AbuStorm

Was born in USSR and moved out in 1990. Was as horrible as described in Western media, even worse. It just wan't as horrible for the elites (such as composers).

I guess it's like the difference between being from Holmes County, Mississippi and Manhattan, New York.

Wow, a shiny gold coin! Thank you, mysterious benefactor :D

Yes, the income gap was not nearly as wide as in the USA. In USSR, you simply had nothing to buy if you were not part of the elite.

Growing up I wore patched old clothing passed from generation to generation. Only toys were an inherited ancient teddy bear and whatever I made myself. Nobody I knew owned a telephone. Most people I knew did not have a shower or an indoor toilet. Most of the adults and many of the children were alcoholics and/or junkies. Most of the roads were unpaved. The society around me was violent, filthy and malnourished. Those who could, grew vegetables and raised animals in their back yards. Getting stabbed or beaten to death because someone is bored was a common cause of death. So was suicide. And that was a place couple of hours drive from Moscow. I imagine there were places with much worse conditions.

As far as I know, that was not the experience of the elite.

It's OK, is not your fault. Also was what feels like a lifetime ago in a different reality :D

Well, I lived it, during the 1980s.

Could very well be, I am not a Sovietologist. From reading some blogs about urban and village decay in Russia it appears to have been hardly unique.