Bring back our Soviet past. A Russian remembers.
Sun 9:19 pm +01:00, 19 Mar 2023 1My reply to someone in regard to socialism:
I was born and raised in Soviet Union. It was not perfect. Only when I came to the US, the HQ of capitalism, I have realized how much I have lost. Unfortunately I have lost my Soviet citizenship by leaving my country, and so I could not go back. 10 yrs later everyone has lost the greatest country on earth, and all ex Soviet citizen now mourn it. You have no idea what freedom and ease of life is, when the most important things are taken care of for you: when you have the best healthcare, with doctors making house calls and if needed taking you to a hospital where you would remain till cured, and no one pushes drugs, and unnecessary procedures on you – only what’s needed, sometimes just herbs and diet.
When kids get the best education, free summer camps and extra curriculum activities
when your vacation is 1 month or more.
when you receive pension at 55 as a woman and 60 as a man
when you are guaranteed to have a home.
when the public transportation is so great that a car is a luxury, not necessity
and when everything is organic.
Everything you know about socialism is a lie. It’s a great way of life. We were certainly much poorer than people in the west, but we had plenty of time for family and friends and travel – and that is what’s most precious in life.
I did Ok for myself in the capitalist society – I own a small biz and a house and a car, I traveled the world and raised a family. But I am by no means free – I sleep with the phone next to my pillow because work. The real freedom I remember is left in my Soviet days – like when I wanted to ride a horse, I would simply go to a stable and ask for one, and then I would gallop it through endless fields and jump into the river on it for an extra oomph on top – no helmets. Sometimes even no stirrups, if I was barefoot.
Even if I bought me a horse here, I would need to own God knows how many acres to replicate this experience. When I was growing up, it was free. The freedom of jumping on a train and going to Moscow on a whim. But the most important freedom that we all took for granted then was to never worry about having a roof over your head or if you can afford your kid’s college or falling sick. This kind of freedom made our human relationships much more deep and intimate than it remotely possible in the west, where making a living must take the priority.
Ella Moss vk.com
A very good letter Tap, which reminds me how brainwashed we have been in the west regarding ethnic Russians which are supposedly the fount of Communism! As with all major revolutions it was organised by the same people controlling those independent states – City of London, Washington DC and the Vatican. I suspect if she had been residing in a large City in Russia things wouldn’t have been so Rosy!