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I grew up in the Soviet Union until my family and I immigrated to the US. I have no particular loyalty to "the west", but I can say with absolute certainty tha

I grew up in the Soviet Union until my family and I immigrated to the US. I have no particular loyalty to "the west", but I can say with absolute certainty that Western culture is objectively better than Soviet culture. The general feelings that permeated Soviet society were apathy and misery. It was so pervasive that modern Russians fetishize it and even feel nostalgia for it. There was an excellent little movie from the 80s called Moscow on the Hudson, with Robin Williams, which beautifully portrays the Soviet immigrant experience. Robin Williams' character says the following lines, which resonate with me completely: "When I was in Russia, I did not love my life... but I loved my misery. You know why? Because it was my misery. I could hold it. I could caress it. I loved my misery."

anticodon 5y ago
I lived for years in various SEA countries. Most are significantly poorer that USSR/Russia ever was, lacking infrastructure (basic necessities like electricity, tap water, internet, access to medical care, good roads, etc). Many of them are also highly authoritarian. E.g. Cambodia, which is authoritarian, lacks electricity (even in the capital blackouts are frequent and long, in the summer they happen every day for the duration of the whole workday!), there's no qualified medical care (free or non-free whatsoever), no education (even highly expensive "western" schools are worthless, and I know from experience that there work many drunkards, drug addicts and pedophiles from the West). Nevertheless Russian expats are praising these third world countries as "best in the world" and endlessly vilify Russia. In fact, vilifying Russia is the main talk topic everywhere where 2 or more Russian expats gather, main reason why I avoid making friends with Russians abroad. You can easily find lots of proofs on Facebook and travel forums.

anticodon 5y ago

I lived for years in various SEA countries. Most are significantly poorer that USSR/Russia ever was, lacking infrastructure (basic necessities like electricity, tap water, internet, access to medical care, good roads, etc). Many of them are also highly authoritarian. E.g. Cambodia, which is authoritarian, lacks electricity (even in the capital blackouts are frequent and long, in the summer they happen every day for the duration of the whole workday!), there's no qualified medical care (free or non-free whatsoever), no education (even highly expensive "western" schools are worthless, and I know from experience that there work many drunkards, drug addicts and pedophiles from the West). Nevertheless Russian expats are praising these third world countries as "best in the world" and endlessly vilify Russia. In fact, vilifying Russia is the main talk topic everywhere where 2 or more Russian expats gather, main reason why I avoid making friends with Russians abroad. You can easily find lots of proofs on Facebook and travel forums.