Fascinating Book on Daily Life in Post-Collapse Russia

[Zach]

I recently read Armed with Patience: Daily Life in Post-Soviet Russia by Margaret Winchell. She’s an American academic librarian who made two extended visits (about a year or so each) to Russia at the beginning and end of the 1990s. The book covers a wide breadth of topics on what daily life was like for Russians after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic crisis. I found it very interesting as a case study on what types of strategies would be most effective for navigating a crisis like this.

From my perspective, it was very empowering to see confirmation of how effective an ERE lifestyle can be in the face of challenges like this. Some examples:

1. While staple items were still available, stores often had long lines, erratic hours, unpredictable inventory, and goods of sometimes questionable quality. Minimal reliance on shopping and maximizing home production would have allowed one to minimize the time and effort spent procuring goods and vastly enhance quality of life.

2. The impact of salary payment delays and rapid inflation could be mitigated by diverse income streams and minimal reliance on money.

3. Having an existing capital base and a wide skill set gave you more options. For example, some Russians started their own businesses that were under-the-table and not advertised to avoid having to pay “protection” fees to the mafia. Instead, they relied on word-of-mouth. Successfully doing this would have required not just capital and a tradeable skill, but strong social connections, an example of the importance of taking a systems approach.

4. Being comfortable living in a small space was a major advantage. The author describes some units where multiple families could be crammed into a very small space, sometimes with a curtain providing the only separation and privacy. I think I remember reading that in one case, a tenant got stuck dealing with the cockroaches that showed up because her neighbors on the other side of the curtain weren’t keeping their side clean!

It’s a very fascinating and engaging book in its own right, and as an added bonus it stimulates some worthwhile thought experiments for those of us interested in contingency planning!

[onewayfamily]

Having just traveled through a de-industrialized former Soviet 'model' city this is very interesting to me.
I may not read the book but I appreciate your summary of some of it and its relationship with some ERE principles.

[Stahlmann]

the topic is generally not so funny.

people who were able to amass capital like ex-managers (yea, these people existed in Soviet republics) and "smart people"... succeded in new era of "free market" (because they could buy assets cheaply).

the joke is that Solidarity movement (or their equivalents in republics of the Soviet Union)
of workers fought for more "work (more orders) and freedom"... but many of them got fired as economy wasn't efficient and "cuts were needed".

the even bigger joke is that... in American/world mainstream economy it's presented as "success model". yea, sure if Sachs has to defend interest of Ist world transnationals, there are "Eastern European miracles".

times of great thievery too. maybe it was even less civilized in Russia. in Poland government had to create new welfare class to avoid large in unemployment. so... people like me need to support them in even more competitive economy.

sure, "law of iron fist" and " "market competition" " decided for longterm success. but as always it boils down what is meant behind beutiful words on paper.

nowadays social mobility for example in Poland is lower than in USA.

social democracy for the win if you're idiot like me.
I don't care about smart people, because they gonnaa succeed in any system.


edit: ooops. not the case. it seems the book describes only first years after collapse. I provided emotionally ridden model for long term perspective up to nowadays.

[jacob]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610396006/ describes Russia from 2000-- ... which is more along the lines of what @Stahlmann is talking about.

[Hristo Botev]

I know I spoke about this elsewhere before, but I lived in a rural mountain village in Bulgaria for 2 years in the early 2000s, and from the context of a village that I'm guessing was used to being overlooked in the grand scheme of things, both under communism and after communism, the villagers who seemed to thrive were those that had close-knit social circles (family, friends, colleagues), a wide variety practical skills, and a solid resource base (e.g., a home, a kitchen garden, some livestock, a small plot in the village vineyard). Bartering was common, and I can't remember ever really seeing any significant amount of actual money changing hands--though, granted, I was a temporary (long-term) guest in the village and treated as such. I know most of my Bulgarian colleagues at the school I taught at went months without getting paid; and even then, as I recall their pay was about equivalent to the volunteer "stipend" I received from Uncle Sam. From friends/colleagues that lived in larger towns and cities in the country, they saw a very different picture than what I say in my little idyllic village--homelessness and begging, run-ins with the mafia, super severe divides as between the haves and have nots, blatant corruption. Whenever I traveled within the country my 22-year-old self was always bewildered by relatively small crossroads towns where no one really had any money with a shiny new United Colors of Benetton storefront in the town square, which would never have any customers, just 2-5 young female model-types purportedly working as sales associates. Money laundering, I guess?

Edit to add that I, unfortunately, haven't been back to the country in 17 years (the plan to take the family a few years ago was thwarted when the Istanbul airport was attacked), and so I have no idea what the situation is now, apart from what I hear from village friends through social media. I'm sure the changes in the country have been drastic, but I don't see much of that change in my village from the photos and stories I see on social media.

[unemployable]

Peak Benetton was what, like around 1992? Sure seemed that way when I was over there. Probably by 2000 the brand was still trying to chug along even though the decline had set in.

[Sclass]

Huh. I spent some time there in the mid 90s. Was just like the OP. Lots of roaches in the high rise apartments. Life with less of everything else.

It was a big game changer to see people struggling and making do with the situation at hand. They didn’t seem terribly discontent either. But perhaps they were too drunk on mouthwash they’d stolen from me on the previous day. When I tried to figure out who stole my shampoo I just looked for the person with clean hair. I wish I could thank that person for teaching me that shampoo is actually unnecessary...as I discovered without it for a stretch.

The pandemic brought some of it back. Experiencing post perestroika Russia opened my eyes a bit. Empty stores and restaurants without food to serve were common. I got that same sinking feeling when I walked into stores this spring and saw empty shelves. It was more severe in Russia of course back in 1995 where every citizen was an expert on supply chain disruption.

Good lessons. Shortages. Black markets. Hard currency value. Making do. Hard lessons harder forgotten.

It was an educational experience. It’s fun to talk with older Russians about it.

[ertyu]

I think I’ve mentioned this story from those times, me and classmates used to shoplift faded black t shirts from the second hand store (we were metalheads, duh, of course black) and the shop ladies pretended not to notice us because they knew how poor everyone was. Parents never asked questions about how those t-shirts appeared in my closet either.

[Clarice]

@Zach:
Thank you for the recommendation. I ordered the book out of nostalgia. I left Russia in July of 1990. The situation that you described was already in place. I remember coming to our neighborhood store and seeing only 2 items available - small packages of loose green tea and canned seaweed. They were arranged in beautiful pyramids along the store walls. The funny Russian joke of the time goes like this: In the grocery store, a man comes up to the meat counter and asks, "You don't have any fish, do you?", and the clerk says, "We don't have any meat. Over there at the seafood department they don't have any fish."
I visited Russia many times in the 90s. The biggest shocker was that the people at the top were the first ones to adjust. They were the first ones to lose communist lapel pins, get orthodox crosses around their necks, and move on to the new game.

[flying_pan]

I haven't read the book, but I grew up in this environment.

Soviet Union prepared many well, both at the top (who snapped all the assets for nothing) and at the bottom: growing some vegetables, knowing "right" people, bartering items, navigating the lines.

Sometimes you couldn't get basic things, so it was common to ferment vegetables (so you'll have something in the winter), we had to bake our bread from time to time, sunflower oil wasn't available (not always, but I remember we couldn't afford it), so we used everything else to fry. Also, we didn't have centralized heat sometimes, so had to use gas and cram into one room. As a child, I did not even think it was that bad, but yeah, it was.

What you can do to prepare? Well, social connections help. DIY becomes valuable, as it is not easy to find needed service. The real problem, at least in Russia, was mafia – they wanted their cut from everything, so if you want to get rich, you have to be real careful to not to spread word about it. If I were in that situation, I'd do my best to have enough and to be as secure as possible, but I would actually try to not to amass too much wealth.