Give up the "Soviet": what habits from the USSR spoil our lives

More than thirty years have passed since the collapse of the USSR, and the generation of independence has been born and raised, now defending the country's freedom at the front. However, there is still a category of people who live by Soviet stereotypes and are unwilling to give up the "Soviet" way of thinking.

These people still put off life for later, put new dishes in the sideboard, and save new things for a "special event". Read OBOZREVATEL's article on how Soviet habits spoil life and why you should give them up immediately.

The best is for later

The war was supposed to teach us to appreciate the present and not to put life off for later. We don't know how much longer we have in this life, so we should make the most of every moment and every day. This applies to everything - clothes, dishes, delicious food, hobbies, creativity.

Soviet times were a period of shortages, queues and austerity. From childhood, Soviet people were taught to live in anticipation of better times, of a fictional fairy-tale communism, to keep money under their mattresses and crystal crockery in the sideboard.

It's time to get rid of this nonsense. These are fundamentally wrong attitudes that spoil life. So make breakfast in new dishes, put an expensive set on the table, put on your favourite dress without waiting for an excuse, make your bed with a beautiful blanket that has been collecting dust in the closet for years. The right day is today, the right time is now.

Things "for a special occasion"

If you are still wearing old bathrobes at home and saving beautiful things "for a special date", please accept our condolences, you continue to live with the "Soviet" mindset.

And if you have been waiting for the opportunity to throw away old clothes and put on perfect jeans instead of stretched sweatpants, it's time to act, it's a sign.

By the way, it will be much more pleasant for your family to see you looking well-groomed and tidy every day.

The rule of the empty plate

Probably most of us grew up under the watchful eye of the followers of the Soviet "table etiquette", the main rule of which reads: "you can't leave the table until you've eaten everything". The main dish is with bread, lunch is always soup or borscht, and dessert is compote. The traditions of "Soviet" upbringing were laid down from kindergarten and carefully maintained by the post-war generation of typical Soviet grandmothers. If you have not experienced the " pressure of empty plates", you are very lucky.

The explanation is simple and not very happy. There was a food shortage in the USSR, and older generations experienced a terrible famine.

But stop living by Soviet canteen stereotypes. You shouldn't finish stale food just to avoid throwing it away. You don't need to keep soup or borscht in the fridge for weeks until it's all eaten. Don't force your child to eat more than he or she can handle.

What will people say?

This point probably should have been raised first. Soviet people's dependence on the opinions of others was simply catastrophic. No wonder, because the policy of total collectivism of opinions and the suppression of dissent was bearing fruit. It was not customary to stand out. It was a shame to be different.

The opinion of a friend, brother, matchmaker, neighbour, colleague, or party often weighed more than one's own. Not to stand out was almost a basic rule for a Soviet person, because resistance and dissent were punishable.

We live in an era of free choice and tolerance. You are responsible for your life and your actions. So stop thinking about what people will say.

Advantages of the "blat"

Soviet "blat" is the basis of corruption, which is still deeply rooted in society. During the Soviet era, it was customary to have "your own" people - in the military enlistment office, city council, hospital, and somewhere in the administrative apparatus. "Your own" people could solve everything on a whim. This was considered the norm. As a gratitude, they could slip in a box of chocolates, coffee, alcohol, without which the Soviet system of "blat" simply could not exist.

This practice must be stopped.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL told why the USSR produced canned water.

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