I am Russian. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

Hi New Poster, thanks for chiming in! (this is OP)
On parks and greens, it has become so much worse now, at least at a large city where I come from (not Moscow). I know that in smaller towns and maybe 10-20 years ago it was (and still is) different.
On Jewish people - I better shut up here, I obviously don't know many things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op Can you explain to me, how did communism work on a day-to-day, practical basis? You mentioned the different workers - blue collar, white collar, party elite, farmers - so you just do your job and the state gives you what, free housing? Free power, water, heat? Tickets or coupons to take to the grocery store? Is everyone supposed to get the same number of coupons? Are you forced to go to your job? What if you want to retire or you are ill? Was there a set retirement age? Did a doctor have to certify for the state that you were too ill to work? Did you get vacations? How much? How about spending money for vacations? Who could have a car? Was alcohol legal?

I will try to answer this in as much detail as possible. Housing - there was free housing (you had to wait for a long time to qualify), and you could join the so called co-operatives (condo associations), you had to have a downpayment and then you basically paid mortgage on your condo. My grandparents did that.
Utilities - you had to pay but it was heavily subsidized for everyone so very cheap.
You would get a salary. Coupons were very rare, they were given for some "deficit" foods or other stuff, and they also reappeared in the 90s, so after Communism, basically.
Forced to go to the job? not really, my mom was a SAHM, and though it was rare, it was not something "bad". You could retire at a certain age and you would get your pension, all provided by the state (so it is not like you earn your own retirement, i.e. not an individual account, but your retirement would be paid out of the common pool so to speak, you children would work to provide your retirement). Sick leave was not a problem. Yes, vacations, and yes, doctor had to certify you are sick, yes, certain retirement age (around 55-60). Vacations - you could get this cheap (camping for example), or visit relatives, or going to the beach (this was more upscale of course). There was also a number of heavily subsidized "rest houses" (i.e. hotels with full board in the countryside) where you could spend a vacation.
Cars were expensive, but public transport was cheap and reliable.
Alcohol was legal for the most part (in the 80s Gorbachev tried to introduce prohibition, but it did not work).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op Can you explain to me, how did communism work on a day-to-day, practical basis? You mentioned the different workers - blue collar, white collar, party elite, farmers - so you just do your job and the state gives you what, free housing? Free power, water, heat? Tickets or coupons to take to the grocery store? Is everyone supposed to get the same number of coupons? Are you forced to go to your job? What if you want to retire or you are ill? Was there a set retirement age? Did a doctor have to certify for the state that you were too ill to work? Did you get vacations? How much? How about spending money for vacations? Who could have a car? Was alcohol legal?

Never been to russia, but I can answer
You get a salary
Schools are free. University students get a small allowance
Salary almost the same in most professions. Doctors do not earn much
Housing is hard to get in big cities.
Regions that are in the north pay high wages.
Vacations are affordable, mostly in russia. In soviet times you could travel to the west in organized groups, tuors
Hospital and healthcare system worked well. A poor russian had access to better medical care than a poor person in america
Not that it was a dream society, but not nearly as bad you imagine

LOL, one can tell you have never been to Russia. Communism used alcohol to keep people drunk and ignorant. There was no freedom of religion; in fact people who did practice their beliefs did so secretly. No toilet paper. No real jobs--people pretended to work and the government pretended to pay them. Medical care was medieval and bribes were often paid to get decent treatment in the "free" system.

On alcohol - I think it is too strong a statement. Yes, alcohol was legal and cheap, but if communists wanted to keep people ignorant, why would they introduce high quality universal (or highly accessible) elementary, high school, and university educaion?
Religion - YOU brought this up, not the PP who asked the questions. But since you asked - there was SOME practice of orthodox christianity, but your reputation would be ruined if you were seen in church. I don't know about other religions. I take your word for the fact that it was a big problem in Eastern Europe, because the situation was different as I already mentioned.
No real jobs? well, how about all the construction that took place? education? science? yes, there were A LOT of pretend jobs, but certainly not all of them were like that, and you could always choose. Artificial jobs were a way to keep lazy, incompetent people occupied, minimally provided for and therefore content (would it be better if they started panhandling or committing crimes?)
Medical care again was very different - from top notch hospitals to poorly equipped village "medpunkty". Bribes were NOT universal, though they did exist.

I am not saying it was all roses - but certainly not as gloomy as you portray.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op Can you explain to me, how did communism work on a day-to-day, practical basis? You mentioned the different workers - blue collar, white collar, party elite, farmers - so you just do your job and the state gives you what, free housing? Free power, water, heat? Tickets or coupons to take to the grocery store? Is everyone supposed to get the same number of coupons? Are you forced to go to your job? What if you want to retire or you are ill? Was there a set retirement age? Did a doctor have to certify for the state that you were too ill to work? Did you get vacations? How much? How about spending money for vacations? Who could have a car? Was alcohol legal?

Never been to russia, but I can answer
You get a salary
Schools are free. University students get a small allowance
Salary almost the same in most professions. Doctors do not earn much
Housing is hard to get in big cities.
Regions that are in the north pay high wages.
Vacations are affordable, mostly in russia. In soviet times you could travel to the west in organized groups, tuors
Hospital and healthcare system worked well. A poor russian had access to better medical care than a poor person in america
Not that it was a dream society, but not nearly as bad you imagine

LOL, one can tell you have never been to Russia. Communism used alcohol to keep people drunk and ignorant. There was no freedom of religion; in fact people who did practice their beliefs did so secretly. No toilet paper. No real jobs--people pretended to work and the government pretended to pay them. Medical care was medieval and bribes were often paid to get decent treatment in the "free" system.

On alcohol - I think it is too strong a statement. Yes, alcohol was legal and cheap, but if communists wanted to keep people ignorant, why would they introduce high quality universal (or highly accessible) elementary, high school, and university educaion?
Religion - YOU brought this up, not the PP who asked the questions. But since you asked - there was SOME practice of orthodox christianity, but your reputation would be ruined if you were seen in church. I don't know about other religions. I take your word for the fact that it was a big problem in Eastern Europe, because the situation was different as I already mentioned.
No real jobs? well, how about all the construction that took place? education? science? yes, there were A LOT of pretend jobs, but certainly not all of them were like that, and you could always choose. Artificial jobs were a way to keep lazy, incompetent people occupied, minimally provided for and therefore content (would it be better if they started panhandling or committing crimes?)
Medical care again was very different - from top notch hospitals to poorly equipped village "medpunkty". Bribes were NOT universal, though they did exist.

I am not saying it was all roses - but certainly not as gloomy as you portray.

Ha ha, pretend jobs Where don't they have them? Do you know anyone working at a pretend job in the US especially in this town? If no, then you probably live under a rock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really, you get a salary? How do they decide who makes how much? If everyone is equal?

Salary was an incentive to attract people to less desirable and prestigious professions, so in many cases a building crane operator would get more than a doctor.
--OP

LOL. Seems a bit like a garbage person getting more than a person with a PhD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op Can you explain to me, how did communism work on a day-to-day, practical basis? You mentioned the different workers - blue collar, white collar, party elite, farmers - so you just do your job and the state gives you what, free housing? Free power, water, heat? Tickets or coupons to take to the grocery store? Is everyone supposed to get the same number of coupons? Are you forced to go to your job? What if you want to retire or you are ill? Was there a set retirement age? Did a doctor have to certify for the state that you were too ill to work? Did you get vacations? How much? How about spending money for vacations? Who could have a car? Was alcohol legal?

Never been to russia, but I can answer
You get a salary
Schools are free. University students get a small allowance
Salary almost the same in most professions. Doctors do not earn much
Housing is hard to get in big cities.
Regions that are in the north pay high wages.
Vacations are affordable, mostly in russia. In soviet times you could travel to the west in organized groups, tuors
Hospital and healthcare system worked well. A poor russian had access to better medical care than a poor person in america
Not that it was a dream society, but not nearly as bad you imagine

LOL, one can tell you have never been to Russia. Communism used alcohol to keep people drunk and ignorant. There was no freedom of religion; in fact people who did practice their beliefs did so secretly. No toilet paper. No real jobs--people pretended to work and the government pretended to pay them. Medical care was medieval and bribes were often paid to get decent treatment in the "free" system.

On alcohol - I think it is too strong a statement. Yes, alcohol was legal and cheap, but if communists wanted to keep people ignorant, why would they introduce high quality universal (or highly accessible) elementary, high school, and university educaion?
Religion - YOU brought this up, not the PP who asked the questions. But since you asked - there was SOME practice of orthodox christianity, but your reputation would be ruined if you were seen in church. I don't know about other religions. I take your word for the fact that it was a big problem in Eastern Europe, because the situation was different as I already mentioned.
No real jobs? well, how about all the construction that took place? education? science? yes, there were A LOT of pretend jobs, but certainly not all of them were like that, and you could always choose. Artificial jobs were a way to keep lazy, incompetent people occupied, minimally provided for and therefore content (would it be better if they started panhandling or committing crimes?)
Medical care again was very different - from top notch hospitals to poorly equipped village "medpunkty". Bribes were NOT universal, though they did exist.

I am not saying it was all roses - but certainly not as gloomy as you portray.

Ha ha, pretend jobs Where don't they have them? Do you know anyone working at a pretend job in the US especially in this town? If no, then you probably live under a rock.

To be honest I know a whole block of buildings in dc where a majority of jobs are pretend...the pay is not though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op Can you explain to me, how did communism work on a day-to-day, practical basis? You mentioned the different workers - blue collar, white collar, party elite, farmers - so you just do your job and the state gives you what, free housing? Free power, water, heat? Tickets or coupons to take to the grocery store? Is everyone supposed to get the same number of coupons? Are you forced to go to your job? What if you want to retire or you are ill? Was there a set retirement age? Did a doctor have to certify for the state that you were too ill to work? Did you get vacations? How much? How about spending money for vacations? Who could have a car? Was alcohol legal?

Never been to russia, but I can answer
You get a salary
Schools are free. University students get a small allowance
Salary almost the same in most professions. Doctors do not earn much
Housing is hard to get in big cities.
Regions that are in the north pay high wages.
Vacations are affordable, mostly in russia. In soviet times you could travel to the west in organized groups, tuors
Hospital and healthcare system worked well. A poor russian had access to better medical care than a poor person in america
Not that it was a dream society, but not nearly as bad you imagine

LOL, one can tell you have never been to Russia. Communism used alcohol to keep people drunk and ignorant. There was no freedom of religion; in fact people who did practice their beliefs did so secretly. No toilet paper. No real jobs--people pretended to work and the government pretended to pay them. Medical care was medieval and bribes were often paid to get decent treatment in the "free" system.

On alcohol - I think it is too strong a statement. Yes, alcohol was legal and cheap, but if communists wanted to keep people ignorant, why would they introduce high quality universal (or highly accessible) elementary, high school, and university educaion?
Religion - YOU brought this up, not the PP who asked the questions. But since you asked - there was SOME practice of orthodox christianity, but your reputation would be ruined if you were seen in church. I don't know about other religions. I take your word for the fact that it was a big problem in Eastern Europe, because the situation was different as I already mentioned.
No real jobs? well, how about all the construction that took place? education? science? yes, there were A LOT of pretend jobs, but certainly not all of them were like that, and you could always choose. Artificial jobs were a way to keep lazy, incompetent people occupied, minimally provided for and therefore content (would it be better if they started panhandling or committing crimes?)
Medical care again was very different - from top notch hospitals to poorly equipped village "medpunkty". Bribes were NOT universal, though they did exist.

I am not saying it was all roses - but certainly not as gloomy as you portray.

Ha ha, pretend jobs Where don't they have them? Do you know anyone working at a pretend job in the US especially in this town? If no, then you probably live under a rock.

To be honest I know a whole block of buildings in dc where a majority of jobs are pretend...the pay is not though

+2. This town if full of these kinds of jobs. I couldn't believe there were people who get paid for showing up, and some who don't really even do that much. The funny thing is many of them seem to feel entitled, believe they are overqualified for their jobs and expect more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really, you get a salary? How do they decide who makes how much? If everyone is equal?

Salary was an incentive to attract people to less desirable and prestigious professions, so in many cases a building crane operator would get more than a doctor.
--OP

LOL. Seems a bit like a garbage person getting more than a person with a PhD.

Exactly! Many people would also go to the northern parts of Russia to earn good money, which they than used to buy condos.
Another high earning category were dental technicians (or whatever you would call a person making crowns and prostheses based on molds).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op Can you explain to me, how did communism work on a day-to-day, practical basis? You mentioned the different workers - blue collar, white collar, party elite, farmers - so you just do your job and the state gives you what, free housing? Free power, water, heat? Tickets or coupons to take to the grocery store? Is everyone supposed to get the same number of coupons? Are you forced to go to your job? What if you want to retire or you are ill? Was there a set retirement age? Did a doctor have to certify for the state that you were too ill to work? Did you get vacations? How much? How about spending money for vacations? Who could have a car? Was alcohol legal?

Never been to russia, but I can answer
You get a salary
Schools are free. University students get a small allowance
Salary almost the same in most professions. Doctors do not earn much
Housing is hard to get in big cities.
Regions that are in the north pay high wages.
Vacations are affordable, mostly in russia. In soviet times you could travel to the west in organized groups, tuors
Hospital and healthcare system worked well. A poor russian had access to better medical care than a poor person in america
Not that it was a dream society, but not nearly as bad you imagine

LOL, one can tell you have never been to Russia. Communism used alcohol to keep people drunk and ignorant. There was no freedom of religion; in fact people who did practice their beliefs did so secretly. No toilet paper. No real jobs--people pretended to work and the government pretended to pay them. Medical care was medieval and bribes were often paid to get decent treatment in the "free" system.

On alcohol - I think it is too strong a statement. Yes, alcohol was legal and cheap, but if communists wanted to keep people ignorant, why would they introduce high quality universal (or highly accessible) elementary, high school, and university educaion?
Religion - YOU brought this up, not the PP who asked the questions. But since you asked - there was SOME practice of orthodox christianity, but your reputation would be ruined if you were seen in church. I don't know about other religions. I take your word for the fact that it was a big problem in Eastern Europe, because the situation was different as I already mentioned.
No real jobs? well, how about all the construction that took place? education? science? yes, there were A LOT of pretend jobs, but certainly not all of them were like that, and you could always choose. Artificial jobs were a way to keep lazy, incompetent people occupied, minimally provided for and therefore content (would it be better if they started panhandling or committing crimes?)
Medical care again was very different - from top notch hospitals to poorly equipped village "medpunkty". Bribes were NOT universal, though they did exist.

I am not saying it was all roses - but certainly not as gloomy as you portray.

Ha ha, pretend jobs Where don't they have them? Do you know anyone working at a pretend job in the US especially in this town? If no, then you probably live under a rock.

To be honest I know a whole block of buildings in dc where a majority of jobs are pretend...the pay is not though

+2. This town if full of these kinds of jobs. I couldn't believe there were people who get paid for showing up, and some who don't really even do that much. The funny thing is many of them seem to feel entitled, believe they are overqualified for their jobs and expect more.

Well, pretend jobs do differ in levels of seniority and pay. To a certain extent, the higher level you are, the less you do and the more you earn.

[Anonymous]

What do you think about the 2 year prison sentence for the Pussy Riot members? Will they do hard time with hard criminals at a cold, snowy prison?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you think about the 2 year prison sentence for the Pussy Riot members? Will they do hard time with hard criminals at a cold, snowy prison?

I haven't been following this case, but if they did not mess with Putin's vested interests I am sure they will go on probation (am I using the right term? When you don't do the time but get a record that you were sentenced?). But again I am saying this not knowing any details as frankly I think this whole thing is stupid.

[Anonymous]

Just finished reading the whole 19 pages. Thank you guys for a very interesting read!
Otdelnoe chelovecheskoe spasibo to OP for not losing her cool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just finished reading the whole 19 pages. Thank you guys for a very interesting read!
Otdelnoe chelovecheskoe spasibo to OP for not losing her cool.

Love the OP. She's fabulous!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished reading the whole 19 pages. Thank you guys for a very interesting read!
Otdelnoe chelovecheskoe spasibo to OP for not losing her cool.

Love the OP. She's fabulous!

I think the OP is annoying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just finished reading the whole 19 pages. Thank you guys for a very interesting read!
Otdelnoe chelovecheskoe spasibo to OP for not losing her cool.

Love the OP. She's fabulous!

me too! this is probably one of the only ask me anything threads i read in its entirety.