
Originally Posted by
rusdancer
Thank you for saying that about Russia.It always amazes me how people tend to make assumptions without ever having been there or even reading much about it.
USSR was much more diverse than USA and actually,USA is more isolated,if you look at the map.About people not travelling much,it was simply because there was no need for it,all those countries/republics are very old,and people were happy where they were and were very traditional.The whole moving around/shifting phenomenon is more recent due to globalization.In fact,people from the former USSR are now found anywhere and everywhere in the world.
About Russian economy,it was always doing great and was run very well,it was just greatly stagnanted by the communist/socialist era,which lasted about 70 years.Just look up Tzarist Russia, for an expample,and you will see,a wealthy country with great resources.
I can go on and on about all this,but there's really no need.The fact is that it is a great country with a VERY long history,which has been evolving and changing over centuries.
Moscow is doing fantastic,it's a very old stunning city,founded in 1147,but was around even before that.It's a huge center for the history,arts,fashion,cuisine,education and list goes on.I still go back to visit family every 6 months,they all live in different parts of downtown of this HUGE metropolis.Even after all the ups and downs,I believe Moscow is still on top of the Forbes list of the most expensive cities of the world,was in fact,#1 for about 3-4 recent years (actually,IMO it's not the best thing).There were also listed about 40 billionaires,mostly under 40 years of age,all from the same city.....So they were doing something right.
There are a lot of bright people in this resilient country,and things always tend to work out.I am speaking mostly for Moscow and ST Petersburg although.There are definitely poor parts of the country,especially considering what all those wars have done,but that's a characteristic of any other country that exists.Sometimes I go for a drive outside of DC or NYC.Go about an hour away and you might be in for a surprize!
Bookmarks