The Cold War...

[SS-18 ICBM]

because such things are being photographed more often.

Oh, so there is bias in the data set. Well then don't say the damn thing is a full and accurate representation of the situation.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

Oh, so there is bias in the data set. Well then don't say the damn thing is a full and accurate representation of the situation.

Could you please show us where red_elk said that? red_elk, not someone else.

 

[red_elk]

I'm a little amazed seeing people's reaction on those pictures.
Looks like the fact that "Russians love their children too" is a big surprise not only for Sting.
May be because real Soviet people look different than in Hollywood movies.

 

[luiz]

The nazis loved their kids too.

Nobody is shocked by the pics, or claiming they are fake. We're just saying that moments of happiness and "normalcy" existed in even the most brutal regimes, and prove nothing. The pictures do not demonstrate that life in the USSR was generally pleasant any more than the pics I posted demonstrate that the Third Reich was one big picnic.

So there's nothing wrong with your pics, they just don't serve the purpose of this thread.

 

[Yeekim]

What a great counter-argument.
Ok, I´ll rephrase:
If your country is indeed decent enough place to live (like, better than USA), you don't need to go at such lenghts to keep people from leaving.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Could you please show us where red_elk said that? red_elk, not someone else.

I'm just basically saying his pictures aren't a complete representation of life in Soviet Union. Cautioning someone against doing something doesn't automatically mean they already did that thing before. Do you understand?

Anyway, he is making a point with those pictures, right? Not just spamming the thread?

 

[red_elk]

If your country is indeed decent enough place to live (like, better than USA), you don't need to go at such lenghts to keep people from leaving.

I didn't even claim that USSR was overall a better place to live than USA back then. In some aspects (e.g. for Black people), definitely yes. In others, I simply don't have enough knowledge about life in the USA in that period. And I don't want to be like some "experts" here who studied Soviet history from books of Solzhenitsyn or similar to them. It's the same as if I would tell you stories about life in the US, basing on Soviet propaganda materials.

It doesn't make sense to compare living standards in two countries like USSR and USA and make conclusions which one was "good" or "bad" for a whole bunch of reasons. Just one example about starting conditions:
- USA in 1945 has about half of world's GDP. USSR has more than half of the country in ruins.
- USA in 1945 possess 2/3 of world's gold reserves. USSR has about 1/6 of the population killed.
- Etc.

P.S. Did you like pictures? For me it's just nostalgia, but it seems quite a few people here feel butthurt looking at them

 

[red_elk]

I'm just basically saying his pictures aren't a complete representation of life in Soviet Union.

I thought it should be obvious that I'm not going to cover in 30 pictures all aspects of life in the country which covers 1/6 of world's landmass and has 250 millions of people.

You'd better make similar post about life in the U.S., instead of criticizing me. I'd view it with interest, even if you won't include pictures with people lynching negroes.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

I thought it should be obvious that I'm not going to cover in 30 pictures all aspects of life in the country which covers 1/6 of world's landmass and has 250 millions of people.

Then why post them? Do your pictures somehow disprove the criticisms of censorship and shortages in the USSR?

 

[red_elk]

Then why post them? Do your pictures somehow disprove the criticisms of censorship and shortages in the USSR?

They not suppose to. They might disprove some of your wrong stereotypes (I don't know whether you have them or not). Look at people's daily activities, clothes, working conditions, childcare, different culture, etc. - if you learn something new, that's what I wanted.

 

[Yeekim]

P.S. Did you like pictures? For me it's just nostalgia, but it seems quite a few people here feel butthurt looking at them

Yeah, the pictures... bring back memories.
With special greetings:

Link to video.
EDIT: Damn, am I ever gonna learn how to embed?!
EDIT2: Thanks!

 

[red_elk]

Yeah, the pictures... bring back memories.
With special greetings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wjJbWuor_Y&feature=related
EDIT: Damn, am I ever gonna learn how to embed?!

Thank's for contribution

To embed, just wrap string id from URL in "youtube" tags
{YOUTUBE}7wjJbWuor_Y{/YOUTUBE}
Like this, but with square brackets.

 

[kochman]

Then why post them? Do your pictures somehow disprove the criticisms of censorship and shortages in the USSR?

Classic propaganda!
When someone has spent much of their life being flooded with propaganda, it is only natural for them to use the technique as well.

 

[Yeekim]

Classic propaganda!
When someone has spent much of their life being flooded with propaganda, it is only natural for them to use the technique as well.

Dude, these were simple pictures of daily life. They don't prove anything, nor do they attempt to.

 

[kochman]

Dude, these were simple pictures of daily life. They don't prove anything, nor do they attempt to.

I disagree that there was no point to them being posted... but it's a moot point really.

 

[W|M]

They were posted to counter the misconception that the entire USSR was a poverty-ridden hellhole, not to prove that there was no censorship.

 

[Crezth]

They were posted to counter the misconception that the entire USSR was a poverty-ridden hellhole, not to prove that there was no censorship.

Counterpoint: the USSR was a poverty-ridden hellhole. Your silly pictures are just propaganda, unlike my Western history books. Ball's in your court, commies!

 

[Virote_Considon]

I'm no commie, but that smilie looks garish as all hell.

Ball's in your court, anticommies

 

[kochman]

Counterpoint: the USSR was a poverty-ridden hellhole. Your silly pictures are just propaganda, unlike my Western history books. Ball's in your court, commies!

Hahahah, so witty!

How many people were shot trying to cross from West Germany into the luxurious East Germany?

Compare defection rates between the USSR and USA?

 

[Tee Kay]

Hahahah, so witty!

How many people were shot trying to cross from West Germany into the luxurious East Germany?

Compare defection rates between the USSR and USA?

This proves what, anyway?