Syria nowadays).

[@SalvadorButtersworth]

@@TomasFunes-rt8rd I just googled 80s moscow McDonald's girls & that picture is the first thing in the image search results

[@TomasFunes-rt8rd]

Thank you for that idea - I'll get into this !!@@SalvadorButtersworth

[@mro4ts457]

When Gorbachev visited the US for the first time, he thought we had built a bunch of fake things to impress him on his tour. So he requested a visit to a random supermarket during his trip, a random unscheduled stop so he could catch us lying and see what America really looked like. When they stopped he was astounded in disbelief at the sheer amount of stock and produce that market had for sale and that all the food was actually real. In the USSR, all of that was just propaganda, here in the US we were actually living the way they fakely bragged about…

[@VictorPhnom]

Пропаганда нужна была для того, чтобы людям в СССР не хотелось жить лучше, как живут на Западе

[@brianticas7671]

Well those days are gone man. USA is heading for downfall.

[@coolsceegaming6178]

For context on this: It was a rural grocery store in Kansas. Not a lot of people nearby. He was surprised at the following things: 1. The sheer abundance of food 2. The variety of foods 3. The fact that there was a freezer section 4. The fact that there was ice cream in that freezer section. He genuinely couldn’t believe a small grocery store in basically bumfuck nowhere would have the amount of random food it did, let alone the fact that there would be ice cream. It had 2 meanings: it meant there was an abundance of food that a luxury like ice cream could just…be bought at a fairly affordable price, and that people had enough room to store food that they could just throw a tub of ice cream in the freezer. I believe he had a quote about it, something along the lines of “the Russian people can’t know about this, or they’ll tear down the government.”

[@potatomanure3773]

Why does america have that much stock? Because they pillage and steal from much richer, in resources, countries than them and as a result they have to live in absolute poverty like in some regions in africa and asia. We have so much in america because we have taken so much from others but we justify that imperialism through racism

[@sa2lite272]

@@VictorPhnomНу вот сейчас живем как на западе, многие наверно довольны

[@justlyapanda]

An important note on the backend of this piece is the system that intended for the people to buy shares in various industries was bought up be a handful of wealthier individuals before they ever had a chance, the initialisation of this system which was great in theory is how the oligarchs of today accrued their wealth and influence.

[@chitownbangin]

"Igor Stroganoff" Excellent.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

In fairness, I'm sure I heard this a lot in my 80's childhood.

[@antpoo]

Beef stroganoff 😋

[@tushkafilms1061]

Man that would have been a hell hole to live in.

[@Dwight_]

I could not imagene living there i wonder if these people knew that alot of other places had it better.