You probably remember a US Major from the USMLM in Pottsdam who died getting out of a T-80 tank warehouse years ago (after getting lots of interior photos). My company got the alert call and retrieved his body that Friday night from the Russians.
Likewise, at Spandau prison, we'd take the guard rotation from the Russians there. I'll never forget that ceremony. We had lots of interactions with Soviet forces there - always competitive - always good-natured.
Except when we went to see their barracks area. Talk about living in Hell. They slept in hay beds, had no running water, shit literally running down the walls of their buildings where the latrines were. The individual soldiers had no idea where in the world they were - since the only maps within a company were kept by the LT and the platoon sergeant.
Their officers had fat, ugly wives. They lived in decent quarters, and the enlisted men were essentially their servants. The NCOs - the few that they had - had killer looking wives and worse quarters. But their women.......damn.
"the enlisted men were essentially their servants"
You don't expect us to believe that the glorious Soviet People's Republic of Animal Farm treated their enlisted men poorly, do you??? Lying capitalist-imperialist swine! The USSR and all of its sister states displayed the highest evolution of perfect human equality and liberation, and any suggestion otherwise is mere counter-revolutionary propaganda....