[flowerbreeze]

I think more accurate would be to say it allowed freedom from expression, freedom from religion and freedom from assembly. Unless in the service of the communist party of course.

[lb1lf]

A former colleague of mine, born and raised in the USSR, liked to quip that there was only one minor difference in the way freedom of expression was implemented in the USSR and in the West.

Both places guaranteed the freedom to express oneself, but only the West guaranteed your freedom also after you'd expressed yourself.

[lovecg]

“In America we have freedoms. I can stand in front of the White House and shout, ‘President Truman is a moron!’”

“Big deal, it’s the same here. I can also stand in the middle of the Red Square and shout ‘President Truman is a moron’”.