»Everything you always wanted to know about Russia...«
|
|||
 volonteshiva: what about the people in the city? How could they cope when they couldn't life off the land? Did a number of people move out of the city and into rural areas? People in the city then and now mostly had there own land somewhere outside where they went for weekends. Even though land helped many, I don't think any one moved out. As it usually happens, everybody moved in - in a village there were no decently paid jobs any more. Cities were the places where you could find some. In smaller towns and villages there used to be "kolhoz" and "sovhoz", basically collective state-owned farms. Simplified but true. They were now dying out, because they also largely existed on donations and support from government. It turned out people didn't know how to make anything profitable, so for some time the situation was bad. posted by mymla |
|||
|
|||
| in-my-opinion.orgMiscAnything that doesn't fit in any other categoryEverything you always wanted to know about Russia... |
|
|||
|
volonteshiva: We are completely inundated w/ ads. Everywhere, all the time. People both hate them, yet are still addictively drawn to them. I would say, it would better be that way, when you have too much choice rather than having no choice at all. After all, advertising is a side-effect, the main thing is that when you have competitors, you have to make your product better or at least different, thus you can find something taht will suit every taste. In a centralised economy there's no need to develop anything, because it will be bought any way. Sucks, really. You can complain and turn your nose away from the fifteen kinds of bread, because the sixteenth, you favourite, isn't there, but if you have only two kinds, one of which is stale, you don't have an opportunity to do so. posted by mymla |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
volonteshiva: Why couldn't the society provide enough variety of shoe sizes? Is that too individual of a setup? Were you, as a Soviet citizen, supposed to just have the same size feet as everyone else? They did provide the whole country with shoes, indeed. What I meant was this: The government made an estimation of how many pairs of shoes are likely to be needed this year. After that the shoes were distributed into the shops. In the shop there was always a sales woman who had a few dozens of people who had asked her to keep away a few pairs when they arrive. And those would be the most needed sizes most probably. Or she hints to all her acquaintances who hint their acquaintances etc that tomorrow the shoes will appear. So, if you are a general citizen without any such sales people around, you will get there when most of the stock is out. What was generally left were sizes least needed. Same with any types of clothes. People best off were those who had such important friends. volonteshiva: What I really wanted to know with my question was how the Soviets/Russians view/viewed exploration... Was it just another thing to accomplish/conquer or was there a strong desire to explore the unknown and seek knowledge? I know these are things strong in me and I am sure there are Russians w/ these feelings as well, but I want to know what the general populace there thought/thinks. I am sure you can easily sum up your country's thoughts on this. Are you sure you ahve an adequate estimation of my abilities?  Thanks any way.
I would say that the desire to explore is strong in many, always was and will be. Russian scientists are among the best maybe because of that also. I don't think this desire is a matter of the system in the country, it's more or less personal. However, it depends on the country whether this desire will be developed: To find out what you want you need equipment, laboratories, etc., which you can only find in state universities, factories and labs. And however strong your wish to explore something is, you still need money. When you are within a centralised economy, the only way to get money is from the government. Which will only give money for the research it is interested in. Which in our case would be - anything that would make the Soviet Union stronger and more powerful. volonteshiva: science is seen as one of the more prestigious fields of study to undertake here. Same was here and will probably be same again. The best students of science here usually immigrate to other countries, including USA, where they have better opportunities. The brain drain in the post-soviet years was unbelievable. It's hard to say how it works now. I think teh goverment is trying to make out ways to make it worth while and profitable, we'll see how it will work. The difference is that in Soveit times people were encouraged to explore and study science. The best the country used for its purposes. Now the encouragement is gone, the people care more (generally! there are luckily always enthusiasts) about making their daily living. posted by mymla |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
 mymla: volonteshiva: We are completely inundated w/ ads. Everywhere, all the time. People both hate them, yet are still addictively drawn to them. You can complain and turn your nose away from the fifteen kinds of bread, because the sixteenth, you favourite, isn't there, but if you have only two kinds, one of which is stale, you don't have an opportunity to do so. Yes, indeed when you lay out the reality like that, the bitching the USA like "oh no, they don't have Mocha soy 30% less carbs bread!" is sad and it's really sad in any context. I just wanted to express that having no choice is one extreme, and then having too many choices is another extreme although I am sure as you pointed out that anyone that is starving would gladly pick the latter situation. It just that we take our choices for granted, plus everyone is vying to make our choices for us. Wendy's says they have the best burger. But so does Rally's. etc You get to a weird point sometimes where you wish you only had 1 choice since it would make things easier. So it then becomes a cycle. well, 3 more of the starter questions left: How does Russia view China nowadays? How do you feel about Putin removing some of the democratic process from Russia? For that matter, how do you feel about the republic/democracy? What do you see for the future of Russia and it's people? posted by volonteshiva |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
volonteshiva: How does Russia view China nowadays?
How do you feel about Putin removing some of the democratic process from Russia? For that matter, how do you feel about the republic/democracy? What do you see for the future of Russia and it's people? You don't make life easy for people, do you? "starter questions", hehe. I think China is generally viewed in Russia as everywhere in the world - a too fast growing wonder out of which something will emerge nobody know what yet, so they are waiting... We have a huge borderline with China, long but very underpopulated. Those who live there say that the Chinese settle everywhere they can and that there are more Chinese there now than Russians. I suppose there are a lot of illegal immigrants there. I think the general opinion would be that China is now developing very fast, and it's much better to stay friends with them which the country tries to do. Personal relationships can be more complicated, but on the whole - I'd say everyone is waiting. posted by mymla |
|||
|
|||
|
|||
|
I must say that Putin is a very special issue for every Russian. People like him very much right now, and I don't know what he has to do yet to make people doubt him. It feels more or less as if the Russians have finally a man to whom they can transfer all their responsibility for the future of their country. They did it and now are happily back to their own lives. When Putin does something to what the US or UN or whoever says that it violates human rights, or hinders democracy, I would say a lot of people in Russia would agree with their opinion, but will nevertheless keep liking the President and even be proud of him for doing whatever he consideres right in spite of the world's opinion, even if the actions are wrong by themselves. Does it make sense? I think it stays since the USSR times, when people were used to the idea that others disapprove of what we do but we do the right thing so we don't care. As far as democracy in general is concerned... I would say that it happened like that: people in Russia never knew what a democracy really is, so now they are content with what they have and what is officially called democracy, as long as it gives them all the freedoms they missed and lets them live as they want. The preiod between the fall of the USSR and the arrival of Mr Putin was too short for a proper democracy to develop and for people to get the taste of it. What happened after the fall was far from being democracy, it was a system very corrupted where you could change something only if you had money, power and friends. When it seemingly began to change to the better Mr Putin became the President. So far it seems that he is not exactly a fan of democracy. I would even say he will allow in the country as much democracy (or rather as little) as will let him keep acceptable relationships with the West and will make the opposition keep relatively quiet. posted by mymla |
|||
|
|||
1, 2
Goto page Previous
1, 2
 Register Log in |
The time now is 9 January 2009, 21:45 php B.B. |