Originally Posted by Big

All I am saying is I think Putin meant living standards in certain regions in Russia like in big cities and around them. I don't think he meant distant places in Siberia. People in the villages have their own culture. They like living the simple life and I doubt they care too much about indoor plumbing. Man when I lived in Russia and I went to summer camps or to spend summer at dachas, I didn't even think I should have indoor plumbing. It was a given to live it the simple way, not because it is impossible to have indoor plumbing but because that is how you were supposed to live out in the nature.
City life was a luxury in russia, not a standard by any means. In fact village folks used to treat city guys like little princes and not really manly because of indoor plumbing and things like that.