Did you live there because of work? I can only imagine the economic dysfunction you have witnessed.
I lived in different countries across Eastern Europe for a variety of reasons.
The hatred of governments in the 90s and 00s had nothing to do with socialism and everything to do with rotten to the core corruption. In those days gangsters prowled the streets openly. They wore leather jackets and parked their German luxury cars
on the sidewalks. Murder in public places was (and still is to a lesser extent) common. The power was on and off; medical services were collapsing; public services were bad or non existent; governments only existed to loot, and people sold whatever possessions they had on the streets (sadly, miserably, sometimes even themselves) to survive.
And, no, I did not take advantage of anyone.
The farther east one went, the worse it was. People in the former Yugoslavia had long worked in Western Europe and many were lucky enough to survive in remittances from family members working abroad. People farther east did anything and everything they could to escape west.
Deutsche Marks were the currency everyone wanted, more so than US Dollars.
Eastern Europeans really were not that tough. Millions died of despair. I don't remember the statistics, but the population of the Ex-Soviet Union shrank by millions in the 90s, mostly from deaths, not emigration. I'm sure you've heard some of the stories. The corrupt, criminal, and connected survived. Those without family working abroad or government connections either drank themselves to death or overdosed or turned to crime to barely survive.
The situation really varied quite drastically. But, as a rule of thumb, the father east, the far worse it was (and still is).
I've written posts on some of my experiences over the years on this site. Look around, you'll find my posts.
[quote]Did you live there because of work? I can only imagine the economic dysfunction you have witnessed.[/quote]
I lived in different countries across Eastern Europe for a variety of reasons.
The hatred of governments in the 90s and 00s had nothing to do with socialism and everything to do with rotten to the core corruption. In those days gangsters prowled the streets openly. They wore leather jackets and parked their German luxury cars [i]on the sidewalks[/i]. Murder in public places was (and still is to a lesser extent) common. The power was on and off; medical services were collapsing; public services were bad or non existent; governments only existed to loot, and people sold whatever possessions they had on the streets (sadly, miserably, sometimes even themselves) to survive.
And, no, I did not take advantage of anyone.
The farther east one went, the worse it was. People in the former Yugoslavia had long worked in Western Europe and many were lucky enough to survive in remittances from family members working abroad. People farther east did anything and everything they could to escape west.
Deutsche Marks were the currency everyone wanted, more so than US Dollars.
[b]Eastern Europeans really were not that tough[/b]. Millions died of despair. I don't remember the statistics, but the population of the Ex-Soviet Union shrank by millions in the 90s, mostly from deaths, not emigration. I'm sure you've heard some of the stories. The corrupt, criminal, and connected survived. Those without family working abroad or government connections either drank themselves to death or overdosed or turned to crime to barely survive.
The situation really varied quite drastically. But, as a rule of thumb, the father east, the far worse it was (and still is).
I've written posts on some of my experiences over the years on this site. Look around, you'll find my posts.