The further the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics goes into the past , the more there are those who want to return to it. Life in the USSR was not ideal, but people are bored, remembered and compared. Today, this era still excites and excites compatriots. Sometimes serious debates unfold in society, figuring out how happy the Soviet people were and how they lived in the USSR.
Differently
According to the recollections of most compatriots, it was a simple and happy life for millions of people who were proud of their great power and aspired to a brighter future. Stability was the hallmark of the time: no one was afraid of tomorrow, nor of price increases, nor dismissal. People had a strong base under them, because, as they say, they could sleep peacefully.
There were pros and cons in the life of the USSR. Someone recalls the endless queues and scarcity of that time, someone can’t forget the accessibility of education and medicine, but someone continues to nostalgic for kind and trusting human relationships that had nothing to do with material values and status.
The Soviet people had very close and friendly relations with each other. To sit with the neighboring kids or run away for someone at the pharmacy was not a question. Linen was free to dry on the street, and the keys to the apartment were under the rug. Nobody thought about the bars on the windows and iron doors, there was no one to steal. On the streets, passers-by willingly helped to find the way lost, bring heavy bags or cross the roadway to the old man. Participation and attention were shown to everything. It is no wonder that visiting foreigners fell in love with this country, shocked by the warmth they met here.
Together
Today, isolation, seclusion and alienation are more and more characteristic - a person may not know who lives next to him on the site. Soviet man was very different keen sense of collectivism, the whole society was as if tightly welded. Therefore, in the USSR they lived as one big friendly family. Everything was inoculated from kindergarten, then school, institute, production. Residents of an apartment building could easily know each other by last name. Everything was done together and together.
Collectivism is considered the greatest achievement of the Soviet era. Each felt his belonging to a great nation, lived the interests and joys of his country, his city, his enterprise. Man was never left alone: weekdays, sorrows and holidays in the USSR lived as a team. And the worst that could happen to a person is when he was expelled from society. The worst thing was to be "overboard" from everyone.
Study, study and study
Indeed, Soviet citizens had the right to free education - this was another pride of the Land of Soviets. Moreover, secondary education was universal and compulsory. And anyone could enter a university after successfully passing the entrance exams.
The attitude to school in the USSR, and to education in general, is very different from modern. A pupil or student could not even have thought of skipping classes. The main source of knowledge was his synopsis, his performance depended on how he would listen and record the teacher.
A separate point should be emphasized with respect to teachers. There was always silence in the classrooms, no unnecessary conversations and noise, there was an absolute focus on the lesson. And God forbid someone is late for classes - you won’t be ashamed.
Now some question the level of Soviet education, but scientists and specialists raised in this “bad system” are selling like hot cakes abroad.
Free medicine
Another of the most powerful arguments in favor of the USSR. Soviet people could always count on qualified free medical care. Annual examinations, dispensaries, vaccinations. All treatments were available. And going to the clinic, there was no need to be puzzled how much money might be needed and whether it would be enough. The party monitored the health of its workers well - it was possible to get a ticket to the sanatorium without problems and “going through the agony”.
Women were not afraid to go to give birth, because there wasn’t that confusion about how to feed and “bring to people.” Accordingly, the birth rate was growing, and no additional benefits and incentives were needed for this.
A normalized work schedule, level of medicine, relative stability in life, healthy nutrition - all this led to the fact that in the 80 years of the USSR fell into the top ten countries with high life expectancy (average life expectancy).
Housing problem
Life in the USSR was not sweet in many respects, however, every Soviet citizen from the age of 18 had the right to housing. Of course, this is not about palaces, but no one was left on the street. The apartments received were not private property, as they belonged to the state, but they were assigned to people for life.
It should be noted that the housing problem was one of the sore points of the Soviet Union. Only a tiny percentage of the families registered have received new housing. Housing lines stretched for many, many years, despite the fact that annually housing construction reported the delivery of new housing estates.
Other values
Money was never an end in itself for a Soviet person. People worked, and worked hard, but it was an idea, a dream. And any interest or desire for material wealth was not considered worthy. Neighbors and colleagues easily lent each other a three-ruble paycheck and did not count the days of her return. Money didn’t solve anything, they decided relations, everything was built on them.
Salaries in the USSR were decent, such that half of the country could afford to fly airplanes without compromising the family budget. It was available to the masses. What are student scholarships worth? 35-40 rubles, with excellent students - all 50. It was quite possible to do without the help of mom and dad.
The labor of the craftsmen was especially appreciated. A qualified specialist at the plant could receive more than its director. And that was normal. There were no shameful professions, a janitor and a technician respected no less than an accountant. Between the "tops" and "lower classes" there was not that insurmountable abyss that can be observed now.
As for the value of the ruble itself in the USSR, this is one of the most popular cash of the time. Its owner could afford to buy a choice of the following: two large packs of ravioli, 10 pies with meat, 3 liters of kefir, 10 kg of potatoes, 20 trips by metro, 10 liters of gasoline. This cannot but impress.
Deserved rest
By law, the state guaranteed Soviet citizens material security in old age. Pension in the USSR allowed older people to live in relative abundance. There was no need to go for extra work. Old grandchildren nursed, worked in dachas, went to rest in a sanatorium. Nowhere was such a picture observed that a pensioner counted pennies for medicine or milk, and even worse, he stood with his hand outstretched.
The average pension in the USSR ranged from 70 to 120 rubles. Military or personal pensions were certainly higher. At the same time, only 5 rubles were spent on housing and communal services. Pensioners did not survive then, but lived, and also helped their grandchildren.
But in fairness, it should be noted that not everything was so rosy with the collective farmers. For them, only in 1964 the law on pensions and benefits was adopted. And these were mere pennies.
Culture in the USSR
Culture, like life itself in the USSR, was ambiguous. In fact, it was divided into official and “underground”. Not all writers could be published. Unrecognized creators used samizdat to reach their readers.
Controlled everything and everyone. Someone had to leave the country, someone was sent into exile for "parasitism", and the ardent requests of their colleagues could not be saved from a foreign land. Do not forget the crushed exhibition of avant-garde artists. This action was all said.
The dominance of socialism in art led to the degradation of taste among Soviet people - the inability to perceive something else, more complex than the surrounding reality. And where is the flight of thought and fantasy here? The representatives of the creative intelligentsia had a very difficult life in the USSR.
In the cinema, the picture was not so sad, although censorship did not doze off here either. Filmed world-class masterpieces that still do not leave the TV screen: screen version of the classic "War and Peace" by S. F. Bondarchuk, comedies by L. I. Gaidai and E. A. Ryazanov, "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" V. V Menshov and much more.
It is impossible to ignore pop music, which was of great importance for Soviet people. No matter how hard the relevant authorities tried, Western rock culture penetrated the country and influenced popular music. “Songs”, “Gems”, “Time Machine” - the appearance of such ensembles was a breakthrough.
I remember
Nostalgia for the USSR continues to gain momentum. In view of today's realities, people remember everything: the pioneer, the Komsomol, the availability of kindergartens, and summer camps for children, free sections and mugs, and the absence of homeless people on the street. In a word, a stable and calm life.
Holidays in the USSR are also remembered as they walked shoulder to shoulder in parades with their heads held high. Proud for their country, for its great achievements, for the heroism of their people. They recall how friendly the representatives of different nationalities lived in the neighborhood and there was no division and intolerance. There was a comrade, friend and brother — a Soviet man.
For some, the USSR is “lost paradise,” while others shudder with horror at the mention of that time. Oddly enough, both will be right. And the past era can not be forgotten, this is our story.