Quote Originally Posted by nulle View Post
Yes Crocodile - I know all of this.
But Russian/USSR propaganda about so called "victory" still looks ridiculous if you look at Russia and Germany/Japan/Italy today.
I heard story/anecdote somewhere about a tourist from USSR who visited West Germany.
And when he went into supermarket he fainted with words "Но мы же победили!"
Yeah, that's an old joke (dated early 80s) strongly associated with the similar "sausage" joke. In both cases, I don't think the stories are real, since those people who had the permission to go abroad to visit the West Germany lived pretty well in USSR as well. And sometimes a way better than an average person in West Germany, so they couldn't really faint. An ordinary people weren't allowed out of the "socialist camp". The exception being those whose work was closely associated with traveling, like ballet/circus/musicians, sailors, etc. But those were under rather strict control and also were unable to visit a supermarket.

Those jokes were made up and they reflect the sad truth that the quality of life in the USSR was typically worse than in the European/US/Japan capitalist countries. However, the capitalism does not necessarily means a high quality of life for everybody. Another truth some of the late-80 political activists didn't know. The sad consequences followed.

As for the victory over the Nazi Germany, I don't think it's fair to bring it with respect to the quality-of-life context. Had the USSR lost to the Nazi Germany, I don't think the quality of life in the territories which made up the USSR would change for better. I think rather opposite is true. It is well-known, that some of the territories in Ukraine had greeted Nazis with smile and flowers as they remembered the time Ukraine was under Keizer Germany occupation after the 1917 and the changes that followed after Germans left. But, the Nazis showed their goals were different and, as a result, they got partisans stabbing their backs.