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

[sineglazzka2301.livejournal.com]

Jeans, bubble-gum, Coca-cola, whiskey:)
As for the direction, I have an impression that Russia is not moving, it's just drifting who knows where:(

[vasylkivska.livejournal.com]

In the last two sentences you have summarized the whole ideology of Ukraine's revolution and the pora-valit movement in Russia...

I remember McDonald's in Moscow. Imagine marcians landing on Earth and opening a shop where you can buy edible marcian food - one single store on the whole planet. That's what MacDonalds was at the time.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Whisky! I didn't know this. :)) Interesting. I can't believe people would wait in such a long line for a horrible tasting hamburger. But we all know it wasn't really about the food. Anyway, if I could enter a time machine, I would definitely wish to travel to Moscow around 1989. Honestly, based on what I've seen during my trips, life in the provinces hasn't really changed that much since Soviet times.

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

The Russians disdain vodka. Instead, they prefer to drink cognac or whisk(e)y. They drink this in the manner as vodka - with a big glass and following with a bite of a pickle.

In 1989, Moscow was like the Frontstadt Berlin in 1945. No lights in the evening, empty and black shop window, deserted streets. I had a mishap to serve then there.

[sineglazzka2301.livejournal.com]

You are not right about vodka. Most Russian men drink it all right:) In total, much more than whiskey, cognac and all other strong spirits together.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I witnessed this in St. Petersburg, when I was the ONLY woman at a vodka bar. Scary, but interesting experience. Vodka bar - you know it's the national drink when there's a whole bar dedicated to it. :))

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

The idea of McDonald's is for Americans to feel everywhere at home.

Once, in Milano, I skipped the lunch in the proper time. I was in a strange part of the city. I felt very hungry and could not find a good place to eat. Then bingo! there was a Wendy's. I confidently wen in and had the same as at hometown. (Not to say that I never visit fastfood at home).

The Russian cuisine has been destroyed by Communists. I only know about it from the classic Russian literature. The eateries that existed under Communists are undespicable. Even expensive restaurants did not serve decent meals. There purpose was to serve costly booze and get the customers stoned. This was called "chic".

So the first McDonald's presented Russians decent food they could have the first time in their lives.
The second reason was what the Communists officially called "cringing before the West"

[sineglazzka2301.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I didn't know such bars exist. Not a common practice in Russia - to dedicate a bar to one kind of liquid. However, one may see anything in Moscow or St. Petersburg:)

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

Yes, you are right.

In your second sentence, I would replace the word Martians with the word Humans.
It was Humans landing in the USSR, and the human food.

[1way-to-english.livejournal.com]

I adore this video: music and images

[elena-88888.livejournal.com]

We are of the same age approximately.
When I was young I was overfilled with propaganda - of Soviet way of living, of attitude to people, of WWII etc...
And nevertheless I heard conversations of my parents, their friends, other people and due to them we felt some kind of different piece of pie can be in that devil's M :))) As every kind of threat it could be very seductively...

Moreover it wasn't the case when you take a piece of bread in an enemy's home - they came and they are here... And yesss! It was just a common curiosity - who are these Americans that they frightened us with them...

P.S. We haven't it in our town till today))) And today I visit it when I'm in Minsk in one case only - when I need to find a restroom :))

Мне стали слишком малы мои потёртые джинсы...

[andrey-kaminsky.livejournal.com]

Then i was indifferent to the jeans, sneakers and L&M cigarettes. Then i loved the classic American fiction, Isaac Asimov, Clifford Simak and others. I started reading Kurt Vonnegut as a science fiction writer, and only then discovered that he was really great.

Re: Мне стали слишком малы мои потёртые джинсы...

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

So you've always been a nerd, with your head buried in a book? :)) I don't even know what L&M cigarettes are! But I've never been a smoker, so it's not surprising.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Wild scene, but a true sense of freedom! :)

Russian cuisine has been destroyed by Communists

[elena-88888.livejournal.com]

What do you mean under Russian cuisine? Dishes served at beau monde or at common people - teachers, doctors, and even peasants? In restaurants or at homes? There was and there is big difference between them even in France that is a well-known country by its attitude to delicious food

[vasylkivska.livejournal.com]

Ehhhh... no, that would imply Russians didn't see themselves as human. That was certainly not the case.

[ambival.livejournal.com]

Yeah! Indians selling Manhattan ...

[sergechel.livejournal.com]

jeans, bubble-gum, coca-cola, pepsi, disney cartoons, tom&jerry, video games ("Dendy"), lots of "new" movies.

"it's depressing and sad to live in a place where you feel absolutely no hope or prospect for the future" - yes, thats a sad truth.

[krasnogorr.livejournal.com]

У каждого человека своё понимание свободы и перспектив в будущем. Для кого то достаточно макдоналдса и джинсов. А кому то нужно бесплатное образование, медицина и безопасность на улице.

Вот у меня вопрос, вы готовы пожертвовать всеми фаст фудами и джинсами ради того, что бы в стране не было бездомных? А готовы ли вы пожертвовать личным авто, что бы каждый мог бесплатно посетить дантиста?

Re: Мне стали слишком малы мои потёртые джинсы...

[ambival.livejournal.com]

So did I, dude. But it was not so straight.

[ambival.livejournal.com]

I adored American way of life since my school bench. But after barbaric bombings of Christian Serbian towns. ... All was over. I understood.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Such bombings have absolutely nothing to do with the way ordinary Americans live. And you think I personally authorized that bombs be dropped anywhere in the world? It's always amazing to me when Russians start saying stuff like this. You've never counted or considered the number of people killed at the hands of your nation, including many of its OWN citizens during Stalin's regime. Anyway, the post is not about politics. It's about ORDINARY people and their thoughts, which is what I always focus on in this blog.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I like your analogy about the significance of McDonald's at the time. Regarding Ukraine, I still can't even believe what is happening there. I was just speaking to my Ukrainian friend on Skype yesterday. So sad. :((

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

This is the mentality of my Russian friend when we travel overseas. He's always searching for McDonald's because he "knows what to expect there," no matter where in the world the McDonald's is located. Personally, my stomach can't handle this food at any time. So, I usually force him to stop at a local market and I simply eat fruit while he eats Big Mac's. :) About Russian cuisine, well you know how I feel. I don't like it, and have written about it numerous times. In each post about Russian food, I receive so many insults and rude comments. I can't really understand why. It's simply a personal preference about what tastes good and what doesn't please the palate. Not an insult on a nation.

Mussolini ha sempre ragione!

[onkel-hans.livejournal.com]

Russians hate vodka. But certainly, they drink it. Predominantly, they drink moonshine. They also drink various solvents and glues. They also drink eau de toilette. Not for nothing Putin puts on the bottles this warning not to drink -