# Do The Russians have Nostalgia For the USSR? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 4, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794 "2007-05-04T19:50:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794/1 "2007-05-04T19:50:50Z")
Russia is a very different place now, from the OLD USSR. Since all changes makes new winners (and losers0, i expect there are lots of people there who wish the old USSR was still around. face it: if you are a young business type (or gangster0-THESE are the best of times-the country is awash in cash (from oil and raw materials exports), and the opportunities to make BIG money are all around. by contrast, if you are somebody living off a pension, or a military officer or academic, life is probably worse now, than under communism. So, are a lot of people in russia pining for the “good old days”? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794/2 "2007-05-04T20:35:27Z")
They run a lot of nostalgia pieces at [English Russia](http://englishrussia.com/). This [Stalin Car](http://englishrussia.com/?p=865#more-865) is a nice example. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794/3 "2007-05-05T01:02:32Z")
I’m told the older generation has issues with the new way. Of course, the “democratization” and “capitalization” turned out to be the old guard selling state industry off to their friends, so I can understand some of them being pissed. I hear the younger generation is doing better. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794/4 "2007-05-05T01:34:34Z")
Russian kid at my husband’s law school is commonly seen sporting hoodies with CCCP blazoned across the front. I did a double take the first time I saw him wearing that particular item. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794/5 "2007-05-05T09:38:17Z")
They just had a piece on the BBC about Russian nostalgia for the USSR. So they do according to the BBC, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-russians-have-nostalgia-for-the-ussr/402794/6 "2007-05-05T14:24:27Z")
We all tend to look at history through rose-tinted glasses. But there is also the very real fact that the USSR was one of the big two world powers. Being a Soviet was being one of the big boys. Now? Now people just wonder what’s going to happen. So the loss of respect and world status surely sucks.