I can imagine the curiosity and amazement of something new when you have been chained to the same ideology/location for so long, without the ability to explore or consider anything different or revolutionary. Btw, it seems sometimes that the socialist mentality regarding work/service is still alive and well in present day Russia, at least based on my interactions with workers in the retail sectors during my visits (restaurants, gas/parking attendants, hotel workers, etc.). Hopefully this will change in the future.