[ash]

Initially you wrote: "In magic scenario USSR would be restored, I would go back and work in an institute".

You didn't mention what kind of USSR would you like to be restored. Of course, there were different periods in Soviet history, with various rate and cruelty of persecutions. To stress my point I chose one of the most hideous periods. But unfair persecutions were always there.

[Demiurge]

If USSR was restored, it would obviously be the period of 2013. The pre-Gorbochev era was what my 'father' should obviously reference. The 'cruelties' of the Soviet period are directly related to the cruelties of the world at large, such as preparations for WW2.

[ash]

> The 'cruelties' of the Soviet period are directly related to the cruelties of the world at large, such as preparations for WW2.

This statement is so generic, that it's very hard to argue about it. "World at large", "directly related" - what do mean by those exactly?

Pre-Gorbachev era was certainly safer to live in than Stalin era. But I would argue that "cruelty" was actually one the pillars of the Soviet system. Totalitarian system couldn't survive without the excessive use of force. That's why it's called "totalitarian". Less cruelty leads to less control, and finally leads to collapse of the system. Foreign intervention had very little to do with the collapse of USSR.