Thread: RT.com (Russia Today) gets DDOS:ed

Originally Posted by Deborski

I had the same thought!

But back then in the USSR, they could jail you for getting info from foreign sources. (at least, before "perestroika")

Originally Posted by Eric C.

But back then in the USSR, they could jail you for getting info from foreign sources. (at least, before "perestroika")

The way things are going, it wouldn't surprise me if the same thing happens in America before long...

Originally Posted by Eric C.

But back then in the USSR, they could jail you for getting info from foreign sources. (at least, before "perestroika")

Is there an actual law about that, or have you heard of anyone who got in trouble for it?

I doubt it, at least in modern times. All of the socialist states in Europe were quite keen not to be seen as dictatorships (although they ultimately largely failed). But blatantly banning access to foreign media would have been quite a giveaway. I doubt they did that and I think it was much more a case of that it simply was hard for people to get access to foreign media. I think I read that they actually jammed the signals of stations like Radio Free Europe.

In Finland at the time, it was well known that half of Estonia watched Finnish TV. Everyone in Finland knows this. I heard that people in Estonia had two antennas on the roofs - one for regular TV and one aimed towards Finland. I doubt people would have put up a second antenna if they had feared arrest! Not sure when glasnost kicked in, but I think this started long before that. And don't forget places like Germany where people could watch the other country's TV.

I would guess that the USSR did not import foreign newspapers though, at least not to sell to regular people in kiosks. But I think it's a simplified and incorrect view to say that they imprisoned people for accessing foreign media! However, if anyone has concrete information to the opposite, please say - it would be interesting to hear.

Originally Posted by Paul G

Everyone knows that the US now looks like the late USSR, it's not a secret.

Not too sure it looks like the USSR, but I get the gist of what you are saying. The tragic thing is that the majority of Americans are so utterly convinced that their country stands for ultimate freedom, when in reality things are moving further and further away from that, while power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small minority, all the while regular people are getting poorer by the month.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Is there an actual law about that, or have you heard of anyone who got in trouble for it?

I've heard a lot of stories about ppl convicted with "anti Soviet agitation and propaganda", whose only fault was attempting to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. And they really did go to jail for that.

And as for "the socialist states not being dictatorships" - did you know there were soldiers set up along the Berlin wall by the Stasi or some else GDR service, whose orders were to shoot anyone who attempted to get over the wall to get to the other side (typically, it all was eastern Germans trying to escape from the "socialist paradise"), without a single warning... ?

Originally Posted by Eric C.

I've heard a lot of stories about ppl convicted with "anti Soviet agitation and propaganda", whose only fault was attempting to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. And they really did go to jail for that.

(Deleted. L.)

Originally Posted by Eric C.

I've heard a lot of stories about ppl convicted with "anti Soviet agitation and propaganda", whose only fault was attempting to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. And they really did go to jail for that. ...

They lied. It's not true. I was listening to "Voice of America" all I wanted, except when it was jammed.

Originally Posted by Lampada

They lied. It's not true. I was listening to "Voice of America" all I wanted, except when it was jammed.

It's fascinating to imagine what your world view was back then, and how it has changed now. How things change in life... ! You and a few people here, like Doomer and Crocodile too, have really fascinating lives... I mean growing up on one country in a a particular type of system, then moving to another continent and a very different type of system. And managing your private life & affairs at the sane time, and adjusting to big changes. It takes a really strong person...

Originally Posted by Hanna

It's fascinating to imagine what your world view was back then, and how it has changed now. How things change in life... ! You and a few people here, like Doomer and Crocodile too, have really fascinating lives... I mean growing up on one country in a a particular type of system, then moving to another continent and a very different type of system. And managing your private life & affairs at the sane time, and adjusting to big changes. It takes a really strong person...

Doing things in the reversed order (that is, moving from the U.S. to Russia, not to mention USSR) would take a way stronger person. You normally get used to the good life pretty fast.

Originally Posted by Hanna

It's fascinating to imagine what your world view was back then, and how it has changed now. How things change in life... ! You and a few people here, like Doomer and Crocodile too, have really fascinating lives... I mean growing up on one country in a a particular type of system, then moving to another continent and a very different type of system. And managing your private life & affairs at the sane time, and adjusting to big changes. It takes a really strong person...

I agree. Having lived in the then-USSR for two years myself, I have a lot of empathy for anyone who emigrates to another country. It takes a great deal of personal strength, not just to learn a whole new language and culture (which in itself is extremely challenging), but to leave behind everything you are familiar with, your family and friends. I have tremendous admiration for such people.

Originally Posted by Deborski

I have a lot of empathy for anyone who emigrates to another country... I have tremendous admiration for such people.

А у меня ни симпатии, ни восхищения к таким. Уехать в Америку, чтобы крутиться там, приспособиться, продавать что-то, покрыться жирком и спокойно умереть - не вижу ничего героического или возвышенного или романтического. Едут от пустоты, от дурости и за колбасой.

Originally Posted by Lampada

They lied. It's not true. I was listening to "Voice of America" all I wanted, except when it was jammed.

И я слушал, и мои родители, и никогда мы не слышали, чтобы кого-то посадили. Но эта "страшилка" тогда тоже была, что за прослушивание "вражьего голоса" могут посадить. Возможно во времена до "оттепели" Хрущева так и было.

Вообще странно, Гугл почти ничего не выдает по этому запросу.

Не надо только верить тем, кто говорит, что за прослушивание Би-би-си сажали. Никто никого и никогда за прослушивание BBC в советские времена не сажал. Это все из области персонального мифотворчества, героизации себя. Посадить могли за распространение в печатном виде того, что говорило Би-би-си в эфире. Да и это тоже было редкостью, довеском к чему-то еще.

(Андрей Федяшин, политический обозреватель РИА Новости) "А потом про этот случай раструбят по Би-би-си…" | Аналитика и комментарии | Лента новостей "