born_in_ussr

Pretty much the complete opposite, however we were told that we had to compete in the arms race to protect the good people of the world from the Capitalist warmongers. The difference was we were told there would be no winners in a nuclear war.

The kind of people that we were. It has gone once we started to get American chewing gum and jeans. People used to care after each other. I remember making 40 minutes journey to kinder garden on my own when I was 5. Apart from walking it involved 2 bus changes and crossing roads. None of my guardians ever thought I could be in danger. It was that safe!! I remember when I lost my tickets in Moscow and was sending a telegram to my relatives to send me the money - someone in the queue saw the words in it and just gave me the money, because I was in need. I remember my parents coming home after work with a stranger. Apparently, they saw him sleeping on the bench as he had no money for the hotel and his train was departing the next day. They thought he did not have to sleep on the bench as we had a folding bed we set up for him in the kitchen after giving him dinner. People trusted each other more and were more caring. Most did not care about materialistic things.

American people were presented as two main classes. Class of capitalists who were ruling the country and hated us. The other class was of workers and peasants who were just like us. Capitalists were war thirsty evils who were so afraid of the spread of communism awareness that they were prepared to wage wars to stop it.The only good part was poor oppressed common people of US who did not have enough courage to revolt. Here is the example: It changed however when Gorbachev came into power and we saw the real picture which was of course different

Yes it was exactly the same. I had a personal issue gas mask and basic military education lessons from the age of ten. That was also the age I was shown how to shoot from a AK-74

I am not sure if that counts or even if that was an effect from Chernobyl, but here is the story. Chernobyl is in Ukraine, however 70% of radioactive rains fell on Belarus territory within the first few months. I lived 400 km away from it, when it happened. My parents and myself went to live for 4 years in Mongolia 3 months after the disaster happened. Something peculiar happened there. About 10 months after the disaster mu mother started to loose her hair. She was a healthy woman and doctors could not find an explanation to that, neither could they cure it. She learnt to live wearing wig and has no hair even on her eyebrows and eyelids for the last 25 years. Was it Chernobyl? I don't know. My Grandfather used to live within 200 km of Chernobyl. They were measuring radiation levels in his village and told the residents that it was not safe to live there. Apparently there was a radioactive patch there. No one allowed to grow food for sale in that area even now. My granddad refused to move out and lived there until 1996 and died aged 77. I have visited him few times within last 10 years of his life. They said the area was not clean - it is hard to understand when you don't see it