[struwwelpeter]

No one I've met in Russia or Ukraine wanted to go back to Stalin's purges or Khrushchev's empty shelves, but the few times I've heard what approached a wistful remembrance of the Soviet Union, I've heard it said that they felt something called dostoinstvo back then.

The dictionary defines it as 'merit' and 'dignity', but from the look in my friend's eyes when she said it, I took it to mean something a lot stronger. The same expression she'd use speaking of Yuri Gagarin or when watching the veterans on Victory Day.

More likely, it's the old foggy attitude that 'nothing these days is as good as it was when I was young'.

[AzaleaCity5691]

There is one thing Soviet Russia had that current Russia lacks

A Low Crime (not committed by government) rate

[familyop]

Thank you very much. National identity regarding the past has been made an issue in quite a few countries. But there is a thought that evades too many, IMO; what we do today is what we'll be known for tomorrow. And we should each try to do more (moral) good today than we did yesterday.

[Chode]

kinda sounds like pride to me...

[gogogodzilla]

I think the end of the article summed it up best.

The Russians look back on the Soviet times with fondness because, back then, they had an empire and were powerful, feared, and respected.

Now, they don't.

They don't want to go back to the days of the secret police, gulags, and rationing. But they want the power that Russia had during that time.

[anonymoussierra]

"More likely, it's the old foggy attitude that 'nothing these days is as good as it was when I was young'."TOTAL TRUTH"struwwelpeter"

please read translation thank you

"As far as I know dealing with some of my friends in Russia, and most of them are in 20's, nobody in their right mind wants to go back to old style governing. This is more challenging then is being reported. This can be summon into this category; economy and how will this play out needs to be seen. From control economy to free economy is not easy ride, needless there are still some people in Kremlin, mostly old generals, who would like to see old days in spotlight for their own selfish arrogance. Economically Russia as well as most of us in Eastern Europe are well sound; sound that has been reported; reality is much different, you fill the blanks. With all the cacophony from EU and claptrap going on in Brussels, people finally starting to realize what I have been saying all along: EU constitution would be dead on arrival, so will other fanatic ideas coming from them. You can't just expunge identities of different countries and put all in one basket. Either fore situation has change significantly, and most young people have harder and harder time to find jobs and support their families, while some in Kremlin or as well in Warsaw still live in dream world. But changes have to be made, there is no other way, and it's going to be harder as time goes on. We have share of our own problems in Poland, so do other Baltic states as well as Russians, at the end it's us younger generation that would have to carry burden of governing our countries; question is are we ready for it?"
Thank you all