Yes, that was not only insensitive, but incredibly rude. Do you have any idea what that man went through under the Soviet Union? How much he and his family suffered? Many of us decide to move away from the former Soviet Union in order to build a life outside of that and to forget what we had to suffer through. That man was trying to teach you, to help you be successful in whatever you wanted to do when you graduated and you had to go and remind him of how much he had to suffer just to get to the position where he could help you. If you had done that in my class, I would have kicked you out and failed you for the semester.[/quote]
That sheds new light on the good prof. I will say that he was intense, but knew his shit inside and out, and taught with that same intensity. It seems he did us a favour by letting us off with a dirty look. I suppose the level of ignorance I exhibited back in 1998 explains why my university career ended in 1999. Karma’s a bitch.
At the time, I had not thought of it in terms of the USSR being the “government”, and each republic being the “homeland”… Does that sort of touch on why your parents and brother don’t want to leave? Because one can love Russia (one’s country), without loving the corrupt system that caused all of the hardships?
I realize too that my previous questions have ended up highlighting some of the SU’s “strengths” (transportation/healthcare). Not my intention. Just two things I was curious about.
ETA: After some reflection, I can truly appreciate how offensive this could be. I’m sorry to those I’ve offended, and assure you, that armed with a better understanding of life under the SU, I will never make that mistake again. I regret that I can’t apologize to the professor himself.[/quote]
You probably can unless he retired. Faculty have email addresses on the campus web page. Send him the note if you can.
Wow Matt, really interesting thread. Aside from watching the History channel, which really only focuses on WW2 battles, I had no idea what it was like back then (21 years old).
I got the chills a few times but thanks for making me a little less ignorant
Yes, that was not only insensitive, but incredibly rude. Do you have any idea what that man went through under the Soviet Union? How much he and his family suffered? Many of us decide to move away from the former Soviet Union in order to build a life outside of that and to forget what we had to suffer through. That man was trying to teach you, to help you be successful in whatever you wanted to do when you graduated and you had to go and remind him of how much he had to suffer just to get to the position where he could help you. If you had done that in my class, I would have kicked you out and failed you for the semester.[/quote]
That sheds new light on the good prof. I will say that he was intense, but knew his shit inside and out, and taught with that same intensity. It seems he did us a favour by letting us off with a dirty look. I suppose the level of ignorance I exhibited back in 1998 explains why my university career ended in 1999. Karma’s a bitch.
At the time, I had not thought of it in terms of the USSR being the “government”, and each republic being the “homeland”… Does that sort of touch on why your parents and brother don’t want to leave? Because one can love Russia (one’s country), without loving the corrupt system that caused all of the hardships?
I realize too that my previous questions have ended up highlighting some of the SU’s “strengths” (transportation/healthcare). Not my intention. Just two things I was curious about.
ETA: After some reflection, I can truly appreciate how offensive this could be. I’m sorry to those I’ve offended, and assure you, that armed with a better understanding of life under the SU, I will never make that mistake again. I regret that I can’t apologize to the professor himself.[/quote]
You probably can unless he retired. Faculty have email addresses on the campus web page. Send him the note if you can.[/quote]
This. If your professor is still teaching, his public e-mail will be on his school’s website, and you should send him an apology. Trust me, he still remembers the incident and will appreciate it. And don’t worry about your questions on this thread. You mentioned very important topics that deserved to be discussed. Just because the Soviet Union did a couple of things well does not mean that we should ignore them and concentrate only on the bad things.I started this thread to share experiences and answer questions, so don’t be afraid to ask. It also doesn’t make up for all the evil things that happened under the Soviet Union.
[quote]Chilliwack wrote:
Scenario:
First year university physics class. A Russian professor named Zbigniew. He would ask multiple choice questions throughout the class, and we would have to hold up a letter card (A-E), so he could gauge whether most of the class was one the right wavelength.
Me and three friends thought it would be hilarious to change the B card to read P, and each held up a card, spelling out CCCP. Zbigniew noticed, and was not impressed.
Question:
Is Russian humour similar to Wester humour? Was that insensitive?[/quote]
I’ll say this, I don’t believe you have a grasp of western humor. [/quote]
I am glad I am not the only one who failed to see the humor here. When I think of Western humor, I think of stuff like Major Payne, Ace Ventura, or Animal House. Now those are funny.
[quote]Bambi wrote:
Out of curiosity, what do/did older Russians who lived under Stalin, Khrushchev, think about them compared to people born later?
And this is a great thread, I wish some of my friends who tell me that Communism and Socialism are great ‘because they never really happened in the Soviet Union, they weren’t proper Communism or Socialism’ could read this.[/quote]
Stalin had a pretty good personality cult going on during his reign, plus his propaganda program did an excellent job, so a lot of people who lived during his reign view him favorably. These are also the brainwashed people that Edevus and I have ranted about a couple of times on this thread. Khrushchev ran a “de-Stalinization” campaign in order to undo the brainwashing that Stalin did, but its effectiveness is debatable. All in all, the brainwashed and the small percentage of people who had a good life under the Soviet Union tend to view them favorably and those of us that have shaken off the Soviet brainwashing see them as the people they really were.
SKELAC, you sure know everything, that one needs to know to please a Finn.
Back to the CCCP. I think this wasn’t yet covered, but isn’t it true, that CCCP was organized so, that not one state/district could live by itself. One or couple of states produced the cars, few produced oil and so forth. So material was flowing thru places, made good railroad network, created work, but was really made to prevent any state to become too independent.[/quote]
This was how it generally how it worked out, but I don’t know if it was by design or not. For instance, there is not much arable land in Russia, (something like 10 percent of the land in Russia is arable) and a lot of the land that is arable is located in Siberia so it just makes sense that we got a lot of food from elsewhere. I wouldn’t put it past the Soviet government to have done that on purpose, though. It did not help things when the Soviet Union collapsed.
[quote]Bambi wrote:
Out of curiosity, what do/did older Russians who lived under Stalin, Khrushchev, think about them compared to people born later?
And this is a great thread, I wish some of my friends who tell me that Communism and Socialism are great ‘because they never really happened in the Soviet Union, they weren’t proper Communism or Socialism’ could read this.[/quote]
The world has never seen Communism as written and it never will.[/quote]
Exactly. It does not matter that “true” communism and socialism never really came to be under the Soviet Union. The fact that the process of transforming into true communism or socialism led to the kind of corruption and evil that existed under the Soviet Union is enough to show that large scale communism or socialism is just not a practical reality.
[quote]Bambi wrote:
Out of curiosity, what do/did older Russians who lived under Stalin, Khrushchev, think about them compared to people born later?
And this is a great thread, I wish some of my friends who tell me that Communism and Socialism are great ‘because they never really happened in the Soviet Union, they weren’t proper Communism or Socialism’ could read this.[/quote]
Stalin had a pretty good personality cult going on during his reign, plus his propaganda program did an excellent job, so a lot of people who lived during his reign view him favorably. These are also the brainwashed people that Edevus and I have ranted about a couple of times on this thread. Khrushchev ran a “de-Stalinization” campaign in order to undo the brainwashing that Stalin did, but its effectiveness is debatable. All in all, the brainwashed and the small percentage of people who had a good life under the Soviet Union tend to view them favorably and those of us that have shaken off the Soviet brainwashing see them as the people they really were.[/quote]
Sounds like present day North Korea… I recently caught the last few minutes or so of a Stalin documentary showing his funeral. The people were weeping uncontrollably. I was thinking “Wait, they actually liked him?” It wasn’t as over-the-top as the news clips of the North Koreans mourning for Kim Jung Il, but kind of funny(?) in a sad kind of way.
Could you elaborate on the love for Russia? Although things are better now, there must be memories and reminders of very unhappy times. [/quote]
Their love of Russia is the same as anyone else’s love of their home. My family has lived in what is now the Russian Federation for a very long time. As far as I know, I am the first member of my family to live outside of that region in over a thousand years. That builds ties that are hard to break. The memories are often bitter for all of us, but they are also combined with memories of a loving family that did the best we could in a harsh environment. It also brings them no small amount of satisfaction knowing that after centuries, or even millennia, of being at the very bottom of society, all of my immediate family are now successful and well off.
Mostly the love of my family. We are all very close. Living like we did under the Soviet Union will do that. Plus, Russian culture is very family oriented anyway.
Pretty much the same way everyone else in the world does. Similar people who share a culture living in the same geographical location develop a collective identity and over time, they become attached to their homes and society. The only real question is the best type of government to oversee the smooth operation of that society. That is what the Russian Federation and the rest of the former Soviet Republics are trying to figure out right now.
It is a genuine love of Russia.
[quote] Given such a difference between classes, are they living “high on the hog” so to speak?
[/quote]
My family is not “rich,” but we all make very good livings and are near the top as far as household incomes are concerned.
The Russian mob is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. They are very powerful and play a major role in business and politics. Crime was very low under the Soviet Union, with the exception of the government itself, and the Mob came from the remnants of the Soviet government. In the chaotic time after the Soviet Union collapsed, many government officials “appropriated” funds and materiel and decided to take up a life of crime rather then operate honestly in a capitalist market. Thus the Russian Mob was born.
[quote]Bambi wrote:
Out of curiosity, what do/did older Russians who lived under Stalin, Khrushchev, think about them compared to people born later?
And this is a great thread, I wish some of my friends who tell me that Communism and Socialism are great ‘because they never really happened in the Soviet Union, they weren’t proper Communism or Socialism’ could read this.[/quote]
Stalin had a pretty good personality cult going on during his reign, plus his propaganda program did an excellent job, so a lot of people who lived during his reign view him favorably. These are also the brainwashed people that Edevus and I have ranted about a couple of times on this thread. Khrushchev ran a “de-Stalinization” campaign in order to undo the brainwashing that Stalin did, but its effectiveness is debatable. All in all, the brainwashed and the small percentage of people who had a good life under the Soviet Union tend to view them favorably and those of us that have shaken off the Soviet brainwashing see them as the people they really were.[/quote]
Sounds like present day North Korea… I recently caught the last few minutes or so of a Stalin documentary showing his funeral. The people were weeping uncontrollably. I was thinking “Wait, they actually liked him?” It wasn’t as over-the-top as the news clips of the North Koreans mourning for Kim Jung Il, but kind of funny(?) in a sad kind of way.[/quote]
From what little I know of North Korea, life is actually worse there then it ever was under the Soviet Union. I look at it as what the Soviet Union would have been like today if it had not collapsed.
[quote]Bambi wrote:
Out of curiosity, what do/did older Russians who lived under Stalin, Khrushchev, think about them compared to people born later?
And this is a great thread, I wish some of my friends who tell me that Communism and Socialism are great ‘because they never really happened in the Soviet Union, they weren’t proper Communism or Socialism’ could read this.[/quote]
The world has never seen Communism as written and it never will.[/quote]
Exactly. It does not matter that “true” communism and socialism never really came to be under the Soviet Union. The fact that the process of transforming into true communism or socialism led to the kind of corruption and evil that existed under the Soviet Union is enough to show that large scale communism or socialism is just not a practical reality.
[/quote]
Totally agree on that. Leadership and power are necessary tools in political reform, but the leaders always end up trying to hold on to that power.
That was an amazing interview, thanks for posting that.[/quote]
I wish there were subtitles on that. I was born in Yugoslavia (Macedonia specifically) during the Tito years but came to the US when I was 1. I can only understand like 50% of the interview because I forgot alot of the language by not speaking it and the dialogues between the former Yugoslav nations are all a little different.
I am so thankful my parents had the opportunity to come to the US. I can’t imagine my life if they didn’t take that leap.
I wish there were subtitles on that. I was born in Yugoslavia (Macedonia specifically) during the Tito years but came to the US when I was 1. I can only understand like 50% of the interview because I forgot alot of the language by not speaking it and the dialogues between the former Yugoslav nations are all a little different.
I am so thankful my parents had the opportunity to come to the US. I can’t imagine my life if they didn’t take that leap.[/quote]
SKELAC posted a link to the English translation. It is on the previous page, about halfway down.
