Symbols of America

[peacetraveler22]

For the past few weeks, Ilya Varlamov has published posts incorporating photos from Moscow in the late 1980's - early 90's. I love these! Amazing to see how the country looked right before the collapse of the USSR. In today's post, I saw this photo from 1990. A massive queue to enter the first McDonald's in Moscow! I can't imagine such a scene, or how this fast food chain symbolized so much to people at that time. In 1990, I was 17. A senior in high school, getting ready to graduate and enter university, and closely following events overseas.

What other places, items and things did Soviet citizens associate with America before the collapse? My aunt visited Russia in the early 1980's, and she told me stories about locals asking her for bubble gum and wanting to buy her Levi's, straight off her body. This is no joke.

This is what makes Russia so fascinating to me - very rich and diverse history, constantly shifting and changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Not sure how most Russians feel about the current direction in which Russia is moving...I hope you feel for the better, because it's depressing and sad to live in a place where you feel absolutely no hope or prospect for the future. I have never once felt this way about my life in America...

Comments

Gogol, Humans and HOME

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

Yesterday I listened to a lecture of D. Bykov on N. V. Gogol.
He was discussing the difference between Humans (including Ukrainians) and Russians, on the example of the wanderings of Chichikov in The Dead Souls.
The trick is that Humans have a concept of Home. Russians do not have the idea of Home. There is a wonderful German word and concept - HEIMAT. Russians do not understand this. Russians are restless, they wander around, they do not care to improve their homes. Like again - with the Crimea and Ukraine - they go there whereas there is so much to be done in their own Heimat. They do not care.

Re: Gogol, Humans and HOME

[vasylkivska.livejournal.com]

Oh... you are of the russians-walk-the-bears type... yes and yes ans swim i vodka.

[krasnogorr.livejournal.com]

Ну конечно же вы не понимаете. Это естественно. Вы же считаете, что сами всего добились. Подобно ребёнку, который думает, что еда сама появляется в холодильнике.

Но вот вопрос, а были бы вы тем, кто вы есть, если бы ваши родители были алкоголиками, а ваше ближайшее окружение любило наркотики, бандитскую культуру? Я думаю, что нет. Человека делает не только он сам, но и его окружение. Это подобно воспитанию. Из дерьма не родится алмаз.

Так вот, как вы думаете, если отобрать у одних джинсы и фаст фуд, но вынуть из дерьма дно общества - это разве не справедливо? Или лучше вы будете выбирать между КФС и Макдоналдс, а остальным отправлять необязательных волонтёров?

Российская история тоже многое доказала. Пока вы делили общество на чёрных и белых, у нас уже много десятилетий было равноправие всех полов и наций.

[(Anonymous)]

>American people - we are not your enemy. Never have been, and never will be
We see US block-busters where Russians are mainly depicted as evil guys. We see US video games where Russians are mostly enemies. Modern games and films, not from 80x. THAT is how average American see Russia and Russians, isn't it?

[mercibo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's appeared to be deeply rooted.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Sorry, the average American spends absolutely no time thinking about Russians, or holding any hostility toward them. However, almost every single story I see on your state controlled propaganda piece, RT, is about America, Americans or some other Western nation. So, Russians are far more fixated on America/Americans than vice-versa.

[alsh4ka.livejournal.com]

Jeans, bubble-gum, coca-cola. Tom&Jerry, Backto the Future and Star Wars)))

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Back to the Future - it's one of my favorite American film series. :) I wish there was a real time machine! It would be so cool. :)

[vasylkivska.livejournal.com]

It's not that it was significant but it was so much unlike anything you knew in a country where uniqueness was hard to come by. The Martians were selling the crappiest possible food found in their universe but you had no way of knowing because you were not familiar with their food and it wasn't like anything you ever tasted before. There is a value in uniqueness that is shared universally. When we lived in Tokyo there was only one Krispy Kream shop. The line in front of it never reduced to less than 45 minutes of waiting. I could never understand why the Japanese felt compelled to wait for 45 minutes to get a box of doughnuts and a coffee, but they did.

[harlampiev.livejournal.com]

My aunt visited Russia in the early 1980's, and she told me stories about locals asking her for bubble gum and wanting to buy her Levi's, straight off her body. This is no joke.

It was a good business, called FARTZA. Even little gum could be selled for good money. And real Levi*s be priced like month salary.
If you have interest, I could recommend you good russian film-musicle СТИЛЯГИ оr this humour story http://www.lib.ru/WELLER/fim_bl.txt. In online traslator should be readаble.

[harlampiev.livejournal.com]

Do you remember, like we should be on-dressed in next year?=)))

[(Anonymous)]

Sure Average American is not thinking about Russia all the day ) But IF Russia is mentioned in MSM, it will be mentioned in some negative context with 73.17% probability :). Iron Curtain is no more, Shanon, we do read US media, play US video games, watch US-made movies. And we note that
RT is not "for Russians" or "about the Russians". It targeted on whole world. World news. And who has its "global interests" in every place? Who has bases on entire globe? Who is sticking it's nose everywhere? Bombing and bossing? Right, 'Murika!
Naturally, USA is mentioned much more

BTW RT is "propaganda" because it's state controlled? Or because it's often contradict "most free, independent and trustworthy Western Media"?

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

All State controlled media is biased. The sole objective of these networks is to promote the governments agenda, with little or no room for criticism. To make every other place on earth seem deplorable, so citizens who don't have the opportunity to explore the world and see reality believe their existence is normal. That the root of the problem is everyone else, not from within.

[(Anonymous)]

Riiiight!
Next step. Why do you think, that not state-controlled media are not biased? They are. More, most of usa news are controlled by couple of Murdoch-scale magnates. And you have a lot of independent news virtually, but DoS and Murdoch news actually :) No diversity. That's why you should treasure alternative sources like RT, not throw ss...tuff in it :)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Do you regularly watch U.S. news? Because it's absolutely diverse. The main news networks - CNN and FOX are completely opposite. CNN is more liberal, FOX promotes a conservative agenda, absolutely critical of almost every step of U.S. policy (both domestic and foreign). However, the key point is that both networks constantly and openly criticize U.S. government and Obama. This is the true sign of a free press. And you think it's normal that your government wishes to impose all these Internet restrictions, require bloggers to register, etc.? Or, that it shows citizens shows like this - http://www.vox.com/2014/12/1/7313025/russia-gay-propaganda, which are a complete LIE and distortion of reality? Almost as bad as North Korean propaganda, showing Americans starving and eating dead birds.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, usually I'm only watching foreign news that mention Russia (to the compare with our internal news, lol). I admit that they (foreign msm) may differ in domestic issues. But it seems news about Russia are made by carbon copy process. Do you remember shitstorm in USSA media about Sochi-2014? You have noted that it was greatly distorted in US. But you only was able to notice that because you have seen Sochi from inside, right? I see that "Sochi" constantly while reading western media :)
About video - Russians are not the first (and the last) who fell for chan's pranks
Half of internet restrictions are for impose copyright restrictions (it was west who demanded it, remember?) Other half is because one particular country staged way too many coupes (that country call them "color revolutions") that was organized and coordinated by social networks. Self-defense :)
Blogger registration. Well, USA have NSA who monitor every citizen, know you real name and location and rats you when you write joke about bomb in twitter. You don't need such registration, truly. Russian "NSA" is limited that's why they asks you for registration

[kremlin-curant.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was amazing seeing the American staples in the Russia in those times. But all in Moscow, never in the remote places like Ivanovo where I lived.
In late 80-th Russian people stopped trusting communist's propaganda and lot of Russians got loved the American way of life.
Unfortunately Russian president Boris Yeltsin got moronic onto the end of his last term in the Office and when NATO started the war against Miloshevich clique he used it as a pretext for reviving the old-style anti-american sentiment.
Now under mr. Putin's rule this sentiment got much uglier and abnormal.

[seadevil001.livejournal.com]

Cannot write single paragraph without lie? Truly amusing.

[seadevil001.livejournal.com]

Been there did that. Stayed in line, got my hamburger and apple pie. Hamburger was OK, pie totally tasteless. I was truly surprised by absolute lack of taste. Still do not know how they managed to do it.
Mostly I was driven by curiosity then. At that time I could buy 7-10 full meals at cafeteria for money paid at McD. Not very tasty but whole meals in Russia, but in Uzbekistan they would be very tasty but less whole. 8-)

Actually US is not less changing now, I believe. It is very different country than one I arrived in 1999...

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I also am a very curious person. That's part of the reason I write here in the Russian blogosphere. :) How do you think America has changed since your arrival in 1999?

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I think one of the main McDonald's in Moscow recently closed. I remember seeing some posts about this on LJ. Unfortunately, I believe you're right that a very strong anti-Western sentiment is encouraged in Russian media. This makes me sad, that relations between the countries are going backward rather than forward. Apparently a lot of Russians are completely okay with this, as Putin's approval ratings remain high.

[maadmike.livejournal.com]

«A massive queue to enter the first McDonald's in Moscow! I can't imagine such a scene, or how this fast food chain symbolized so much to people at that time.»

I can tell you that the queues are the symbol of mentality of Soviet people . It is like when you have all clothes and food similar you should spend something to get something special, but instead of spending extra money because it was illegal, people thought they should spend their time.
My parents asked me every day, when I was around ten years old, to go to shop to buy food in these 90’s, and I hated this entire queue’s matter with all my guts. But what is amazing about this side of Soviet mentality, that when we didn’t have a deficit already, old people made a queue for fresh milk or other not necessary items, when was absolutely no reason. They like all this shit even now, they have a conversation with each other standing in the line, like they should do it. ))

For me even when I was a child, it was always a total mystery why people make such a fuss about McDonald’s. But one good thing Mc brought to Russia, is the toilet in every cafe! ))

«What other places, items and things did Soviet citizens associate with America before the collapse? My aunt visited Russia in the early 1980's, and she told me stories about locals asking her for bubble gum and wanting to buy her Levi's, straight off her body. This is no joke.»

Yes it is not joke, the deficit of overboard items is to blame but even now there are people who buy clothes in Secondhand shops. Craziness not poverty is the reason of such thing…

«This is what makes Russia so fascinating to me - very rich and diverse history, constantly shifting and changing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Not sure how most Russians feel about the current direction in which Russia is moving...»

It is not only Russia is moving to some direction but every country in the world, even if they not moving at all. Your country also took a new direction after 11 September, I guess.

We move to prosperity with all the protective mechanisms we can have, which should help us not to become the slaves, like Ukrainians and many Arabs country became by their only will the slaves of EU and USA now.

«I hope you feel for the better, because it's depressing and sad to live in a place where you feel absolutely no hope or prospect for the future.»

What a bull sh.. I don’t feel any depression only the proud for my country, which only one stands against tyranny of rich and powerful USA and EU. Who will help to Russians and Orthodox Christians around the world if not we Russians? :) I have all the prospect I can think of in Russia. I really don’t understand what you are talking about!? :0

«I have never once felt this way about my life in America...»

My father had a business trip to Boston ten years ago and his business partners made a tour for him around the city with all the precautions. They showed him the Boston’s Metro and some poor districts of Boston, what he saw there touched him so much. He saw the USA segregation in all its beauty...
Make a week vacation to countless Black Ghetto districts of USA without money and telephone. You will feel every miserable sense you can get on Earth. I like the Walk of Shame movie in that perspective… )))

[yarowind.livejournal.com]

>>I think one of the main McDonald's in Moscow recently closed.

Recently open again:)

[seadevil001.livejournal.com]

Less freedom. Though it is compensated by my steadily increased status.
More hysterics in politics. No substantial dialogue about country problems and solutions for those. Pretty much bumper sticker politicking now. Ideologie came forward of reason and fact.
Government stopped to see after country and works only for richest few. Manchurian candidates became presidents.

All in all it is like USSR in 1989. Only advantage here - there are no country which can match US propaganda machine and convince americans that it friend for them.

[seadevil001.livejournal.com]

Well, Boston is quite better now. I know places you are talking about.