Not sure I agree when we now know the majority of their economic statistics were hokum and the average second world worker earned basically 10%-25% of what a Western European or American worker did. https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/soviet-economy-1917-1991-its-...
Sure, (most) Russians made less than (most) Americans but they also importantly made more than workers in other parts of the world (the "third world") and even more importantly much much more than Russians were making in 1917. There is also probably a stability dividend at play here -- Soviet jobs were much more stable and so much more desirable even at the same level of pay.
> much much more than Russians were making in 1917
Which is true almost anywhere in the world. Obviously Russia was several decades behind western Europe in 1917. But I’d be very surprised in if the gap between Western Europe and Russia in this regard was considerably higher in 1915 than it was in 1985.
> Soviet jobs were much more stable and so much more desirable even at the same level of pay.
What is this even supposed to mean? It was illegal to not have a job and most people couldn’t freely choose their workplace. Obviously certain positions which provided access to state resources were highly coveted despite only a moderate increase in pay (I don’t think I need to explain why). How is that in anyway
something positive, though?