Oral+history+research

Life in the Soviet Union Research

Countries in Transition Russia Book


 * ever since 1985 there’s been a change in Soviet life with the collapse of the totalitarian government
 * since the fall of the Soviet Union its citizens now have the freedom of speech as well as the freedom of religion
 * on the other hand, all government programs that were a safety net to the people are now gone meaning the Soviets must now fiend for themselves
 * the Soviets have returned to their old religions and customs after 70 years of oppression,,
 * although conditions may have been bad for people under Soviet rule they had confidence that they would not lose what little they had so their lives were more secure
 * after the fall of the Soviet Union many learned how to start their own businesses in order to survive economically
 * “too many people are still sitting in waiting for the government to change, for subsidies, for bread. But if you just move a little bit faster here and use your brains, you can get what you want: a car, a flat, whatever.”
 * some people had to take different jobs than they originally thought after the Soviet Union fell
 * many of the Soviet Arts which are no longer and funded by the government need to find a alternative way to get the money they need to create their art.
 * during the Soviet Union the government reposed all religion because of the challenges it could bring to their rule
 * the government often attacked various religious groups and banned their practice
 * some larger religions were allowed to operate under heavy state control while other smaller groups were persecuted
 * after the fall of the Soviet Union religion has gone through a rebirth of sorts
 * some new religions took hold in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union
 * “the greatest wound inflicted by the communist dictatorship was the lack of spirituality–Patriarch Alexei II
 * the Soviets did stress education which led to a massive drop in illiteracy from 72% between one and 3%
 * much of Soviet education sometimes lied out right about the history of the world and of Russia
 * they hoped to create a generation of people totally committed to communism to continue the regime
 * Soviet education was highly centralized with many state-sponsored youth groups also set up
 * by the 1970s and 80s much of the public school funds have fallen greatly leading to a decrease in the quality of public schools
 * since 1993 new economic reforms have been created to help educate students in the new more capitalist system

History of Armenia Wikipedia Page

*Armenia became part of the Soviet Union during 1936 *Armenians were under heavy surveillance and there was little freedom of speech
 * those who openly introduced ideas that differed from communism were arrested and sent to Siberia
 * Armenians supported the Soviet Union during World War II
 * one of the benefits of being with the Soviet Union was that they were not invaded and international pressures decreased while they were in the Soviet Union
 * nationalist feelings continued in Armenia even if the Soviets opposed them
 * with the easing of the Soviets grip on the people Armenians participated in demonstrations against the Soviet Union
 * after the fall of the Soviet Union the Armenians went to war with Azerbaijan thanks to the war and having to restart its own economy conditions were terrible and Armenia’s economy suffered greatly when it lacks resources and supplies