[pydry]

Time magazine once bragged on its cover how the US helped Yeltsin win the election: https://off-guardian.org/2018/02/19/yanks-to-the-rescue-time...

He was essentially Russia's Trump although a) probably a lot more in America's pocket than vice versa and b) it's difficult to overstate how much Russia suffered under him. They suffered enormously in the 90s - quality of life and life expectancies declined enormously.

Now, if you imagine an alcoholic Trump who has wreaked massive havoc on the economy, driving Americans into poverty going on a state visit to Russia and fawning over, for example, a caviar tasting... how would you interpret that?

[baybal2]

> They suffered enormously in the 90s - quality of life and life expectancies declined enormously.

If you lived in the Potemkin village №1 — Moscow, then yes. Having myself lived in a part of Russia where light wasn't shining back in soviet times, nineties were such a giant breath of fresh air, and opportunity.

For most of people there, it was a never before seen opportunity to change their predicament to live in the empire's cloaca — the union's Far East. Were they to continue live as in USSR, most there would've probably kept living on a few dollars a day.

In 1993, longshoremen, and dockers in Vladivostok at my father's business were getting $300-$500 a month, almost as much as average bankers in Moscow. It was enough for somewhat comfortable living for most.

[082349872349872]

Vladivostok? I guess it could've been worse in soviet times. At least your father wasn't in Magadan.

It sounds like you're a generation or so too young, but do you have any opinions on КИНО? Any recommendations for Vladivostok (or general Pacific) music groups I should look up?

[baybal2]

No music, tv,radio, or anything there. The city was closed back in the union, no exit, or entry without a blessing from KGB, partcom, and the pope roman.

People were living alone along with their boredom, and their hatred.

[082349872349872]

That's a shame. With no local scene, and no radio to get leningrad programs like https://naftalin.radiorecord.ru , it must've been nothing but saunas, accordion, lox and great patriotic stuff like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dciV2ruUIsI on infinite repeat. My condolences.

Edit: if only you'd had radios, you would've heard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RVeoPQ8FiM . The pics seem to be recent, but the song's from 1985 Moscow. (Only 125 years? That's a boomtown: no wonder the USSR had so many similarities with the US. The city near me has been populated since about 6'000 BC, but only has a twentieth of the habitants.)

Bonus clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGbzCBLmfJg

The アニメ clips, as well as the album cover, hint at japanese influence. I guess japan is awfully close by, by which uncle youtube leads us to a bonus bonus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAHX_Oefm3c

[vmception]

Most Americans I know that have spent more than a week in Western or Central Europe, want to be in Western or Central Europe.

Not quite the same as Russia, but the concept being undermined is that USSR was a superpower that fell leaving only the US. When, at this point, most countries that were aligned with US offer better infrastructure and average-case opportunities for people, while dulling the best-case of rapid excess wealth attainment and practically nullifying the worst case of poverty, incarceration and marginalization which is a constant threat in the US.

Without a millenium of geopolitical baggage, Americans don't really care which country in Europe and sample them all for an unparalleled combination of benefits.

[pydry]

>the concept being undermined is that USSR was a superpower

If Time magazine is bragging about having installed the puppet president that came on a state visit to your supermarket I would have thought that concept was well and truly undermined already.

I don't see how that supermarket having a fancy fish counter really contributes to that other than as a publicity stunt.

[082349872349872]

Brezhnev may have had the Trump eye: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/79/d2/5b/79d25b5058348a24e117...

I don't think Trump has ever been accused of wandering around Moscow blotto, but Putin certainly got a laugh when he claimed he was certain that, Trump's hotel having been in close proximity to the Bolshoi, the future POTUS, a family man, would undoubtedly have taken the opportunity to sample the culture of Russia instead of that of its girls of low social responsibility.