[xattt]

They spoke freely but they still faced consequences. I know of someone who protested against the party in the early 80s in Moscow, only to undergo interrogation by the KGB and jailed for three weeks. Their pet bird died because they simply “disappeared” for that time and no one knew where they went.

[the_grue]

Protesting publicly is one thing. Talking in your own kitchen is another. I guess some unlucky people got busted for that, but generally it was safe, as long as no one deliberately ratted you out (which didn't happen much since Stalin died). And even then, circumstances needed to be really hard against you.

Also, it obviously matters what it is you're saying. Most people just told jokes about the communist regime and talked about how shitty life was. Nobody cared about that as long as they kept it private.

[PavlovsCat]

You can "speak freely in private" because it's not free speech, which requires a public space. It's like saying "I am allowed to show my face under this bag I am required to carry over my head". Yes, you are, because you're not really showing your face, as long as that bag is in place.

And why would they (the KGB) have cared (about jokes)? The venting of steam, instead of letting it build up and affect change, would have to be invented if people didn't do it voluntarily. That kind of self-deprecating humour is all over our media these days, too, we love to bring up important subjects to channel them into harmless stuff, just because we can't pretend it's not there, but also not allow ourselves to actually see it and be serious in its presence.

[the_grue]

It sounds like you're trying to disprove an argument I never made. Let me be clear about this: there was no free speech in the USSR and you couldn't sound criticism publicly.

But some assume that the absence of free speech means that everyone is either brainwashed or so terrified they are afraid to speak their minds at home. I just had to point out this is not how it was in the late USSR.

[xattt]

Dissidence was managed in the USSR. Individuals would be allowed to say enough things that would contribute to self-incrimination. When it was convenient for the party, the “debt” was called and individuals would then be held responsible for their actions.