Standard of living in Russia

a reply to: seasonal

It's a pound coin here. It's a bit silly though because if you really wanted that trolley then one pound would be a bargain price.

originally posted by: eletheia

originally posted by: Nothin
a reply to: anonentity

You're right AE. Similar conditions in China, India, Iran, etc...
We are being spoon-fed propaganda.

Most countries have a vast contrast in living standards. Gated estates and a

few miles away slum dwellings.


In Mumbai India a billionaire has a whole high rise block to himself .....Two

floors are for car parking, another floor has a swimming pool, various family

living quarters, servants quarters a roof garden .......


and then when its dark there are people sleeping on the streets in doorways on

low walls.

This could be compared to USA and Canada. Homeless folks sleeping shivering, in the ATM entrances to the filthy-rich banks.
Are we better-off, or not? Maybe. But thinking in those terms feels like a mind-trap.
As long as we look down at our unfortunate brothers, and figure at least we're not as bad as them, that keeps us plugging-away at our soul-emptying jobs.

A lot of our neighbors would be fine to survive comfortably, but we tend to over-consume.
How much do we really need?
We have more than enough for everybody. The problem is with the greedy bastards who want more than their neighbors.

a reply to: anonentity

pack of cigs dollar sixty, as compared to six bucks in the west, beer rent etc in fact, medical is cheaper and rent is as well.

I picked up a pack of cigs the other day here in Canada and it was over 16 dollars for 1 pack ...I couldn't believe it .

a reply to: anonentity

Check out the real russia blog. The blogger lives in russia and comments on the daily grind in Russia. Its actually pretty entertaining. I enjoy watching for the things he doesn't focus on pr discusses that runs in the background. Russia does not appear all that swanky, although I'm sure it is for some and in some places.

www.youtube.com...

originally posted by: the2ofusr1
a reply to: anonentity

pack of cigs dollar sixty, as compared to six bucks in the west, beer rent etc in fact, medical is cheaper and rent is as well.

I picked up a pack of cigs the other day here in Canada and it was over 16 dollars for 1 pack ...I couldn't believe it .

We're now officially paying over $1 per cigarette in Australia now...

a reply to: anonentity



You can't get much cheaper than FREE NHS

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: seasonal

It's a pound coin here. It's a bit silly though because if you really wanted that trolley then one pound would be a bargain price.

Silly non American.

The quarter, and your country should be using them, is to return the cart (trolley) to the centralized cart (trolley) location not steal them. Putting a quarter in makes you want it back. This also lowers labor costs because there is no time spent gathering carts in the parking lot.

(there are areas in my response that are /sarc)

a reply to: interupt42



Wow that underground station is something else. That's not a third world country. Something tells me the Canadians would be right at home there. That stadium is first rate.

originally posted by: Kettu
It sure as hell wasn't great when I was in St. Petersburg and Moscow a few years back.

Anyone can make a video and show only the "nice" parts of a city in order to push an agenda. I could go to Detroit and Chicago and make you think it was the world's cleanest, safest, most beautiful city in the world.

The facts are:

1. Russia's GDP is same size as Italy's

2. Apple (the iPhone people) as a company are worth more than Russia's entire stock exchange.

3. Russia is facing a massive population decline by 2030, so much so the government has sanctioned holidays where young people are encouraged to make babies.

Russia wants American conservatives to think it's a paradise over there. Of course they're going to show you the prettiest bits and play it up.

Trust me, it's a crumbling rust bucket and a joke of a former superpower. About the most redeeming quality are the little bliny stands that make these little potato pancake things. Oh and the all the booze. I suspect you have to be/stay drunk all the time to live there. I know I'd probably just stay drunk if I had been forced to work out of St. Petersburg.

Using Apple is a bad example since they have all their stuff made in Communist China and sell it back to us at elevated prices so that shareholders make buku bucks.

Oh wait, majority of our consumer goods is made in Communist China.

a reply to: darkbake

There are ALDI grocery stores in the UK -- I shopped at one in York and did not need to put in a coin to get a cart. We don't have them in the US (at least not in the Western US - not sure about the East Coast).

originally posted by: vampira309
a reply to: darkbake

There are ALDI grocery stores in the UK -- I shopped at one in York and did not need to put in a coin to get a cart. We don't have them in the US (at least not in the Western US - not sure about the East Coast).

We have Aldi in Cincinnati and they are wonderful. Very high food quality and low overhead and prices. They have found ways to reduce costs and still pay their workers $15+ an hour. It really is a marvel of German ingenuity.

There are many Russians on ATS, I'm sure they can tell us how it is to live in Russia first hand.

Russia is a # hole compared to the western world. I know many Putin fan boys will disagree because muh Putin, but it really is.

It's not hard to find out, numbers tell it all not propaganda videos

originally posted by: Subaeruginosa

originally posted by: the2ofusr1
a reply to: anonentity

pack of cigs dollar sixty, as compared to six bucks in the west, beer rent etc in fact, medical is cheaper and rent is as well.

I picked up a pack of cigs the other day here in Canada and it was over 16 dollars for 1 pack ...I couldn't believe it .

We're now officially paying over $1 per cigarette in Australia now...

Crazy!
I paid 5 dollars for a whole carton of Marlboros at our ship store....17 years ago

originally posted by: ErrorErrorError
There are many Russians on ATS, I'm sure they can tell us how it is to live in Russia first hand.

Russia is a # hole compared to the western world. I know many Putin fan boys will disagree because muh Putin, but it really is.

It's not hard to find out, numbers tell it all not propaganda videos

What I respect about Putin is he puts his country first. I wish we had more of that here in the States.

originally posted by: Metallicus

originally posted by: vampira309
a reply to: darkbake

There are ALDI grocery stores in the UK -- I shopped at one in York and did not need to put in a coin to get a cart. We don't have them in the US (at least not in the Western US - not sure about the East Coast).

We have Aldi in Cincinnati and they are wonderful. Very high food quality and low overhead and prices. They have found ways to reduce costs and still pay their workers $15+ an hour. It really is a marvel of German ingenuity.

we got one not too long ago and went there a couple of times, cant say i was impressed with food quality or prices.

maybe i need to give it one last try as people appear to swear by it

They showed some apartments and cars when the asteroid exploded. They were decent places and cars. I am sure there are poor people in Russia too, but lots of people do make a decent living. We get propaganda from all angles, Syria had a decent standard of living before the war over there too, the people trying to overthrow the government and take over kind of messed that up.

a reply to: seasonal

Fair point. I guess it does encourage people not to leave their trolleys all over the car park.

a reply to: anonentity

so - you base your entire assesment of russia on the existance of one roadworthy mercedes benz and the existance of one shop that sells certain items at given prices

??????????????????

wow - just wow

maybe i should promote " the state of the uk " based on the fact that there is a laborghini diablo in my town - and a walk through of the harrods store

see how assanine that is

thats what you just did

originally posted by: darkbake
I noticed in the video in the O.P. that the lady had to put a coin in the shopping cart before it would unlock.

That´s a thing even here in europe/germany. You won´t find any stray shopping carts on the parking lot because of that. You get back that coin when you push it back in line. Many people use plastic coins so they always have one (you can´t spend the plastic coin). 50€cent or 1€ fits into these carts.

a reply to: anonentity

...pack of cigs dollar sixty, as compared to six bucks in the west, beer rent etc in fact, medical is cheaper and rent is as well.

Well, two of the items you listed have prices which are heavily influenced by government tax, namely alcohol and cigarettes. Then there's medical; medical is cheaper for two reasons. One, the standard of care is less, and two, likely more importantly, litigation is far less successful in socialist countries (far less). Litigation is the curtain behind which the prices of medical care in the west hide. And, until we put a dagger in the heart of frivolous lawsuits, we shouldn't expect things to change. Lastly, rent is a function of supply and demand. True supply and demand economics isn't a straight forward proposition in socialist countries. It is heavily influenced and skewed by subsidies.

In any case, I agree. The western media is clearly complicit with a massive disinformation campaign designed for the specific purpose of creating the illusion things are better in one society than another. No doubt about it! The bottom feeding scum who make their fortunes from "taxing" the middle class LOVE this illusion, it gives them the headroom to incrementally increase those taxes using this illusion as a justification for doing so.