Bernie Sanders lavishes praise on Communist Russia / Jonathan Alter comment

[pangaia]

109. Look. If one take exactly what is stated in the video excerpt,

and I do NOT know what else was discussed, the Sanders pretty much hit the nail on the head. in spite of their obvious naivete.... I have been to Russia oh 8,9,10 times ( I know, so have many people).. have many Russian friends, mostly in the arts, etc.....first visit was in 1985, in January when it was 25 below zero. I spent most of my time in Leningrad, and a slightly shorter time in Moscow and elsewhere. And yes, at that time, not much selection for buying food, at least not like the gluttony found here, restaurant food was pretty dismal, cars sucked, the seat belt on my flight from Helsinki to Leningrad did not work, there were 'KGB' guys in my hotel in Moscow--. Yes, really... I even smuggled some music out at the airport after a well-planned to the second clandestined meeting.. OH boy THAT is a story...


But, with all the issues past and present, the cultural life in Russia and in the former Soviet Union has been and is to this day second to none ! It is pretty much a part of people's lives, at whatever great or small level that is possible.

The then Leningrad Philharmonic, today the St. Petersburg Phil is one of the premier symphony orchestras in the world, as is the Mariinski Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra in Moscow, Moscow Philharmonic, Russian State Symphony...
The Mariinski Theater, formerly the Bolshoi, has a history of over 200 years !!!
And yes, the subway stations are extraordinary. :&gt )

So that headline is totally misleading in regards to the 2 minute post...

On the other hand there was of course a lot of sick shit going down... not unlike here. But Russian culture life to this day puts America to shame..