Originally posted by udet
ok, boroda, so, I should understand that you are one of those 'utopic' communists? I'm sorry, but IMO USSR did it's best to tarnish that idea and prove its naivete. USSR was NEVER the greatest country, cause a great country has to be a FREE country. Thank you for replying to my post.
p.s. I grew up in Romania
Well, I am not a "utopic communist", in fact I am not a communist at all, but I think that Communism is a stage of social development that humanity will reach sooner or later, through technological progress. It doesn't have anything with "equality", equality is impossible, but I mean that some day material goods will be equaly availible to everyone, and the real motivation of human behaviour will be creative, not just surviving. It's too hard to explain
Technological progress in last 100 years is hard to imagine. My Father grew up in a Cossak village and was reading in the light of kerosene lamp, and now he uses Internet and writes programms for his students.
Next steps can be as revolutionary as electricity, radio, and calculating machines.
And anyway I think that doing some good things for everyone, sometimes even at your own expence, is a duty of every honorable person. Maybe it's just an Orthodox tradition, and that's why it looks like "communist"

I agree with you that USSR and China are good examples that social revolutions don't lead to anything else but blood and destruction, but there were serious achievements in social sphere that can't be forgotten.
I DO believe that I was born in the world greatest country. The country that passed the way from an agricultural backwards country to the world's greatest power in 3 decades. The country that rised from ruins and 12 years after the most horrible and devastating war had reached Space and could compete with the rest of the whole world, including countries that were not only untouched by War, but benefited from it. The country with the best educational system. The country who has great science, art and a 1000 years of culture still not stagnant and developing, finding it's own way between traditional poles of East and West.
As for "freedom" - in Soviet times I was in fact much more free then now, in a capitalist society. Freedom is an inner matter. You can be "free" to do whatever you want and still be a slave.
When did you or your family leave Romania? Romania was (is?...) a very strange country to me. It had a very special status in Socialist block. Chaushesku was a dictator, but by 1987 Romania was the only Socialist country that didn't have debts, and didn't pay a single kopeyka for the needs of Warsaw treaty... Our political informators told us many interesting things about Romania, such as Chaushesku during his visit to Finland didn't come to Russian memorials but brought flowers to Mannerheims's tomb...
Do you think that it was good or bad that Chaushesku and his family was executed without a trial?...