A former Soviet citizen writes: "When Bernie honeymooned at Lenin’s Tomb"

. . . Still, many Westerners, Sanders among them, liked to draw comparisons, and some, even after they saw our circumstances, continued to insist that the basic needs in the Soviet Union were covered by the government.  We understood that many of those espousing these views were some sort of commies and thought of them as basically good people but hopelessly naive."

 When Bernie honeymooned at Lenin’s Tomb

 

"Strange it was because, lets face it, not all newlyweds surround themselves with an entourage of 10, hob-nob with provincial nomenclatura and tour Lenin’s tomb."

. . .  "Although the free spirit from Vermont fancied his “foreign policy” to be some sort of an antidote to the warmongering Reagan, his Yaroslavl partnership came on the coattails of the 40th president who ushered in the friendliest relationship we ever had with Russia.

"If the mayor’s guided tour of Russia was some kind of foreign policy exercise, I feel a bit let down because, as far as I can tell, Bernie didn’t utter a word about freedom.  We in the Soviet Union were taking steps towards liberalization, and not a word of encouragement from this American official?

. . .  "Russian media doesn’t pay much attention to American elections at this early stage, and, in as much as they do, they prefer populist Trump to socialist Sanders."

After noting the naivete' of liberal Americans, the author then catalogs the misconceptions they have of socialism. First healthcare:

. . .  Bernie’s observation about free healthcare in the Soviet Union was a common misconception because increasing number of doctors were paid under the table.  My own grandfather was a doctor; he completed his studies shortly before the Bolsheviks consolidated the power in what is now Ukraine.  He worked a government job, and, returning home, took clients there, charging them the market rate.  He made a comfortable living for us."Underground moonlighting jobs were very common in the Soviet Union because the paycheck from the government could not sustain a family." . . .  "Presuming, as Sanders did, that the cost of healthcare and housing in the Soviet Union was approaching zero, the question arises, on what kind of shiny toys did the Soviet subjects spent their immense wealth?"

Then she comments on the socialist economy:

 . . . It’s not an exaggeration to say that every Soviet adult was involved in some kind of black market transactions.  There was a lot of frustration, among intelligentsia especially, that one simply could not make an honest living in that country.  To live not by lie, as in Solzhenitsin’s famous dictum, was not an option.  Yet the enormity of the Soviet black market somehow escaped Bernie.

 Ill-informed Utopians like Bernie-class liberals just did not impress those who had lived their lives under socialism.

. . . "Still, many Westerners, Sanders among them, liked to draw comparisons, and some, even after they saw our circumstances, continued to insist that the basic needs in the Soviet Union were covered by the government.  We understood that many of those espousing these views were some sort of commies and thought of them as basically good people but hopelessly naive."

. . . "Sanders says he wants to usher in a Scandinavian-style socialist democracy.  Setting aside the discussion that Scandinavia is not as socialist as Sanders imagines it to be, the United States is a lot more like Russia: a vast, ungovernable country."

To digress just a bit for illustration:

Pictured: empty shelves in Russian stores.

"That last picture is a Soviet Acme grocery store.  Notice the empty shelves? Are the shelves empty because evil capitalists won't give free food to the Soviet people or are the shelves empty because the politics of envy ALWAYS result in depredations? 

"I saw this crap firsthand, Andy, and I swear to you that there is no amount of blood I won't spill in order to prevent it from happening in my country. I hope the voters eventually do the right thing but if we're ever faced with an overthrow of the Constitution then I know where I stand. Ironically, the immigrants to the USA from the former Eastern Bloc tend to feel the same way I do." Back to the original post. TD

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"The author writes the blog Sitting on the Edge of the Sandbox, Biting My Tongue and occasionally posts at Legal Insurrection. She is an American citizen and a native of Kharkov, a Russian-speaking city in what was, when she was growing up, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic."