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Top-level
 Russia went from a backwards agrarian society where people travelled by horse and carriage to being the first in space in the span of 40 years. Russia showed incredible growth after the revolution that surpassed the rest of the world: https://wid.world/document/soviets-oligarchs-inequality-property-russia-1905-2016/ 39 comments
USSR doubled life expectancy in just 20 years. A newborn child in 1926-27 had a life expectancy of 44.4 years, up from 32.3 years thirty years before. In 1958-59 the life expectancy for newborns went up to 68.6 years. the Semashko system of the USSR increased lifespan by 50% in 20 years. By the 1960's, lifespans in the USSR were comparable to those in the USA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Soviet_Union https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB5054/index1.html Quality of nutrition improved after the Soviet revolution, and the last time USSR had a famine was in 1940s. By 1983, they had become completely food sovereign and eating better than Americans (according to the CIA) https://www.scribd.com/document/430076844/CIA-RDP84B00274R000300150009-5-pdf Declared the US apartheid campaign against their own black citizens were genocide. USSR moved from 58.5-hour work weeks to 41.6 hour work weeks (-0.36 h/yr) between 1913 and 1960: USSR averaged 22 days of paid leave in 1986 while USA averaged 7.6 in 1996: https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1994/94B09_66_englp2.pdf The Soviet Union had the highest physician/patient ratio in the world. USSR had 42 doctors per 10,000 population compared to 24 in Denmark and Sweden, and 19 in US: https://sci-hub.se/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0735675784900482 USSR defeated a smallpox epidemic in a matter of 19 days https://www.rbth.com/history/331857-how-ussr-defeated-black-smallpox A large study using world bank data analyzing the quality of life in Capitalist vs Socialist countries and finds overwhelmingly at similar levels of development with socialism bringing better quality of life: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1646771/pdf/amjph00269-0055.pdf This study compared capitalist and socialist countries in measures of the physical quality of life (PQL), taking into account the level of economic development. @yogthos USSR although great, and benefitted many regular folk, it came at a cost of Russian freedom and subsequent isolation from the rest of the world. Not to mention all the tensions brought on by the Cold War. Pros and cons I guess. Great thread though. Very informative thanks! @yogthos USSR nostalgia doesn’t necessarily mean return to the old Soviet days, as per the Moscow Times article. I think Russia can do better without an oppressive centralized government but that’s just my opinion as a Canadian @rodroidrx right, it's important to keep in mind that USSR was under duress its entire existence. It was invaded by capitalist powers in 1918 only a year after its formation, then it was plunged into WW2 a couple of decades later, and then US started the Cold War after. USSR was never allowed to develop in peace. Vast majority of negative aspects of USSR can be traced directly to the fact that it was under siege. @rodroidrx @yogthos Context is the king. People had access to education, but had to follow the state ‘truths’ otherwise were persecuted. Nobody worried about losing their job, because it was illegal to not work. The Soviet Union achieved a thing or two, but the *how* and the amount of suffering they caused completely negates that. We have a saying in the Czech Republic: “Se Sovětským Svazem přišla bída na zem” - Soviet Union brought poverty to us all. And that’s how it was. @jirijerabek @rodroidrx anti communists love to spin this yarn, but of course when you look at the conditions prior and post USSR it's pretty clear that everything you've said is utter nonsense. The fact of the matter is that there is far more suffering under capitalism than there ever was in the Soviet Union. However, people like you don't care about that because you've got yours and fuck everyone else. @yogthos @jirijerabek fair objections from both your point of views. However, in the end communism crumbled. China is barely a communist nation its more autocratic / capitalist under the disguise of communism. Of course, contending views will argue the West was responsible for political interference, etc etc, ultimately leading to the fall of communism- but why then wasn’t the USSR robust enough to outmaneuver the Wests meddling? @yogthos I can’t comment on who started what or why the Cold War persisted the way it did, that’s debatable. I can say that USSR did develop a world ending arsenal and this was perceived by US as a threat. So one nation under duress is questionable. With two nuclear powers in frequent confrontation the entire world was under duress. @rodroidrx it's not debatable who started the Cold War. The fact that it was the west is a well documented fact. US was also the first country to develop nuclear weapons and use them on civilian population of Japan to send a message to the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, USSR always tried to come to treaties to disarm and deescalate, the west was never interested. Highly recommend watching this documentary https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1494191/ @rodroidrx I grew up in USSR, and I live in Canada today. I think that the central government was far more functional than the Canadian system. Especially so when it comes to delivering large public infrastructure projects. Of course, nobody is advocating for simply restoring USSR exactly as it was. I think it should be used to inform what's done in the future taking the good aspects and improving the bad. #Capitalism is obviously broken. Your thread reminds me of the Minneapolis #ACAB saying #GeorgeFloyd had a medical condition. Capitalism is not inherently better than everything else, it simply is in the business of killing off competitors. @yogthos to be completely honest I’m socialist to the core. But the engine that drives socialism in Canada is unfortunately capitalism. A functioning government is arguable too. Our system is less than perfect, with many obvious gaps that need to be filled, but for the most part it’s working. Again, pros and cons. Canada’s system isn’t a one size fits all solution but it is popular and provides a status quo (if not better) quality of life to many that live here. @rodroidrx Canada doesn't have socialism. Socialism fundamentally means worker control of the means of production and the economy. Canada is capitalist to the core, where the capital owning class owns everything. Socialism doesn't mean just having a social safety net. This is a very good explanation of the actual meaning of the term @yogthos Hey, I vaguely recall seeing like 10 years back a poll or something where they asked the question: "Would you want the USSR back as it was". Or something like that. And it had results for like all of the Eastern Europaea nations. Would be nice to add to this. But I was never able to find it. The closest thing I found was this. @IAmAClaesAndIhateIt oh thanks, that's a handy poll as well, I find it's also interesting how polls are always conducted in European parts of USSR closer to the west, things got a lot worse in southern and eastern parts. @yogthos your article about the emergency service. These "doctors" didn't treat patients but drove them to the hospital. In the hospital a patient waited to the morning of workday when another real doctor diagnosed and prescribed treatment.  @santiago the downward trend was basically the economic shock therapy of mass privatization, and the stabilization is when there started being more state control over the industry again. Incidentally, Russian economy today is largely state owned and centrally planned, except now all the benefits of that go into the pockets of the oligarchs.
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 @yogthos Now in capitalist Russia the retirement age for women is 60 years, and for men 65 years. At the same time, against the backdrop of deteriorating living standards, many simply do not live up to retirement, and those who do survive on $150 a month. At the same time, the repression apparatus became tougher than it was in the Soviet Union, although this is one of the main reasons for criticizing the USSR in Russia. @ldrngmtv also shit like this, like I wonder what happened around 1991 there
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@jayrope USSR averaged 22 days of paid leave in 1986 while USA averaged 7.6 in 1996: https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/1994/94B09_66_englp2.pdf |
Gregory's Server
USSR provided free education to all citizens resulting in literacy rising from 33% to 99.9%:
http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/PubEdUSSR.htm
http://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/anglosov.htm
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000013/001300eo.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likbez