[Muromec]

I actually lived through the whole thing and I don't agree with your take. The hard drop in 90ies has more to do with the soviet system collapsing and taking away the floor than with capitalism opening up the top. It was a time of struggle where some more adaptable people ripped the benefits, but for everybody else it was a very tough time. Instead of working 9 to 5 and going home a lot of people had to work 2 or three jobs, drastically change their lifestyle and take the burden of care for their parents because the state basically defaulted on their pensions.

If you think that people didn't have ambitions, it's also not true. You could still climb the ladder inside the system, it's just the monetary reward was capped at having middle class-level comfort instead of being unbelievably rich. You could always be a head of something or go by the party route to have more nice things or have friends to bring stuff from the west too.

[watwut]

Childbirth did not went up all that much even as economic conditions got better. Largest driver of children in communism were really people checked out of public and professional life, retreating to hobbies and family.

Your options to climb the ladder inside the system were severely limited, especially if you was young. Communism and working in communism was sleepy and having ambitions was negative - just about the only way to use ambitions was to be political, denounce who you have to denounce and do the dirty work for the state.

> You could always be a head of something or go by the party route to have more nice things or have friends to bring stuff from the west too.

Of course that implies comfort with a lot of dirt and amorality. Yep, some people did that. Everybody knew what being party meant and some of these people are still the sleaziest politicians out there. Not everyone had stomach for that.

Plus, you could not do this if you was from the wrong family.