#6596
#15 - JRL 6596
Vladivostok News
December 10, 2002
A child's eye view of the Soviet Union
By Vasily Avchenko
Today's 10 and 11 year-olds don't remember the Soviet Union, which officially ceased to exist on December 8, 1991.
To mark the anniversary, a group of children at Vladivostok's School No. 7 were asked to write essays on the Soviet era.
They made some funny mistakes, but showed they had been listening to stories from older relatives.
For many children, the Soviet Union was a country without the Western luxuries available today.
"In the Soviet Union there were no Mercedes cars, or minibuses, but there were Ladas and Volgas," wrote Stepan, while Anastasia commented on the lack of "PVC windows" and "beautiful clothes and Tippex pens for school."
"There were no Chupa-chups (lollipops) or crisps," wrote Georgy.
Yet children also commented on cheaper goods, showing a surprising familiarity with Soviet prices.
"Food was very cheap, for example bread cost 18 kopecks, but to buy a sausage you had to stand in a line for at least an hour, and there wasn't a big choice," wrote Yulia.
"There were machines which sold fizzy water: if you put in 1 kopeck, you got fizzy water, but if you put in 2 [actually 3 kopecks], you got 'Buratino' lemonade," wrote Alexei.
None of these slot machines, which had two glasses instead of disposable cups, seem to have survived into the post-Soviet era.
"(A kilo of) chicken cost 3 rubles, but sweets were a 'deficit' item, and so was chewing gum," continued Alexei, picking up on the shortages typical of the late Soviet period.
The children had also heard of the Pioneers, the Soviet youth organization it was virtually compulsory to join.
"I think being a Pioneer was very interesting, to wear a red necktie, to go on hikes and help adults," wrote Darya.
"They helped people and helped move scrap metal," said Yulia. Classes used to be cancelled for children to collect scrap metal.
Less historically accurate were Maxim who believed that "people didn't know how to write," and Konstantin, who thought that there were "no high-rise buildings".
"There were lots of writers, like Krylov and Pushkin," asserted Darya, naming two nineteenth century classics.
One girl even believed that Chechens seized Leningrad during the Second World War, reflecting today's 'baddies'.
Several children described the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union as a 'revolution', or the "Yeltsin revolution."
"My grandparents were rich then, but when the revolution came they became poor," wrote Pavel.
Some like Dmitry focused on positive changes since 1991, saying that, "People are building beautiful houses, and there are lots of different kinds of cars."
Others such as Anastasia were nostalgic for a time when "People were good and not envious of each other," and "We had clean air in the city."
However, Yulia concluded that, "I would rather live now than in the USSR."
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