[manx]

I suspect the illnesses are related to the indifference to environmental safety during the soviet times. The soviets encouraged this idea of sacrifice to the state, and Russian's still have this sort of fatalistic bravado. Chernobyl is an example, also an old story of a Soviet sub which had a nuclear melt down. The soviets thought it was heroic to send their men in to die fixing the disaster. I think all soviet industry had this attitude that if you killed off your workers or the population, Russians were just tough and more heroic and could take it. They always laugh at us for wearing seat belts and having safety requirements. In some ways I agree that we are way too safety oriented.

Secondly, they get up every morning, but gobs of butter on bread, stack some cheese and sausage on top of that, and then eat it with a helping of salt fish. Then if you smoke and drink very hard liqueur day and night something eventually is going to fail.

The doctors I know there earn about $80 a month. Tatiana, our friend, has to rent out her sons apartment and have him live with her just to survive. I am sure they don't have crutches. When medical care is completely free to all, but the money has to come from somewhere and the government just doesn't have enough. They are proud that medical care is free, but it is the craziest medical care I have ever seen.

It is interesting to know when you were there, because I found that things had improved from what I had been told by people who visited in the early and mid 90s. Poor people on the street weren't so obvious when I went in the last two years. Or maybe it is a question of where you went. I understand that it is still pretty bad in the east.

[XEHRpa]

I agree with you regarding the environmental disaster that communism wrought over there. And while we might look on their bravado as needless, if only the government spent a little effort to prepare for problems, the reality is that when Chernobyl melted down, there was no sane backup plan, and so the bravado of those workers who exposed themselves to lethal radiation to cover the melted pile in concrete was not a false bravado, but likely saved the lives of countless others from the contamination.

When we were there (2002), our host family tried to cook American style the first day, and I have to say it is no wonder that other adopting parent complain of the meals. Fortunately, in our case, we asked Natasha to cook authentic Russian meals thereafter, and it was some of the best cuisine we've ever had. I even acquired a taste for red cavier (naturally, served on bread slathered with butter, and chased with a shot of vodka).

Our travels were limited to downtown Moscow and Tula. Tula was seeming to suffer, though quite a lot of poverty (by American standards) was evident in Moscow too.