Childhood, as a rule, is always happy. In the summer it was possible not to dress. We ran in shorts and barefoot. Some of the boys took out a piece of bread with margarine and shouted loudly - forty-one eat one. But if someone shouts ahead - we ask for forty-eight half, we had to share. The salary depended on the industry in which you work. For example, in trade or light industry, it was "light". In the early 60s, after the monetary reform, it was 30 rubles. An engineer, a doctor and a school teacher received in the region of 80-90 rubles. A motorcycle with a sidecar "Ural" or "Irbit" was an unprecedented luxury and one for the whole street. Television sets with lenses went to the propaganda points. TV sets were freely available in the villages, since there was no broadcast at all. For example, TV sets "Enisey-2" or "Record" cost 160 rubles. The program was one and only local from 19 to 23 hours. We went to work on the beeps of the factories. What each had his own. The last, third beep was given already 5 minutes before the start of the shift. According to the Labor Code of 1957, for absenteeism, it was possible to get correctional labor for up to 6 months with a part of the salary withheld and lose the queue for housing. But there was no unemployment. All information boards and pedestals were covered with advertisements - "required, required". The unemployed were enlisted in the category of parasites and sent to forced labor on "construction sites of the national economy." Restaurants, except for the railway ones, were empty.
On the days of pay and advance payment, after the shift, men flowed in streams into pubs. Or they were sitting one by one under bushes in public gardens, discussing their "evil" bosses on a par with foreign policy issues. Sympathized with Partis Lumumba, cursed Eisenhower. There were also ubiquitous boys with string bags of collected empty bottles. We cleaned them of sealing wax, labels and corks. And right there, if they were in time before closing, they were carried to the collection point for glass containers. One bottle - one ice cream or movie ticket. They themselves made ball-bearing scooters, bows, crossbows, hockey sticks, scarecrows and set fires. Leather balls in the yard were rare. We played rubber for 90 kopecks. One game required 2-3 balls, since for some reason they quickly pierced and deflated.
But almost everyone had a bicycle. "PVZ" and "KhVZ" (adults) cost around 50 rubles. Children's "Shkolnik" -28, and "Eaglet" (teenage) with chrome wings - 43 rubles. In the evenings, in the courtyards, the men played dominoes, knocking loudly on the table. They quietly poured into the only faceted glass of fruit and berry for the company. The clatter of the dice grew louder and clearer. Early to work tomorrow. The players at the tables were replaced by young people, discussing urgent matters. The guitar appeared. And someone, drawing the "eight" on the strings, started a song about a meeting in the city garden or at the "fountain in a dark blue dress."
They did not live richly, but not viciously. Everyone in the yard knew each other. It was common to ask a neighbor for salt or bread until tomorrow. As well as to invite the children playing in the yard for dinner. Today we had a snack at one - tomorrow at the other. There were fights, but before the first blood. It was strictly forbidden to beat a lying person. After the first blood (usually from the nose), the fight stopped and everyone became friends again. With a personal showdown, they fought one-on-one in the presence of friends in the yard or in the school class. A judge was chosen, the rules were established. The one who violated the rules was considered early defeated and the fight stopped.
The public holidays on November 7 and May 1 were special. They united the people, rallied collectives. In the columns of demonstrators, children walked with their parents holding a trade union cardboard dove on a stick or a balloon, which remained for him. On the chest each had a gift a commemorative badge on the occasion of the holiday. Sweets were sold from cars in paper bags for rubles. apiece, lemonade and ice cream. This is not counting the fact that such "gifts" were given to all parents according to the number of children they had free of charge at the place of work. There was really a general atmosphere of a common holiday.
I especially remember two cases from my childhood. The first is admission to the pioneers. The excitement was extraordinary. Two of the class were released from admission. One did not come out by age, the other for bad behavior. On that next anniversary of Lenin's birth on April 22, the day turned out to be sunny, but rather cool and windy. We were lined up in the square near the school in the form - white top, black bottom. Obviously, in some shirts and blouses. We covered ourselves with goose bumps and chattered teeth. Someone had snot flowing. But the desire to become a pioneer was stronger than all this. Then they took us to the cinema, in the foyer of which we were lined up in a half-car. School officials and teachers stood opposite. In chorus they pronounced an oath - "I am a pioneer of the Soviet Union ...". The school pioneer leader called everyone according to the list, tied a pioneer band around their neck and handed a badge with the image of little Volodya Ulyanov ... Be ready! - she said to the "newly minted". Always ready! - a member of the new communist community answered with pioneer greetings, not yet skillfully raising his hand above his head. Overwhelmed with childhood happiness and the importance of our importance, having matured at once, for some reason we were taken to another club, where they showed a film about the Cuban revolution. Back to school we walked in formation and sang the song "Cuba, my love, the island of the crimson dawn ...". At the same time, everyone quietly looked at his tie. So until the evening and ran in the yard with a tie around his neck, attracting attention with his new status.
The second incident also happened in April. Then the banknotes were new, smelling of paint and they tried not to wrinkle them. The new coins did not even have time to tarnish. On the radio, before the broadcast of Moscow exact time, the familiar callsigns "beep, beep" were already sounded. The spring was early. It was a sunny warm day. Ant grass sprouted on a soft green rug in the dry warm thawed patches. The starlings arranged their nesting boxes, the residents of the houses under the windows laid flower beds under the flowers. The women scraped the winter putty off the window frames and washed the glass with laundry soap. The boys and I played with candy wrappers. And what else to do in early spring in this weather? Suddenly, from some open window, we heard a loud and joyful female voice - listen to the radio, listen to the radio! The astronaut was launched! People began to go out into the street and asked each other again. Someone said that we launched a man into space. Everyone wanted details. They invited me to listen to the TASS report. I ran home and heard this message. It was short. I remembered the name of the cosmonaut and learned that he returned safely to earth in excellent health. What started here! The whole city poured into the streets. They hugged, kissed and congratulated each other. The woman was crying. The men straightened their shoulders. It was a bit like declaring the end of the war in 1945. The unity of the people and pride in the USSR were incredible. In the evening, the men argued in what rank Gagarin flew into space. Either we are old, or the captain. Who will fly next and when will they fly to the moon. We discussed in all the courtyards until late at night. I didn’t even know how many accordion players there were in the city. There were songs and dances almost until the morning. It was a normal working day, though. Wednesday.
For clarity, some examples of salaries:
1) associate professor (with a scientific degree) - 320 rubles.
2) lieutenant - 230 rubles.
3) judge - 210 rubles.
4) senior teacher (without an academic degree) - 170 rubles.
5) trolleybus driver - 140 rubles.
6) teacher - 132 rubles.
7) an accountant in a bank - 120 rubles.
One ruble:
- a full lunch in the dining room;
- a trip for 100 km by hitchhiking (a penny - a kilometer);
- 33 glasses of lemonade with syrup;
- 50 calls from a pay phone;
- 100 boxes of matches;
- 5 cups of "Plombir" or 10 - milk ice cream;
- 20 trips by trolleybus or metro;
- 4 loaves of white bread (900-1000 grams each);
- 5 liters of draft milk;
- 20 going to the cinema for a day session;
- 2 bottles of good beer (also change);
- 8 packs of bad cigarettes (Pamir);
- by the end of summer it was possible to buy 6 kg of watermelons or 3 kg of melons at the bazaar;
- 5 trips to the men's hairdressing salon or sauna;
- the cost of a daily bed "savage" in the holiday season in the south.
Three rubles:
- lunch for 5-6 persons in a factory or school canteen;
- lunch at a restaurant for one;
- good book;
- a doll or other toy of domestic production;
- a bottle of normal wine (like "Crimean");
- a weekend outing for the whole family, including a snack;
- a pack of imported cigarettes;
- the amount in the child's pocket, at which other children were terribly jealous of him.
Five rubles:
- a kilogram of tenderloin in the market or 2 kilos of meat in a store;
- a bottle of vodka (with a snack);
- almost a monthly rent for a family;
- taxi ride "in style";
- a kilogram of very good sweets.
Ten rubles:
- the amount borrowed before payday, which is not ashamed to remind the borrower;
- universal currency for various household services;
- a huge stick of expensive cooperative sausage;
- an expensive technical or desk toy, such as a toy car or billiards.
Twenty-five rubles:
- a local airline ticket (for example, Leningrad - Moscow: 18 rubles);
- revelry "under the full program" in the restaurant;
- services of an expensive woman.
Fifty rubles:
- teenage bike;
- small pension;
- good student scholarship;
- a trade union voucher to the Elbrus region for 2 weeks - 30 rubles.
One hundred rubles:
- plane ticket to the south (round trip);
- the monthly salary of a poor engineer graduating from a university (more precisely, a salary of 120 rubles);
- a good pension.
*********
They lived modestly, but cheerfully and amicably. During the holidays, after the demonstrations, the whole family gathered with all the closest relatives. There was a table, there was a drink, and there were songs. My brother and I loved listening to songs. My grandmother knew a lot of folk songs and we children listened to these sometimes sad howls about how the driver was freezing somewhere or about love. Then they certainly ran into the courtyard and played there climbing trees, tying ropes and making impromptu swings, and in winter they dug through whole tunnels in the snow and crafted caves. We children were happy. Remembering my childhood, I do not remember frowning faces. In my childhood, I have never seen homeless people lying around drunk or people begging for alms. No one saw grandmothers near the church once. Cartoons and children's movies were rarely shown on TV, mostly only on weekends and on holidays. Therefore, all the children were eager to go outside, there were friends, there were hide and seek, catch-up, leapfrog, baker, blind man's buff, robber Cossacks, sea figure freeze, pioneerball, football, twelve sticks, Moscow hide and seek, a deaf telephone and many other games. Sweets were mainly on holidays, and toys were rarely given, mainly for birthday and New Year... In the spring we ran barefoot through the puddles, and on July 7, we were sure to drench ourselves. And on Saturdays we were shown a movie. There were propaganda sites throughout the city, and on Saturday a projectionist came and showed us a movie for free. When it was getting dark, adults and children took the benches and watched a movie. Parents never frightened us with any maniacs or drug addicts. We didn't even know that there are such people. Ice cream cost 10-15 kopecks. and a ticket to the cinema is 15-20 kopecks. It was a happy childhood.
**************
I remember a March blizzard on a rural school playground. And the faces of people petrified in mourning, on the occasion of the death of the Leader. I remember a scraped wooden table in the corner, lighted with a kerosene stove, and my mother bending over school notebooks with a red pencil in her hand. And the taste of the paste cooked by his father - a broth made of flour pellets, flavored with a teaspoon of vegetable oil. I remember a wooden two-story barrack, day and night shuddering from the railways running nearby. compositions. And the black snow of my childhood from smoking factory chimneys and locomotive soot. Factory beeps in three shifts, in a thoroughly industrial town with its prisoners' barracks and cameras along long corridors that the authorities have transferred to housing for working families. And cottages for the party's asset with housekeepers and the smell of smoked meats. I remember my summer minimum of clothes - a pair of underpants; satin for the street, and twill "on the way out", sewn at home on a typewriter "Podolsk", bought for "maternity". And store shelves filled with canned crabs and pineapples, champagne and aromatic brown sausage strollers. And how we looked at it with wide open eyes. As if it were a pipe dream, munching on a delicious piece of bread smeared with a novelty in the food industry - margaguselin. I remember the childish joy of washing in the city public bath in the "royal" room with a bath and shower. And good luck to touch the shiny car of the factory boss at the checkpoint. I remember bazaar fruits that were inaccessible at prices from visiting Uzbeks. And the taste of my first New Year's tangerine in the inpatient department of gastroenterology. Many hours of queues for bread, two loaves of gray on hand and a bun for children under 5. And, of course, the obligatory kindergarten tablespoon of fish oil before dinner. And that was the USSR too.
*************
I remember that somehow I could not fly from Blagoveshchensk to Moscow in the summer. There were no tickets and people spent the night near the ticket offices. I plucked up my nerve and went to the command post to the pilots. And she asked me to take me to Moscow, I really needed to get there on time. They looked at me as if the moon had fallen. But I really really needed it, my beloved was waiting for me at Domodedovo and even ordered a car for all my salary to Krasnogorsk. I explained everything so honestly. And they took me through the checkpoint and put me in the cockpit. In Novosibirsk, however, the stewardesses helped to change clothes, put on a cap and a shirt, just in case, so that the control would not suspect anything. They didn't even take the money ... And I still don't know how to thank that crew, I'm suffering ...
************
Soon after the events of Daman, I, on an urgent basis, ended up in a regiment that fought off the island from the Chinese. Opposite the checkpoint there were 9 marble tombstones of the soldiers who died there with the nineteen-year-old Hero of the Soviet Union V.V. Orekhov. In the headquarters of the regiment, one of the rooms was equipped as a museum, where, among other exhibits about that "war", according to the established tradition, there was a birch tree from about. Damansky. Sometimes birches were brought by border guards, sometimes they themselves drove for them 70 km. The time was anxious, restless. They quickly got used to training and combat alarms at night. But there were also fighting. We went as if to war. The feeling is indescribable. Complete detachment, and you are no longer you, but a part of the fighting mechanism. Hazing was then. But it never came to assault. One "grandfather" was given 2 years of a penal battalion for making a young soldier-driver pretend to be crawling on cars with a nightstand on his head. And for a fight in the cafeteria, another went to a colony for 5 years under the article "hooliganism". Usually hazing was expressed in forcing him to sew on a collar, to clean his boots or go to the dining room to beg for bread. For refusal, it was possible to get an outfit out of turn, and then, as a rule, they lagged behind. Everyone understood that the border was four kilometers away.
The nature on Dalniy is amazing. Black gnarled branches of trees and bushes against the background of a yellow sky at sunset are so reminiscent of the paintings of Chinese landscape painters! Winter starts late and the snowy hills with red oak groves look absolutely fantastic! Lindens bloom there in June, filling the entire space with the smell of honey. And in the evenings - a powerful frog chorus, comparable in strength to the noise of an aircraft jet engine. Happened in tactical lessons, on command - "flash from the right", you will fall into the grass with your feet to nuclear explosion, raise your head, and before your eyes are huge pink peonies ... And the exciting smell of civilian life, tangible with the whole body, every cell, youth ... Eh, where are you, our girls? So many flowers are wasted here!
Already, forty years have passed. Half of them were drawn to those places. There, in the army fraternity. I still dream about the faces of my fellow soldiers, I remember many by their full names. and where they come from. We are with them every day, we counted how much we had left for the demobilization echelon. And the same dream has been dreamed all my life. I served two years, demobilization already. And they persuade me to serve another two years. Stay, stay. Necessary! Stay. I, as it were, in my dream understand that the service is over and, it seems, has long been at home. And I agree. I think next time I will dream of this - I will definitely refuse. And I stay again.
At that time, the army did not give leave to everyone, but as an incentive. 10 days without a road. Come back a day late - penal battalion. Already in my second year of service, I received a business trip order at the headquarters for travel on the railway. and 10 rubles of vacation pay, in addition to the salary. By the 10th day, 14 were added to the road. By train I got to Khabarovsk on my "hard-earned money", and there at the airport on a business trip I took plane tickets home and back, paying one ruble. These were the rules then. And first to Novosibirsk, and then by plane of the local airline. Then there were such. Those who flew from Khabarovsk will take over the airport. On the second floor there is an exit to a long terrace overlooking the take-off field. Here on it I was waiting for my IL-18, every five minutes running to the dispatcher asking if the landing would be soon. Wait, look at the scoreboard, wait, look at the scoreboard. Tolley board gleamed strongly, or my line did not turn on. In general, I missed my Il. I saw it when he started taxiing for takeoff. There was no limit to despair. Return to the unit? It was also possible to exchange a ticket by paying half the cost of the flight. Forty rubles. And there are only 15 of me left. True, the nearest Tu-114 plane left in 30 minutes to Omsk. Omsk is also in my direction, I decided, I’ll finish, and then I’ll come up with something. Since the ticket from Novosibirsk to the place was no longer suitable, I jumped out onto the airfield and to Tu. And there the landing was over. The crew are waiting. I go to the stewardess, so they say and so. There were good people then! She hid me under the gangway, let the carriage pass, and then gave me a sign. No, this is where the adventure has just begun. The route is long. We landed in Irkutsk for refueling. And there is snow like a wall. The darkness is pitch-black. All the passengers left for the airport, and I, as an illegal one, was ordered not to stick out. Half an hour has passed. My guide boarded with one of the crew members. He looked at my ticket, laughed wildly and said - your Il landed there, go there to your place, they lost you in Khabarovsk. It was lucky that Tu was jet and we already overtook Il in flight, and flew to Irkutsk much earlier. Or maybe that one else sat down along the way. It was October, but they arrived in Novosibirsk before dark. Due to the time difference. An hour later I was already at the city airport, but their working day had already ended. Fortunately, there was also a hotel for its staff. My local plane was supposed to fly at 8 in the morning. Well, he probably flew away. Without me. The lodging house was also worth a ruble. I remember well I had a metal one with a leader's profile. There were only two numbers. And there were no free beds. Well, not on a chair in the corridor ... The castellan took pity on me, or maybe she didn't want to return the ruble and took me to another wing in a room with a single bed. Don't worry, we'll wake everyone up here at 6 in the morning and close until the evening, she assured. Dear mother! Perina, two hefty fresh-smelling down pillows, the cleanest linen! This is not a foam mattress on a hard Sodlat bed. Tolley I lost the habit of such luxury, roofing felts were tired, or worried during the day, but I woke up from the bright sun light coming through the window above my head. 11 am! And the grave tishana. We were taught how to dress during the burning of the match. But I broke my personal best in vain. The front door was locked, and there was not a soul in the hotel. True, the watchman soon came to brew some tea. Yes, he confirmed. At six o'clock they all left, but here I am on guard. And the planes are only landing until the evening. Everyone flew away - he added. As if at the station there were only seats left in the compartment. The air ticket was not exchanged. I gave it back. For the last, he gave home a telegram and bought two pies with liver for 4 kopecks. a piece. 2 kopecks left. Drive 12 hours, at night. As soon as I got settled in my compartment in an empty carriage, a young girl, a conductor, approached and insistently began to offer to take the linen for a ruble. And I have something different from the ruble ... I felt so embarrassed, I was never greedy, and she loses the proceeds from this. I showed her my airline ticket as proof of the story that happened to me. Politely refused to take underwear for free and went out into the cold without an overcoat. Into the vestibule. So all night and stood in his punishment. To your station.
Instructions
The "period of developed socialism", as the era of stagnation in the USSR was officially called, was not as carefree as many now think. Very low wages for the majority of the population and a shortage of high-quality consumer goods and foodstuffs added a very large fly in the ointment to the socialist barrel of honey.
And yet there were many positive aspects to life in those years. First of all, life in the years of stagnation was very calm. There was no crime. That is, not that she was completely absent, but the press preferred to keep silent about her. Crime in the USSR, according to party ideologists, was considered a relic of the capitalist vulgarity. And many Soviet people readily believed in this. Indeed, it was almost safe on the city streets, and cases of bloody maniacs and other murderers were carefully hidden from society. For the same reason, there were "no" man-made disasters in the USSR either.
Medical care in the Soviet Union was absolutely free and medicines were very expensive. But it was very problematic to buy good, especially imported drugs.
The Soviet education system was considered one of the best in the world. It was also free. But in order to go to study at prestigious university, Soviet applicants had to either have high-ranking parents or give considerable bribes. And in the Central Asian republics, the system of bribes existed in almost all universities and was almost legalized.
Free public housing prevailed in the USSR. However, there were also cooperative and private housing. Every Soviet citizen in need of better living conditions had the right to get an apartment free of charge. Another thing is that for this it was necessary to defend a long-term queue. Sometimes her term reached two decades. People who wanted to speed up this process joined housing cooperatives. But in order to build a cooperative apartment, it was necessary to pay for it several annual earnings of a simple engineer or teacher.
The provision of the population with food in the Soviet Union was extremely uneven. The richest in terms of food were the cities of Moscow and Leningrad. A Moscow grocery store in stagnant years was considered good if fresh meat and poultry, 2-3 varieties of boiled sausage, a couple of varieties of freshly frozen fish, butter, sour cream, eggs, chocolates, beer and oranges were present on its counters. But in many stores, even in Moscow, products in such an assortment were available only at certain times of the day and not every day. In the Russian hinterland, the food situation was much worse: meat on coupons, sausage on holidays. But on the other hand, almost all of the products were of high quality and very cheap.
Domestic manufactured goods were of extremely poor quality. Therefore, imports were held in high esteem. Imported things cost, often insanely expensive, but still were in crazy demand.
Soviet ideologists, proving the superiority of the socialist system over the capitalist, constantly emphasized that in the West money decides everything, while in the USSR there are other, much greater human values. Indeed, money for the Soviet people was nothing compared to pull. The presence of useful connections, for example, in the spheres of trade and catering, opened up real access to socialist benefits.
1. In the Soviet Union, hundreds and even thousands of people could drink carbonated water in a machine from one glass. He drank soda, rinsed the glass, put it back. Everyone who lived at that time remembers that even those who think for three very rarely took a faceted glass from a soda machine.
2. In the USSR, we spent most of our free time on the street. These were parks, courtyards of high-rise buildings, sports grounds, rivers and lakes. There were no many ticks in the forests. The lakes were not closed for epidemiological reasons. In villages, up until the early 1980s, children could run barefoot. Broken glass on the streets was a rarity, because all the bottles were surrendered.
3. We all drank from the tap. And in the largest city, and in the most distant collective farm. The sanitary standards in the USSR were such that there was no Escherichia coli, hepatitis bacillus or any other nasty thing in the water supply system.
4. It's scary to think, but in the store the saleswoman served a pie or cake with her hands. Bread, sausage, and any other products were served by hand. Nobody thought about gloves.
5. Many children spent one or two shifts in the pioneer camp, without fail. It was considered good luck to go somewhere to the resort, the main children's camps were an hour's drive from home. But it was always fun and interesting there.
6. We rarely watched TV, compared to today. Usually evenings or weekends: Saturday and Sunday.
7. In the USSR, of course, there were people who almost never read books, but there were very few of them. School, society, and free time encouraged us to read.
8. We didn't have computers and smartphones, so all our games took place in the yard. Usually a crowd of different ages of boys and girls gathered, games were invented on the go. They were simple and not intricate, but the main factor in them was communication. Through games, we became aware of patterns of behavior in society. Behavior was assessed neither by words, nor even by actions, but by their motives. Mistakes were always forgiven, meanness and betrayal, never.
9. Have we been fooled by Soviet propaganda? Suffer from a bloody regime? No no and one more time no. We did not give a damn about all this at the age of 12-14. I remember that each of us looked to the future with undisguised optimism. And those who wanted to serve in the army, and those who decided to become drivers and workers, and those who were going to enter technical schools and institutes.
We knew that there was a place in the sun for each of us.
Author unknown:Here are two more opinions about life in the former USSR.
So, the opinion of the blogger Mr Wednesday:
I quite often tell others about life in the Union. I am telling this because, especially young people, they know almost nothing and think about the Union with some kind of propaganda blanks. I will immediately make a reservation that I am not a fan of communism, moreover, in those years, I was to some extent a dissident who did not like the Soviet system. Nevertheless, I want to write about the USSR, about the good country that we had, under the influence of what I see now) On the one hand, such memories are nostalgic and pleasant, on the other hand, I write, because sometimes I hear well just delirium, at the level that then there was nothing to eat and so forth. I do not pretend to full coverage of the entire Union, both now and then, there were many different places, perhaps with their own characteristics, the country was large)
I'm not sure that I will fit into one article, because there are a lot of impressions and if there is inspiration, I will write in parts, post to my blog. Still, I think it is important that people do not have a distorted view of those times. I will write the same bad thing that happened in the USSR in my opinion. I am writing about the period starting from the 70s because, then I was already quite conscious) I will also be glad to objective additions) My experience of those years applies to the central cities of some republics and smaller cities, it does not apply to Moscow and Leningrad, because there I got there later) Although I lived part of the Union in St. Petersburg, I also met perestroika there, but more on that later.
Let's start with the main thing -
Food in the USSR))
The first and most important thing I want to say is that all the main types of products have always been, and they were of good quality, in contrast to modern times. It was really real milk, on which cream was formed, good butter .. The advice was conscientious in what and did not go so far as to counterfeit products) Now attention - it was difficult to buy or "get", as they said then, only certain delights - shortage, I give you several examples, evaluate the importance of these products yourself (someone can add)
I will put sprats in the first place)) well, who does not remember how carefully they opened and often put this precious product right in a jar, which is now probably the cheapest of all fish)) Sprats were sometimes pronounced reverently and the coveted jar appeared on the festive table)) Then they go - dry sausage, Bulgarian canned food, roasted candies, a bear in the north ... they told me that there was no meat, I am not a meat lover, but I don’t remember that there was no meat, there was always some kind of meat, maybe there were no cuttings, maybe the meat was not great, maybe they bought it up in the evening, but I remember, for example, there was no soup without meat, the very concept of "soup" as a whole meant that someone's remains were floating there) In canteens, and then we ate a lot in canteens, it was fashionable in its own way, meat was always there. It was believed that "without meat, this is not food", I disagree with this)) but I write objectively, people ate meat)) Well, they even had a fish day in public catering, it was Thursday in my opinion) But it is clear that Thursday, for my money it was)
There were all kinds of seasonal vegetables. There were normal potatoes, cabbage and more. Nobody bought apples by pieces)) I think if in those days someone came up and said - "weigh me 2 apples", they would think that the person is mocking or crazy, how can you buy 2 apples?)) Well, they took at least a kilogram. All these products were not expensive, milk, apples and more, I don't remember the prices now, well, everything is in kopecks. The prices were fixed, no one could sell more expensive, the state prices changed rarely, remaining the same for years. I'm not saying that there was heaven or that there were no problems, there were problems, but many of the problems of that time look just cute, in the background contemporary problems) There was always something to eat (pun intended), it was not expensive and accessible to everyone.
There was always black and white bread, buns, ice cream, simple sweets ... squash caviar)) Here are red and black caviar, there was a deficit) From bakery, I do not remember a deficit. There was also a shortage of chewing gum), it simply was not in the union. well, for children it was the ultimate dream and every child knew that foreigners have chewing gum) Western life for children was associated with chewing gum, for teenagers it was associated with jeans and sheets (vinyl records).
Now about clothes
All types of clothing were available in the USSR. The assortment of clothes would be small, it could sometimes be unprepossessing, but in principle it was quite solid. There was no blemish either with shoes or with the other, the only thing was that there was a shortage of Western clothing, mainly from the socialist countries, since the caps of the country were far from us at that time. In general, the West seemed like a kind of paradise, where everyone walks in jeans and listens to cool music and everyone has a coveted headset) Where does everyone have a car !! (Oh wow). A lot of people listened to Western voices and, secretly or openly, dreamed of their clothes or going to Bulgaria or Poland ... a trip to Germany and even more so to the USA, for the majority it was completely unrealistic and those who were there perceived them as gods. America seemed like paradise, by the way, I didn't understand why we thought so)) Ahhh well, because there were jeans)) Cool guy, it was the one who had jeans, long hair, and a "Japanese" cassette recorder (Chinese soap dish) , it really was a "value", but that most of us had an apartment, milk and so on, well, no one thought about it, because it was the norm. Well, I'll tell you about the apartments a little later.
The biggest mistake of the Soviets, I believe, was that they did not show real life in the West. If the advice really showed or made it possible to feel what the West is, there would be no restructuring. Perestroika began mainly because everyone was under the illusion that “over there” it was good. We must pay tribute to the CIA, they worked efficiently, one of the main reasons for the collapse of the USSR was not the lack of housing products and other things, but just a stupid dream, faith in the United States. No matter how funny or paradoxical it is. Now, going abroad is no longer perceived as something wonderful mystical. The west is full of difficulties and it is very controversial to say that it is good there, it is very controversial, although it is clear that someone lives, but many have returned, and someone simply simply cannot come back, getting stuck there.
Perestroika did not start as a revolution, in fact, no one expected it, not even the United States)) Perestroika did not begin that there was nothing to eat in the country, everyone lived as usual. Perestroika began as a kind of positive cry, as the beginning of a new era, as an improvement in what is, and not as a struggle with what is. We are accustomed to stability, we didn’t like a lot, but it didn’t concern everyday life, basically. A new generation grew up on the "Voices of America" including Gorbachev)) People simply did not know what the real USA was, what the market was, and so on, everyone thought "that now, we will live well." I will write my attitude to this later, because a whole chapter is probably needed. Now, the new generation simply does not know what happened, of course, if people think that there would be nothing to eat, well, then it really is paradise) But I lived then and what is happening today in everyday life ... it is very difficult to say which is better now ... I will say that life was rather better then, not now. This is objective. There are other pluses and minuses, I can summarize later, but on the whole it was better then.
As for the deficit, remembering this is very touching and cool) You see, as Raikin said then - “let everything be, but let something be missing” deficit was a highlight of Soviet society)) You see, it made life more fun) deficit was not something oppressive, imprinting, it was some philistine dream and in fact, if not the destruction of many good things, the dream is quite harmless) In fact, in the USSR there was everything, there was the necessary furniture, clothes and so on, there simply was not something unusual) From the memories - one woman "Thug", went abroad to a cap country (oo dream ...) and bought a beautiful curtain for the bath with currency) That's about the same level, there was a need in the USSR) Or in the movie "with light steam" when she measures boots, like this it was very, very typical. Just as it is very typical there getting a new apartment, this is not a New Year's fairy tale, it did happen.
Apartments in the USSR
People received housing from the state for free. Of course, all this was not easy, an apartment was a serious thing, they stood in queues for years, but getting an apartment was a reality. Just as there was a real increase in living space for a growing family - getting a larger apartment instead of the existing one. Almost anyone could get an apartment and everyone got it - young specialists, in many cases they were given benefits, families, young families, single mothers, directors, and so on. And builders received 250 percent of the apartment, just go to the construction site, work, get a salary and in 5 years there will be an apartment, well, at least I knew this situation and real people who received apartments this way. Also less, but they built cooperatives, a single mother, 120 rubles a salary, the cooperative paid not even so long and paid somewhere for 10-15 years, 2-room, in the center, a large city of the Union.
So, in general, they did not save up for apartments, they received apartments from the state. The utilities were quite reasonable prices. The zest with the apartments was according to the following scheme - how quickly it can be obtained (but my boss, the rogue, received it in 2 years, and we are all standing in line). - What area it will be (we have two children, we need a three-room apartment). Further, there were already conversations about who has which floor, balcony, etc. (they have loggias there ...) There were many new buildings and new settlements, the situation with light steam was very common in those years. A typical house - yes, a typical construction, in which basically everyone still lives.
They didn't save up for apartments, they saved up for cars ...
(End of the first part)
Of course, there is a lot to tell about - school, institute, army, work, factories, trade union committees, vouchers to the pioneer camp, rest homes, treatment, dissidents, communication of different nationalities and so on, what kind of children were, everything evokes bright memories) Well, and tell me what I really didn’t like in the Union) But to say that there was a bad life, it seems to me very difficult) In the end, there were also rich people there who lived richly)
And here is the opinion of another blogger, Edward R.:
What we ate in the USSR
I also wanted to have a hand in memoirs about the Soviet past. It was just interesting to refresh my memory. At the time of the demise of the USSR I was 21 years old, in theory I must remember. The most interesting thing is what we ate. After all, I was born in the most A mining town in the Urals, 50 thousand inhabitants. It seems like nowhere was worse than us.
The supply department of the townspeople was in charge of the Department of Working Supply (OPC), which included: a vegetable warehouse, a vegetable store, a non-alcoholic beer workshop and all shops.
I remember myself from the age of four. On the way from kindergarten, my mother and I went to Khlebny. I was asked what sweets we would buy today? I chose either Karakum or Red Poppy, my mother took 100 grams. There were also chocolate truffles from delights, chocolate medals in I didn't like sweets with white fudge. Parents alternated chocolate with hematogen, but also nothing. From that time I remember big red circles of cheese. (in a shell).
Closer to school (76-77 somewhere) chocolate and cheese ran out. For a long time the ersatz "Alyonka" and toffee in the tiles reigned. But "petrels" and "daisies" were. Since then I have ceased to be a sweet tooth.
What about the fruit? There were always watermelons, melons, grapes in the season. And OPC supplied guests from the south. There were no bananas. Pears were eaten by the "northerner".
In general, subsistence farming was extremely developed. Everyone kept "gardens" and planted potatoes. Potatoes are a separate song. We planted a lot, for future use. Once we planted 8 acres and the Harvest happened. I remember almost died, digging all day. the potatoes were distributed to pig breeders.
Pig breeding was also ubiquitous. Apparently, therefore, there were really no problems with meat. When the grandfather pricked the pig, she completely went into business. From the head of boiled pork, bones to jellied meat, liver to pies, stomach and intestines went to delicious blood sausage. Numerous canteens with slops were chiefs of livestock breeders. And also feed factories in the neighboring collective farms and gray bread at 14 kopecks per loaf.
They also kept rabbits. Meat too. And I spent all my childhood in rabbit hats. A huge number of skins disappeared. Rabbit fur coats were not fashionable or what?
My sacred duty was to deliver milk home. Every day I carried six bottles. If in the states they drink beer from the refrigerator, my father and I drank milk from the refrigerator, quenched our thirst. Only my mother drank tea in the family.
The most popular dish we had was fried potatoes on lard with meat under some sort of pickles of horseradish. After such a meal, milk was not recommended, we had to drink blackcurrant juice.
Another mystery of that time. We did not have mayonnaise. After all, what is simpler is vinegar and egg powder. We didn’t. But we did have sour cream.
Of course, I stood in the queues. When they "threw away" smoked sausages, they gave me one and a half kilos, so they pulled me out of the fun of street mothers, grandmothers.
By the way, they didn’t get sick. In winter at -25, you will throw off your rabbit three-ear and checkered coat, maybe some ARI, you’ll get away from school and continue to hockey. Nifiga, bummer.
In short, they lived as it is not worse, but differently than now. About the public atmosphere is also interesting, but that's another story.
Thanks for reading.
The more those who want to return to it. Life in the USSR was not ideal, but people miss, remember and compare. Today, this era still excites and excites compatriots. Sometimes serious debates unfold in society, finding out how happy the Soviet people were and how they lived in the USSR.
Differently
According to the recollections of the majority of compatriots, it was a simple and happy life for millions of people who were proud of their great power and aspired to a bright future. Stability was the hallmark of that time: no one was afraid of tomorrow, or price increases, or layoffs. People had a solid foundation under them, because, as they say, they could sleep peacefully.
There were pluses and minuses in the life of the USSR. Someone recalls the endless queues and shortages of that time, someone cannot forget the availability of education and medicine, but someone continues to feel nostalgic for kind and trusting human relationships that had nothing to do with material values and status.
Had a very close and friendly relationship with each other. Sitting with the neighbour's kids or running away to the pharmacy was not a question. Linen was free to dry on the street, and the keys to the apartment lay under the rug. No one thought about the bars on the windows and iron doors, there was no one to steal. On the streets, passers-by willingly helped the stray find their way, bring heavy bags or cross the road for an old man. Participation and attention were shown to everything. It is no wonder that visiting foreigners fell in love with this country, shocked by the warmth that they met here.
Together
For today, isolation, seclusion and alienation are more and more characteristic - a person may not even know who lives next to him on the site. The Soviet man was very distinguished by a heightened sense of collectivism, the whole society seemed to be tightly welded together. Therefore, in the USSR they lived as one big friendly family. Everything was vaccinated with kindergarten, then school, institute, production. Residents of an apartment building could easily know each other by their last names. Everything was done together and together.
Collectivism is considered the greatest achievement. Everyone felt that he belonged to a great nation, lived with the interests and joys of his country, his city, his enterprise. A person was never left alone: everyday life, sorrows and holidays in the USSR lived with the whole team. And the worst that could happen to a person was when he was expelled from society. The worst thing was to be "overboard" from everyone.
Learn, learn and learn
Indeed, Soviet citizens had the right to free education - this was another pride of the Land of the Soviets. Moreover, secondary education was universal and compulsory. Anyone could enter the university after successfully passing the entrance exams.
The attitude towards school in the USSR, and towards education in general, is very different from that of today. It would never even occur to a schoolchild or student to miss a lesson. The main source of knowledge was his synopsis; his academic performance depended on how he would listen and record the teacher.
A separate point worth emphasizing is the respect with which teachers were treated. There was always silence in the classrooms, no unnecessary conversations and noise, there was absolute concentration on the lesson. And God forbid someone to be late for classes - you will not be ashamed.
Now some are questioning the level of Soviet education, but scientists and specialists brought up in this "bad system" are in great demand abroad.
Free medicine
Another of the most powerful arguments in favor of the USSR. Soviet people could always count on qualified free medical assistance. Annual examinations, dispensaries, vaccinations. All treatments were available. And going to the clinic, there was no need to be puzzled how much money might be needed and whether it would be enough. The party took good care of the health of its workers - it was possible to get a ticket to the sanatorium without any problems and “going through the agony”.
Women were not afraid to go to give birth, because there was no such perplexity as to feed and "bring to the people." Accordingly, the birth rate grew, and no additional benefits and incentives were needed for this.
The normalized work schedule, the level of medicine, the relative stability in life, a healthy diet - all this led to the fact that in the 80s the USSR was among the top ten countries with high life expectancy (average life expectancy).
Housing problem
Life in the USSR was not sweet in many ways; nevertheless, every Soviet citizen from the age of 18 had the right to housing. Of course, we are not talking about palaces, but no one remained on the street. The apartments received were not private property, as they belonged to the state, but they were assigned to people for life.
It should be noted that the housing issue was one of the sore spots of the Soviet Union. Only a tiny percentage of registered families received new housing. Apartment queues stretched out for many, many years, despite the fact that every year housing construction reported on the delivery of new neighborhoods.
Other values
Money was never an end in itself for a Soviet person. People worked and worked hard, but it was for an idea, for a dream. And any interest or desire for material goods was not considered worthy. Neighbors and colleagues easily lent each other "three rubles to payday" and did not count the days of her return. Money did not solve anything, it decided relationships, everything was built on it.
Salaries in the USSR were decent, such that half of the country could afford to fly by air without harming the family budget. It was available to the masses. What are student scholarships worth? 35-40 rubles, for excellent students - all 50. It was quite possible to do without the help of mom and dad.
The labor of craftsmen was especially appreciated. A qualified specialist at a plant could receive more than his director. And that was okay. There were no shameful professions, a janitor and a technician were respected no less than an accountant. Between the "top" and "bottom" there was not that insurmountable gap that can be observed now.
As for the value of the ruble itself in the USSR, this is one of the most popular funds of that time. Its owner could afford to buy a choice of the following: two large packs of dumplings, 10 pies with meat, 3 liters of kefir, 10 kg of potatoes, 20 subway rides, 10 liters of gasoline. This cannot fail to impress.
Well-deserved rest
Through the law, the state guaranteed material security to Soviet citizens in old age. Pensions in the USSR allowed older people to live in relative prosperity. There was no need for additional work. Old people nursed their grandchildren, took care of summer cottages, went to rest in a sanatorium. Nowhere was there such a picture that a pensioner was counting a penny for medicine or milk, and, even worse, stood with an outstretched hand.
The average pension in the USSR ranged from 70 to 120 rubles. Military or personal pensions were certainly higher. At the same time, it took only 5 rubles for housing and communal services. Pensioners did not survive then, but lived, they also helped their grandchildren.
But in fairness, it should be noted that not everything was so rosy among the pensioners-collective farmers. For them, only in 1964 was the law on pensions and benefits passed. And these were mere pennies.
Culture in the USSR
Culture, like life itself in the USSR, was ambiguous. In fact, it was divided into official and "underground". Not all writers could publish. Unrecognized creators used samizdat to reach their readers.
Controlled everything and everyone. Someone had to leave the country, someone was sent into exile for "parasitism", and the ardent petitions of colleagues could not save them from exile. Do not forget the destroyed exhibition of avant-garde artists. This action said it all.
The dominance of socialism in art led to a degradation of taste among Soviet people - the inability to perceive something more complex than the surrounding reality. And where can there be a flight of thought and fantasy? Representatives of the creative intelligentsia had a very difficult life in the USSR.
In the cinema, the picture was not so sad, although here the censorship was not asleep. World-class masterpieces are being filmed, which still do not leave the TV screen: the adaptation of the classic "War and Peace" by S. F. Bondarchuk, comedy by L. I. Gaidai and E. A. Ryazanov, "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" V. V Menshova and much more.
It is impossible to ignore pop music, which was of great importance for the Soviet people. No matter how hard the relevant authorities tried, Western rock culture penetrated the country and influenced popular music. "Pesnyary", "Gems", "Time Machine" - the appearance of such ensembles was a breakthrough.
I remember
Nostalgia for the USSR continues to gain momentum. In view of today's realities, people remember everything: the pioneer, and the Komsomol, and the availability of kindergartens, and summer camps for children, free sections and circles, and the absence of homeless people on the street. In short, a stable and calm life.
Holidays in the USSR are also remembered, as they walked shoulder to shoulder in parades with their heads held high. Proud for their country, for its great achievements, for the heroism of their people. They remember how representatives of different nationalities lived together in the neighborhood and there was no division and intolerance. There was a comrade, friend and brother - a Soviet man.
For some, the USSR is the “lost paradise”, while others shudder with horror at the mention of that time. Oddly enough, both of them will be right. And there is no way to forget the bygone era, this is already our history.