Big

I still check out that other site and I saw jpv stating that going over to Belarus or Moldova would give one a good view of Soviet life.

This is no more correct than going to New Orleans or to Harlem in New York City would give one a clear view of American life.

Moldova was always one of the poorer Republics (in my view very beautiful though in a stern and innocent way of looking at it) and Belarus never got anything going on its own after Soviet collapse.

Moldova had half of its population immigrate to Romania and elsewhere and it is in a very dire situation right now. Americans don't know much about it because Moldova is of no interest or harm to America.

So, no Belarus and Moldova are not good indicators at all of how Soviet life was.

I lived at a sports camp in Moldova for two summers and even then Russians from a big city were treated in Moldova as Westerners.

Big

Moldova is one of Europe's poorest states, despite its rich farmland and renowned vineyards that during communism earned the country the status of the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union. Lack of reforms, political turmoil, and dependence on Russian energy imports have brought Moldova's once prosperous agriculture-based economy to its knees and forced its mostly rural population into deep poverty and mass migration.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle...8eba04692.html

Big

Like Pelivan, many of Moldova's villages are half-deserted, most of its young people having gone abroad to find work so they can send money to feed their families back home. According to various estimates, between 350,000 and 1 million of Moldova's more than 4 million people are living abroad, many illegally.

Not everybody has left the countryside, though. According to official data, there are more than 500,000 small farm households in Moldova, although many times they are being looked after by the elderly.

During Soviet times and before World War II, when it was part of Romania, Moldova was famous for fertile land that supported wheat fields, fruit trees, and huge vineyards that produced wines renowned throughout the former Soviet bloc.

But after it gained independence in 1991, Moldova's economy collapsed in the absence of the centralized Soviet era market. Now, farmers who are trying to stand on their own feet face numerous obstacles.

Big

As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base; it retained this industrial base following the break-up of the U.S.S.R. The country also has a broad agricultural base and a high education level. Among the former republics of the Soviet Union, it had one of the highest standards of living. But Belarusians now face the difficult challenge of moving from a state-run Economy with high priority on military production and heavy industry to a civilian, free-market system.

http://economy-of-belarus.brainsip.com/

matclone

So, as you suggest, no one place is going to give you a picture of the former Soviet life. I trust what you tell me about your experiences, Big, although I know it's just one person's view. I also trust jpv but I wouldn't conclude that his statement was the last word either, nor did I infer (as you seem to b/c you know Moldava and I don't) that the Soviet Union was a bleak or forbidding place. btw, I've been to the former East Germany, and Prague, so I have some sense (albeit small) of the former communist Europe. Anyway, thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience of that part of the world.

Big

matclone,

It is not about me telling you what it was like. You are right you can't get a real picture since it exists no more.

My main point is jpv picked two countries whose economies completely collapsed after Soviet breakup and said this is what Soviet life was like. Typical bullshit and jpv is from Minnesota even if he lives in Russia now.