People went to extraordinary lengths to escape. Here's a group swimming across the Spree river, with a police boat trying to stop them. https://www.youtube.co

People went to extraordinary lengths to escape. Here's a group swimming across the Spree river, with a police boat trying to stop them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7CWajaOx4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7CWajaOx4E > Everyone knew that everyone was faking it I think that's what ultimately did them in - the fundamental dishonesty in the system as everyone told lies about their productivity. And this happened all the way up the reporting line, so any amount that was claimed above the plan got magnified. By the time the numbers arrived at Gosplan, Soviet farmers were the most productive in the world (despite widespread hunger).