Are the Russians better off under Putin then they were under the Soviet Union?

[Liep]

Stop googling for Russian Dashcams then, even if they are entertaining.

I don't.    I just visit ru-chp.

Interesting site, but hardly every day home videos. Doesn't that say Extreme Events? Also, 3rd video is Danish and Swedish hooligans fighting.

[dps]

They're equally aware that they could be better off.

It's definitely tough to live there.  Whenever I see home videos from there, people are getting into car accidents and/or fights.

If nothing else, it's probably easier for those who want to do so to emigrate.

[Caliga]

Ask some Russians ?

They all seem rather happy at Best Buy and Home Depot, walking around with their shirts all unbuttoned with their gold medallions and shit.  I YAM EPIC WIN

Somehow I doubt this thread was about Russians living here.

Yakov Smirnoff's life is definitely not better now. 

[Josquius]

21st century vs. 20th century, even nations with visible declines in relative prosperity are better off. Hurray for technology.

[PDH]

21st century vs. 20th century, even nations with visible declines in relative prosperity are better off. Hurray for technology.

this thread isn't about the northern UK

[Queequeg]

I'm not sure. They're undoubtedly better off than in the 90s. They're more free than they were under the Soviets and materially better off. On the other hand life expectancy in Russia has plummeted since the 80s, though again I think it's creeping back up from Yeltsin era lows. Also from friends who've lived in Russia they say bits of it are just unstable and quite dangerous, there's a lot of crime and a lot of violence.

Some to a lot of that just wasn't being reported.  Thousands of Soviets were dying for nothing in an extremely violent war in Afghanistan, and by the 80s the rot of Brezhnev could no longer support itself.

I think it's kind of a silly question because the USSR as it entered the 80s was just not going to survive in any recognizable fashion in to the current period. Even if it limped on in to the 90s, the productivity boom associated with the internet would just fucking destroy what remained of the economy. 

[derspiess]

It would have been interesting seeing how the Soviet Union & Eastern Bloc would have dealt with the internet.

[Queequeg]

Only way I'd see the USSR surviving today if someone other than Brezhnev took power in 1964.  Trying to massively expand your role in the world while simultaneously allowing the economy to whither on the vine is just not a long-term sustainable strategy. 

[Queequeg]

Not that differently from modern China or Russia I'd imagine. 

[derspiess]

Not that differently from modern China or Russia I'd imagine. 

I was thinking it'd be similar to China, but attempting to be more restrictive & being less successful in enforcement.

But ultimately while the Chicom regime can survive in the internet age, a Soviet Union would not be able to survive very long. 

[Razgovory]

It would have been interesting seeing how the Soviet Union & Eastern Bloc would have dealt with the internet.

Yeah, that would be interesting.  The Soviet Union and eastern Europe was more repressive then China is now, and China has constant labor struggles and riots.  I'm thinking it would be more like Belarus.

[Josquius]

I really think in the case of the eastern block still being around they would go for attempting a parallel internet.

[KRonn]

I really think in the case of the eastern block still being around they would go for attempting a parallel internet.

Yes, because they'd need to keep parity over the Internet Gap...

[The Brain]

I really think in the case of the eastern block still being around they would go for attempting a parallel internet.

What was Soviet porn like anyway?

[derspiess]

I really think in the case of the eastern block still being around they would go for attempting a parallel internet.

What was Soviet porn like anyway?

It mainly consisted of pin-ups of Brezhnev's wife.