[flohofwoe]

In Eastern Europe the Soviet Union was that "hegemonial force", yet most people didn't care to learn much Russian, even though it was mandatory in school (for instance in Eastern Germany) and fluent Russian would have opened up some juicy carreer paths. My English was much better than my Russian, mainly because of the cultural influence via Western radio and TV. The Soviet Union simply wasn't "cool" for an East German teenager in any way.