[aculeus]

... more or less educated people who remember the Soviet Union being called the most reading country in the world ...

Is Vera remembering most usual use Soviet citizens made of Pravda? Not reading but certain sanitary purpose unfortunately not possible for webski readers.

[Tony in Hawaii]

Did you ever see the movie "Red Heat," about a Russian cop who follows a crook to the United States? In the opening scene in Russia, Arnold Schwarzenegger (the cop) uses a copy of Pravda to line his bird cage.