kvs wrote: PhSt wrote: calripson wrote:"Without people like me, Russian will soon lose its ability to produce strategic weapons - and that will be a good thing." That was the mentality among a large part of the intelligentsia.
If this is the case, then whatever happened to the patriotic education in the Soviet Union? Which part of the Soviet education system failed to make the majority of the Soviet population patriotic? Books from the 80's that I have read had always suggested that the Soviets had an education system that fosters strong nationalism among its population.
People were rejecting the system so the education did not work. There are trends in society beyond the control of the education system
and even state "propaganda". Contrasting to the effectiveness of brainwashing in Ukraine I come to the following conclusion:
1) The USSR was too generous to the proles. They could live it easy with almost no effort. Jobs and housing were guaranteed.
Lack of access to Lamborghinis is an issue only for morons. The vast majority of people in the west are not rich. In the 1960s
it was not common for houses to have hot water in the UK. The idea that the west has been rich forever is a total joke and
it is not even rich today. Comparisons to 3rd world countries is inane.
2) Ukraine since 1990s has been sliding into a 3rd world toilet with no more social welfare. In such a climate the brains of the
masses become more malleable. This is partly due to the lack of meat in the diet. Yes really, go back through history and
see who got to eat meat and who got to eat mush made from species of grass seeds. You would be right if you guessed the
rich and powerful were the meat eaters. Captains of British ships did not get scurvy when their sailors all did. That is because
they ate dried meat which has vitamin C. The sailors got some zero vitamin C biscuits from grass seeds (wheat). Eating an
primarily carb diet has been demonstrated to reduce mental acuity. This is why the New World Order clowns running the west
are pushing for vegetarianism and trying to blame animal husbandry for "global warming".
3) So the well fed Soviets could afford to bitch and whine about their lack of yet more wealth. The Ukrainian paupers believe
all sorts of BS as they starve. I don't know, maybe there is a French Revolution moment that arises from barely fed and mentally
stifled masses, but I think that the story of the French Revolution is a caricature of the true events.
I did not grow up in the USSR, but I think there were multiple factors at play. First generation Soviets were real believers and came from very difficult conditions. To them, the USSR was the promised land, and they were grateful for the education and opportunities they received. I knew of many from that generation who came from village families of 10 children with illiterate parents who rose to become famous engineers or academics. The generation of Yeltsin and Gorbachev were the first post-war generation who lived in the shadow of the heroism of their elders and who probably resented it at some level. Khruschev was a complete mediocrity. By denouncing Stalin in 1957, he completely undermined the very foundational belief of people in the Soviet system. That set the wheels in motion for cynicism. By the 1970s and 1980s you are correct - relative to past Soviet and Russian generations people had it easy. Guaranteed housing and jobs, plenty of time to loaf around and drink, and geriatric leaders who had lived to see too much and just wanted to die as old men in bed.