A question about the cold war.

[Gripmaster]

Hi, I live in the U.S. In history class we are interviewing people about what life was like durring the Cold War. My teacher said I would get extra credit if I interviewed someone from Russia. Is anyone willing to be interviewed? If you don't want to be directly interviewed, you could answer some of these questions right on the message board:

*Were you very worried about nuclear war?
*Was it hard to get a job?
*How much money did the average person make?
*Did the communist government take away any of your rights? If so, what was it like?
*How often did you hear about Cold War issues on the news and in newspapers?
*How much talk was there about the space race with the United States?
*Do you think life became better after the fall of Communism?
*What were some big changes you noticed in life after the Cold War was over.

Any information would be great.
Thanks

[Edited by Gripmaster on 11th May 2001 at 22:12]

[ILay]

Well, I'll try to answer your questions. Though I was just a kid during the last stages of the cold war, might be my answers could be of help for you.

*Were you very worried about nuclear war?

extremely. EXTREMELY

We were almost 100% sure US will attack something 1985-1987.
Especially in the years 1982-1984, then USSR started the nuclear tests moratorium, prolonged it and US did not support it. We were listening to the adults, who were talking about supersticious 'war signs' like - a lot of mushrooms, extremely cold winters, a epydemies etc. My parents were war kids. My mother survived by chance during the great war. And they were talking that same happend in 1938-1941. And their parents told them same happend 1913-1915.

In the schools we had trainings how to run to the bomb-shelters, how to use the gas mask, how to deal with the fire bombs, how to act in case of nuclear and ordinary bombardments.

Common joke from this time
-what should you do in case of nuclear bombardment?
- take on the grave-cothes and slowly crowl to the nearest cemetary.
- but why crawl?
- in order not to create the panic.

People had the impression that US simply does not want to understand that we don't want a war. We thought there is a kind of a wall US created which we simply could not crossover. In 1984 I went to Vienna (my father headed the representative office of a Russian MNC there).
We were tought

- never show any sign that you are from Russia.
- never speak Russian in the city if you are without adults near you.
- check for the cars and people following you.
- never fight back
- watch for the people coming near to the school bus
- if the school bus delays for more than 10 mins come home and call the embassy.

Why all this?
Due to a lot of provocations. In 1983 2 kids were kidnapped. 1984 a kid was killed. 1986 a 3 year old kid lost eye after adults threw stones to him.

Police never helped. It was the enemy territory.

*Was it hard to get a job?

No. It was hard to get a good job, but to find an ordianry one was extremely easy.

*How much money did the average person make?

about 170 roubles per month. According to the official exchange rate - USD 300.
The salaries ranged from 130 to 500 roubles usually.
But, the appartments, education, medical help was free of charge.

*Did the communist government take away any of your rights? If so, what was it like?

Yes, but it would be a way too long message if I start answering this question.

*How often did you hear about Cold War issues on the news and in newspapers?

each day, several times.

*How much talk was there about the space race with the United States?

Not much actually.
We were sure we are way ahead. There was nothing to discuss.

*Do you think life became better after the fall of Communism?

Yes.

-----

feel free to ask me if you wish.
Btw, I think I could post your questions on some of the popular Russian forums if you wish.
It could provide more output than here.

[JUlia_P]

I would like to say one thing, that may cause a big argue, but I'd like also to mention that when I was studying at school our teacher of history was making a research with us about Cold War. We did a little, but he has spend many years on this research. What he told us was based on many facts and stories of very many people,who lived that time.
So, I can't agree with what ILay said, well may be there were some exceptions, but the whole situation was:

Noone was afraid of nuclear war. Ir you learn a lot about Russian psychology you will understand, that Russian people has never been afraid of anything, I mean mass fear. During all wars they've shown a great courage. The second is:How could people after World War 2 be afraid of some gossips that USA is going to bombard us. Noone came through such War (modern Americans can't even realize how the WW2 looked like, nor can most of Europeans, they didn't fight german army, they didn't resist), Russians resisted to the end. And after the Victory there was nothing for them to be afraid of.

As for the information about Cold War, there was to much of it. On radio, television, but it can be explain easily. Russian Govn. has always had a lot of money, but it didn't want to spend it on people. It needed a reason not to do it. And that time the had one. "Americans are going to attack us, we must spend more money for our protection. So, people, tolerance, we must not spend our money."

I can also explain the fact that Russians were not afraid of nuclear war by their poorness. They had nothing to loose. They had nothing after war. Even now we don't treat our health, our food as good as Americans, for example. They had many things to loose, we didn't.

[Yu_Jing]

May be it's too late, but I try to answer your questions.

*Were you very worried about nuclear war?
Actually not so much. I was a kid that time. I had an idea that all people in the world understood that the nuclear war means suicide for all mankind. I beleived Americans never start it as well as Soviets. I afraid only occasional spontaneous nike strike from one of the side.

*Was it hard to get a job?
No. But there was not free job market in SU. If you were graduating from professional school or university the job place was already prepared for you. And why to change your job later? The salaries were about the same.

*How much money did the average person make?
I think 150 rubles per month. How much was it? Nobody knows because one had not to pay for education, health care. It was not possible to buy appartment, plot of land, stocks of some company. To buy a car one needed not money but the presence in some queue depending on the job place, your position there, membership in trade-union or communist party or at least active role in enterprise activities or familiarity to some important person. To buy some better (non usual) food or clothing one had to make friends in shops. It's not possible to compare to US dollars exchange rate.

*Did the communist government take away any of your rights?
I knew a little about my rights. I remember propaganda told us western countries had no human rights because their people missed the most important one -- the right for labour. Soviet people had it -- there was no unemployment in the SU. Getting older I started realise about human rights. Gorby opened our eyes completely.

If so, what was it like?
See above answer.

*How often did you hear about Cold War issues on the news and in newspapers?
Every day every time.

*How much talk was there about the space race with the United States?
Not much. I was interested about moon Appolo program but there were a few information about it. Mostly like this: Americans spent a lot of money trying to prove their superiority, but our moon exploring program is better.

*Do you think life became better after the fall of Communism?
Yes

*What were some big changes you noticed in life after the Cold War was over.
World became more friendly. Firstly (before Western countries got scared of Russian immigrants) it was easier to travel abroad. At the same time a lot of military plants stopped their operations and a lot of people lost thier salaries and jobs.

[Bon]

I am afraid it is a little late answer but I were interested in the questions and decided to write.
I were a child when perestroika begun but still I remember something
*Were you very worried about nuclear war?

Personally me didn’t worry very much. But everybody reacted in his own way. I knew people that were scared. One boy told me that he often saw dreams about atomic bombing by Americans. Some people were quite indifferent. Some people regarded this possibility with a kind of irony. I remember one very popular facetious songs about future nuclear war that was made to a tune of a well-known in Russia children song.
For me I didn’t believe that America would bomb us (“they are not idiots and self-murderers” I thought) and off course I knew without any doubts for us we have no plan or reason to attack America. “We only offers “peaceful initiatives” but aggressive American government doesn’t want any peace because “voenno-promishlennyi complex” (military industrial complex) of America (that really rules America) will never refuse the profits from manufacturing weapon” – it was an usual song and dance of the Soviet mass media. By the way now as well as then I don’t think that we really wanted to attack Europe or America. American propaganda was not more true in this question than ours.

*Was it hard to get a job?

Not really. If you wanted to work you always had such a possibility. Off course not ANY work you wanted to get you can get. But the difference in salaries was not so big and money didn’t play so great role as now.

*How much money did the average person make?


I think average salary was 150-200 rubles. 100 rubles was regarded as very low salary. And many things were free or were “on the state dotation” i.e. some goods were sold at lower prices than they really cost (e.g. bread, children books and so).

*Did the communist government take away any of your rights? If so, what was it like?


When I was a little child I really believed that socialism was the best form of government. And I thought how lucky I am because I was born in the best country in the world. I was pity about the people in Western countries that are exploited by cruel capitalists. And only when I’ve become a senior pupil I begun to understand that all is not so simple as I were told (I think soviet education was very good and really taught to think due to its systematic way). Some books and movies by the Western authors edited and shown in USSR that were pretty critical to some sides of the Western society were a kind of supporting the official point of view. But off course many things destroyed such a very negative image of the Western way of life. It was evident from the same books and movies that life in the West was much more rich and technologically developed than ours.
But being a child I didn’t feel that I was deprived of some human rights. I think the matter is that the lack of human rights was not so evident (at least from a child view). Everybody could make any career. For example if you wanted to make a political career you had to enter the communist party and you could became a big man, even a General Secretar of the Communist Party (it was the main post in USSR). For example it was the way of Gorbachev who was a son of a simple collective farmer (kolkhoznik). You could get a good education (free) and become for example an academic. All that was really quite possible. There were some elements of voting and elections at local level. I didn’t think that the existence of a single political party was something not quite normal.
People could move everywhere over the country (there was no borders between Soviet Republics) and every summer I traveled over USSR by car with my father. I didn’t feel any restraints.
Plus at least declared ideology sounded very noble and beautiful. “Soviet people are free of exploitation by greedy capitalists. They work only for themselves (because the state belongs to people). At capitalism a human being to a human being is a wolf, at socialism a human being to a human being is a friend, and so on”

But remembering adult talks now I think that really many or even most of adult people was disappointed and tired of the Soviet system as a whole or of some its sides.
And perestroika was received with the great hope. Everybody understood that the system is not effective and had to be improved or even replaced.

*How often did you hear about Cold War issues on the news and in newspapers?

I didn’t read papers but TV often showed something of this kind.

How much talk was there about the space race with the United States?

Very seldom. We were used to our own cosmonauts and their flights and cosmos was too ordinary thing to talk about it.

*Do you think life became better after the fall of Communism?

For most of the people of old age off course not. They would end their lives much more happily (both in material and spiritual sense) if SU kept alive But for me I am glad that socialism is over.
*What were some big changes you noticed in life after the Cold War was over.

I don’t think the world has become more safe or happy or intelligent after the Cold War. But at least now Russia has become much more open to the world and at least a little more friendly with America and Europe. But I am afraid that the Cold War has not been done to death completely. I don’t see in much of Western mass media even trials to understand Russia. Too much of misinterpretations, lies, stereotypes and even malevolence about my country. I am very sad about it and began to think this mutual misunderstanding is irremovable at least for the next 70 -100 years.


[Edited by Bon on 31st July 2001 at 09:07]