DO NOT WRITE ON
Life in the Soviet Union – by GendrikVartanyan
GendrikVartanyan, 68, currently resides in Sherman Oaks. Having lived most of his life under the rule of the Communist Party, he remembers well of the times. Gendrik graduated from Yerevan State University in 1958. He immediately went to work as an engineer and became the manager of his section. He was later promoted to the supervisor of the factory. Gendrik lived a goodlife since he had a good job and was well paid. He recalls his previous life in the Soviet Union…
Life in the Soviet Union was an interesting one. People lived quietly and were not as, how do you say it, free as people in the United States. In the Soviet Union though, everyone had jobs and there were no homeless people. People got paid salaries and took care of their families. Salaries for some were not as high as other, but they learned to live with it and besides the salaries, some took home things from the factory and would trade with their neighbors for whatever they needed.
I have worked many jobs; most of them were high ranking jobs. I have worked as an engineer, supervisor, and head supervisor. I worked two jobs because I was trusted by the companies. The pay I received was more than enough. If you compared to US dollars, it was not a lot, but the things needed for everyday was not high so the pay was perfect. We also received tickets for food and sometimes clothing. These tickets were provided to good employees and others as well. However, because of their benefits, the workers were not allowed to strike. During the Soviet Union, workers did not strike because no one had any reason to. Everyone had work, which also came with benefits. Those not happy with their work, were not a lot, but they found ways to take care of their families. People worked two jobs, or extra shifts to make more money.
Men and women were considered equals in the workplace. There was no sexism, only good and bad workers. Women might have been warned if their skirts were short or if their clothing was not appropriate. However, there was no law or rule that did not let them wear whatever they wanted.
The schools in the Soviet Union were excellent. Education was mandatory and there was no way to get out from going to school. Education was free and Soviet schools were among the top schools in the world. Along with free education, good students also received government money to help with their everyday lives.
Nearly five leaders changed during the time I lived in the Soviet Union. After Stalin there were so many. Some of them were Brejnev, Khrushchev, Kosygin, and Berea. The strongest leader was Stalin and his times were the strictest. Stalin was the strongest because he led Russia through a World War and he was strict. Whatever he said was followed because the punishments were harsh. The following leaders were not as strong as the ones before them and the country weakened with each leader. In the end Gorbachev became the leader that started bring democracy and more freedoms to the Soviet Union and eventually…communism collapsed.
During every show, parade, and carnival, a picture of the leader had to be present to show that the leader is present. Every person with an office had a picture of the leader on the wall to remind them that the most important person is the leader. In town squares, statues of the leader would be built. No matter who was leading the country, his images were everywhere, every day.
During the Soviet times, there were a lot of newspapers. All these newspapers went by the Soviet code. Whatever that was written in the newspaper had to be in favor of the Soviet Union, only positive things written about the government. They could not write about anything bad that was going on at the times because the belief was that under Communist rule, nothing goes wrong because they are always right.
Whenever a murder would take place, or a major robbery, the newspapers were not allowed to report on the story. It would just pass unnoticed. It’s not like here in America, where when something happens, the media immediately reports on it and the people become aware of it. No, no such thing existed back then. I am 69 years old and I was not aware of trains derailing, or airplanes crashing before I came to the United States.
The police back then were not that different from the police we have here in America, now. The only difference was that the police back then were stricter and physical punishment, beating up the suspect, was not a rare thing. The police would use the physical punishments as a means to get the person talking or tell the police about the details of the crime.
Bribes were taken. People sometimes had to bribe other to get something as simple as a job at a grocery store. But, while Stalin was in power, bribery was a very rare case. People were very scared of the police and that scare caused a lot of the crimes to stop. Even though the police had a lot of power, they did not arrest people for no reason. There were petty thieves, but the police never arrested an innocent person. People knew that if they got caught, they were facing harsh punishment.
The elections were supposedly democratic, but there was already a person that was supposed to take the job after the elections. The people were told who to vote for. They did not even see who it was they were voting for. The person with the higher authority would say to elect this person, and the person would be elected, but they were called Democratic elections. There was no campaigning because the person was already elected.
Private businesses did not exist in the Soviet Union. Everything was either government owned or government taxed. Even a shoe repair person could not work for himself, he had to go and work at the factory. A tailor working from home paid taxes for the work. It was not like here, where you could open your private business and work. Nothing like that existed. Everything was government owned.
Everyday items were cheaper than the rest of the world. However, items that were not essential were very expensive. Bread, sugar, vegetables were sold for cents, whereas TV’s were sold for twice as much as it would have been sold here. Things that could be used for years were very expensive, because one was enough, but everyday items were very cheap. People, in order to buy cars signed up to get cars in two years or so. Furniture was also very expensive. If you wanted it to be delivered fast, you needed to bribe someone to move you on the list. This cost even more. There, an everyday essential was cheaper compared to here. The government understood that the people needed these things to live normal lives.
Russia would treat the people outside of the country better than the people inside. The bad side was that they did not let us have any connection with the West, especially America. If you had any affiliations with the country you could not get a job. We were curious about America though. We saw the movies and wanted to see what it was really about.
Directions: After you read, write a half to one page 1st person diary entry as if you are a teenager living in Cold War Russia telling your story. What would a job you have be like, school, buying things, etc? Make sure to include references to details you read in this story, so I will know you actually read this. Prove to me you read this by the information you include in your diary entry.