Do Russians want the USSR back?

This probably our last video before we'll get back to USSR.
It was nice experience, sorry for being dramatic 😂

Ummm.. Anyways, «‎What do Russians think now? 1 week in the war.»‎ — the next one.

Author — @1420channel

I was most interested in the elderly who lived through it answers. The lady at the end who said "no because you don't remember it, thank God, and we do" really haunted me. It's strange because the guy before her praised the fact that you could travel to Crimea, everyone's experience is so different. No system of government is perfect and there will always be people who thrive or suffer.

Author — @ice2k999

A really good book on this subject is Blackshirts & Reds by Michael Parenti. In it, he details the disastrous effects of the Soviet Union’s demise on people throughout Russia and some of Eastern Europe. The explosion of crime, homelessness, poverty, alcoholism, and war in 1990s Russia makes the years of stagnation during the Brezhnev era look like a walk in the park. It’s understandable why so many older Russians long for the days of the Soviet Union - because, to put it bluntly, life was simply better for them.

Author — @KrazyKatPosse

It's cool that you can find just intelligent, thoughtful and historically well-informed people just wandering around on the street.

Author — @masterbulgokov

You can really see the generational divide between people who lived during and people born after the USSR

Author — @rinsimon5467

To those rightly talking of the elders nostalgia, you must remember on the flip side a revisionist historical view, one that can be both wholly bad or wholly good and thus lack balance. The young adults in this video will have been taught a west-based history around the USSR - one that is quick to pin point it’s flaws and terror; yet blind to the many pros of discipline, health care, education, urban planning and housing stability.

Author — @ryanfinnerty6239

older people have a more developed opinion of why they agree or disagree. The younger ones can barely give a clear argument as to why they disagree or not, and their opinions are very similar, while the older ones who lived during the USSR have more diverse opinions. It seems that being born in a democracy is not enough to be a citizen with historical and critical thinking. Perhaps the educational system of each era can be a determining factor.

Author — @gonzaloruz1600

The old guy who said “then i was 30, now im 70” is spot on lol, he cant answer that question objectively and he knows it because of course he will have romanticized memories of when he was young.

Author — @Aldob416

This was completely riveting and eye opening. Notice how there’s a definite dichotomy here between the generation of age during the USSR and the young ones who never experienced war and see life across the ocean on Facebook.
Secondly, the fact that Russians see the EU, along with the United States as each being a USSR.
Really interesting.

Author — @CarolineWolterHall

I can see why some Russians would feel sentimental towards the Soviet Union. When it fell apart their lives went to shit. The stagnation the 1970’s and 80’s must seem like calm time compared to the wars and chaos of the 1990’s.

There is a fantastic book on the subject called “Secondhand Time: the Last of the Soviets” by Svetlana Alexievich. Grim reading but a really fascinating document of what people went through as the USSR was formed, stagnated, collapsed and was reborn as 15 independent countries.

Author — @hastekulvaati9681

Notice how almost all the people who lived in the USSR said something positive about it and all the people who didn't live in the USSR didn't want it back

Author — @zalkkareita9017

What for sure feels like a thing to restore is the feeling of community, and unitedness of peoples. I remember the time I learned that Korolëv, the great soviet rocket chief designer, filled the 5th blank in documents as Ukrainian in one document, and Russian in another. Back in the time when that didn't matter much, and an idea of internationalism was popular and hoped for.

Author — @fatitankeris6327

Some older russians might look back rather fondly at the USSR because they clearly remember the contrast between the USSR and its collapse in the 90s (also called "peristroyka"). My Russian mother left her country during that time for my west european dad. Her family encouraged her to go have a better life cause cicumstances were so hard at the time. People were selling themselves, lots of drunk fighting people in the streets, lots of crime.
No system is ideal, but the collapse of the system was a shock for many russians. My mom always says "we were poor, but we were happy, in the soviet union". I dont think she really wants to go back to USSR, and she really doesnt like authoritarianism. I do think however, that some people might sometimes want to go back, purely as a longing for simpler times.

Author — @LIZArd_2001

As a russian I can tell you that most of the population of the former USSR really have no idea about socialism/capitalism or left/right consepts though they all were taught marxism somehow. They just remember how they were young and had less problems. Actually there were many great things then like free summer camps or afterschool clubs for all soviet children so majority of the people born after 80s remember soviet union as a lost paradise.

Author — @user-pc3hk3cg6n

My friend and I are Chinese living in Western Europe. Before the pandemic, we used to do the former soviet state tours. We have been to Moldova and Georgia. We did this primarily for nostalgia. Many places reminded us of China in the 90s that could not be found anymore. For us, it was nice but for the locals, it was desperate because it seems that parts of these countries have not developed much or even withered since the fall of the Soviet Union. So yeah, for some of the locals, Soviet Union might just be better than their current status.

Author — @Wilhelm8e

I find you ordinary street interviews with the different generations fascinating. I think it is valuable for those of us who have not lived under the “Soviet System” to listen to those who have…thanks for your content.

Author — @johnmaholick4991

I was born in Moscow in 1964, and I usually say that it was the best years of the USSR. Yes, we didn't have voting democracy, but it was the Cold War. At that time there was no democracy anywhere in the world. However, I studied in good schools, we traveled to summer camps, where we swam in waterfalls and learned how to farm in rural areas of the country. We participated in the youth Olympics, there were music festivals... I can't speak for all Russians, but I was happy!

Author — @YoungGagarin

Interesting how most of the Young People said that "no" they don't want it to return, while more of the older people had better things to say. It would be interesting to see what people outside of the big cities think though. I know that most of them tend to really miss the Soviet Union cause nothing works in those poor towns anymore.

Author — @slavic_bog_warlock

I like how older people points of view had a better reasoning behind, like they had a better understanding of geopolitics and how power works, while younger people usually took the argument of "I'm pro democracy whatever it means".

Author — @armandom.s.1844

I'm an American veteran, my friends and I have always had respect for the Russian people. They're a tough lot, been through hardships. In the army, we had no ill feelings towards the Soviets, it was just the political climate at the time. I'd love to visit someday.

Author — @richsmith7200