Hearted Youtube comments on USHANKA SHOW (@UshankaShow) channel.

  1. About 20 years ago, I bought three "Kiev" cameras on eBay from Ukraine. All were sealed, and had the OTK certificates of worthiness. All three were defective, straight from the box. These were just three of the other "defective" cameras which seems to have been poorly made, and only made to reach the quota. I can imagine them being manufactured and going through inspection, with the factory director saying, "we made 100 cameras today, never mind if 95 don't work."
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  2. I am so glad I found your Channel. I grew up during the 60s and 70s when we knew nothing about life in the USSR and I was always curious as a child.
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  3. I love your videos. They are very real and personal. I appreciate the effort you put into this.
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  4. Sergei, you are not boring at all, as you claimed to be on your last video. It is very interesting to see how your thinking about Putin evolved over the course of 20 years. Personally, I never trusted or liked him, but that was mostly because having been born in the United States during the last decade of the Cold War, I understood the KGB to basically be Russia’s version of the Gestapo—and anyone who willingly worked for that group was inherently bad. Also, like many other people, Putin’s smirk bothered me, because it was a menacing, cruel smirk. Former VP Dick Cheney often wore a similar expression.
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  5. Neither the L-29 or the l_39 could have created sonic booms. The L-29 Delfin was a straight wing trainer with a top speed of 510 mph. The L-39 Albatross was a higher performance version of the Delphin, but it was still straight wing and had a top speed of about 600 mph. Both are far below supersonic speed at any altitude. My guess is you were hearing (and feeling) Mig-25 fighters from Vasylkiv air base. Given the dates, they were mostly likely Mig-25RB reconnaissance bombing versions flying nap of the earth training missions at supersonic speeds. Low level breaking of the sound barrier sounds like bombs being dropped nearby, and the sonic wave can cause some real damage, like breaking the windows out of structures and causing cracks in weak, old homes.
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  6. Happy New Year, Sergei!! Thank you for the most productive and time appropriate video :)
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  7. Over the years I flew on Aeroflot many many Times....Inside and outside The Soviet Union. Amazingly I had the Two best Flights of my life on Aeroflot. The First was in 1974 I decided to fly Aeroflot to NYC ...It was an IL-62 I believe what I liked was the space between seats was very Large I could relax and it was very comfortable ...One thing I noticed was on the first leg of the trip which was Moscow to London only a small snack was served then when we landed in London I noticed out the window that Marriot In-Flight Food Services was loading up the Plane..So when we took off for NYC a more Western style meal was served...Also I noticed on Aeroflot they would come down the aisle with hard candy before takeoff...later around 1977 I went to Yalta from Moscow and amazingly it was a uncrowded flight ...The Pilot came through the plane saying Hello shaking hands and people seemed to know him (Later I was told he was famous for an Aviation accomplishment) anyway....The plane took off almost effortlessly up into the clouds almost no turbulence then the landing was so smooth ... The entire plane cheered and clapped their hands ...Then the Pilot was standing there shaking hands with everyone as we got off ...never had that happen before or since.....
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  8. Your channel is a great service to the world, you talk about things we wouldn't ever know about the USSR.
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  9. Nice summery of Ukraine's presidents, I learned a lot. Try to stay optimistic, the trouble with politics is that it's run by politicians.
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  10. China
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  11. Here in Finland there's no minimum wage, but just about every job is unionized, and the unions determine what the minimum is for that profession. I wouldn't be opposed to the US guaranteeing the rights of unions to organize and stipulate minimums, instead of having a minimum wage.
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  12. every russian I've talked to about movies mention "Man of Steel" as one of their favorites, now i know why! Great video tovarish!
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  13. “I don’t worry about you anymore.” Such a heart-warming thing to hear from your mother before she departed. Love this story, Sergei. I appreciate you sharing it.
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  14. Sergei this is EXCELLENT. I think you said the magic word? "care" I live in California and I recently have had issues with mail delivery, no mail, mail in the trash, wrong addresses etc etc etc. I complained through the proper channels and the result by two different USPS postal service investigations was that yes, mail was not being handled correctly, First Class mail was thrown in public trash bins, some mail was dropped into the gutters ( excuse "too much mail") . The investigators found NO postal regulation was violated! Since there is NO POSTAL Regulation that the Postal employees have to CARE about their work quality or quantity. Welcome to the typical "Government job" where you get the because of who you know and remain in the job just because you can fog a mirror. Frequently we read reports of "government employees" receiving checks and benefits even though the "employees" only exist on paper. This justifies higher salaries for the supervisors. Question: How many people do you supervise Ms Manager? Answer: "None. I supervise a program."
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  15. After hearing these stories, no wonder why you never mentioned your paternal side of the family. I too would be livid if I was in your mum’s situation.
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  16. I explained to a Soviet exchange student, "I can say anything I want about President Reagan. I can call him a liar. I can call him a criminal. Nothing will happen to me," He joked, "Oh, I can do that in the Soviet Union too. I guess our systems are the same!"
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  17. In the 80s I walked to school and walked back home. When I got home, it was just me until my dad came home, about 2 hours later. Then my lil brother and step-mother came home a couple hours after my dad got home. I was known as a "latch key kid". During the summer, I stayed home by myself and when my brother turn 5. I started watching him (It was something all the kids in our neighborhood did). We grew up poor (American Poor). The cost of my parents' current house is only worth $50,000 (today's rates) and that's after all the upgrades they did to it. So even though it's a really bad neighborhood (gangs, drugs, etc) they decided to stay and raise us there. Their house is 2 bedroom / 1 bathroom / small kitchen / living room / den with laundry room (950 sq ft total). - From Oklahoma, USA
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  18. You're a good son Sergei for helping your mom the way you do, in the end there is nothing more important than family. This is a very important experience for your son to experience life in Ukraine that he will carry with him for the rest of his life. I am from New York City originally but my grandparents had a small farm in northern Minnesota where their lifestyle at that time when I visited with my parents in 1960 when I was 9 years old was not dissimilar to that of your mothers. They had 2 or 3 cows and chickens and were quite poor by our standards now, with a house similar to your moms and with an outhouse and well water but with a hand pump. I was struck by what you said about the contrast in the Soviet Union between high technology to go into space and the lifestyle of most of it's people at a more primitive level. That still seems to be the same in Russia with a modern army with which they can threaten their neighbors while the people suffer...all for the perverse glory of the motherland for national power. Let us hope that the Ukrainians can be left alone to develop their economy in peace and freedom.
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  19. The Soviet Union was basically what we might call a "company town," owned by a monopoly. It wasn't flexible. I'll bet the black marketeers were seen the same way we see drug dealers. Illegal, but without the black market, the whole thing would have strangled itself.
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  20. One more poignant fact: If you tried to escape from Czechia in the Soviet times, the soldiers would shoot to kill you. Many Czechs, Poles and Germans lost their lives while trying to escape. Not many people got shot to death trying to escape from West Germany or from Austria :) .
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  21. You are right about the bread here in the United States. It sucks. You have to go out of your way to find good bread, usually at a small bakery.
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  22. Buying new books to recycle them to attain permission to buy a deficit book might be the craziest economic distortion I've heard so far. Crazier then feeding bread to pigs and queuing in the hope to subscribe to a magazine. These anecdotes are the best aspect of your videos, Sergei. The amount of effort (labour) and resources squandered to get around the 'scientific' central plan must have been massive.
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  23. Greetings from Finland. Two weeks ago I visited first time in Russia at St. Petersburg. People were very nice and warmhearted. We have got some bad wartime history, but nowadays we can be friends. 🤗
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  24. My dad who is 75, spent most of his life in Yugoslavia (now Croatia) has the same mentality. Don't know why he does it, but for him it's almost a joke. Few examples: he worked in aircraft maintenance. Hence for his sailboat he had 4 aircraft grade life vests (probably worth more than the boat), he also had special fire extinguisher (also aircraft grade, prohibited for civilian use). In his defence, these items were discarded (in planes they need to replace them eventhough they are fine). He never ever in his life bought printer ink toner, instead he bought same model as the one he had in the office.
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  25. Really enjoy your videos. I'm an American and a couple years older than you and it's very intriguing hearing the perspective of a youngster growing up in the USSR. We had a shared line (party line I believe was the official name; not like the 1-999 PARTY GAL) once when we lived out in the sticks in western NY. I was about 10 and we'd listen in on these old ladies yapping away hahaha
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  26. Agriculture pensions were always lowest ..in Yugoslavia there was lowest pension but Agriculture pension was like 3 times lower then lowest pension for workers and other who had regular jobs .. i dont thing why was that ( is also now) but i thing because people in Agriculture did not pay any tax so they did not contribute do pension fond and also they had land so they could live from that. My grandmother also had Agriculture pension (she lived in village before moving to town and after moving to town she did not work anywhere ) witch was very low for that time but my grandfather had like 5 times bigger pension then here because he worked in factory plant ..so when my grandfather died she give up off here agriculture pension and start receiving 2/3 off my grandfather pension. In 1991 Yugoslavia braked and also civil war and US sanctions ..so economy and companies suttendlu fall like a stone ..my father in 1990 had 1500 deutsche mark monthly net salary ..in 1993 he had 50 ..so it was shocking fall off living standard that 2 years ..and most people lived from savings or selling jewelry ..we had 2 cars and my father sold both in 1993 and we live with out any car 3 years...in 1994 thing stabilise little so we could again live from sallary but my mother and father would never see living standard that had in Yugoslavia ..every political party would came and promise but off course its lie always. Also yes Moscow and main cities seems better but look smaller towns and villages..they were left to die ..just watch bald and bankrupt channel ...its same in ex Yugoslavia..my grandmother village had 2 stores ,culture house and many stuff...i liked to visit when i was kid in summer ...it was live place ...now nothing..left to die slow death
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  27. Please never stop the ramblings. I often learn a great deal from these tangential stories and they are some of my favorites!
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  28. I was taking Russian classes in college at the time and it was very interesting to see what was going on in the Soviet Union at the time. My Russian teacher had been to the Soviet Union many times over the previous 25 years, and it was fascinating to hear her stories of how ridiculously repressive the Soviet regime was with even seemingly tiny things like their taking pictures as tourists in a train station. That was apparently a big No-no. And having the hotel maid come up to her and ask if she would be willing to trade some American dollars for Soviet Rubles. She was willing to give a lot of rubles for dollars, much more than the official rate. But my teacher declined since she was afraid of being caught illegally trading currency, which could have gotten her in a lot of trouble.
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  29. I am from Odessa but I live in Switzerland. I can remember a little bit of time during the Soviet Union. One of the best things was probably literacy, even now we have higher literacy than most of the Western countries. In Odessa, they still speak Russian but we are pro Ukraine and proud of it. Everything was cheap but the time during Perestroyka was very hard and weird. People had Jeans for 100 USD but the official salary was 10 USD or so. Growing up in Soviet Russia was weird but also amazing, you had a very deep bond between people, you could visit your friends without even calling them, you could just go by. I also remember these great summer days where all the children after school we were outside and all the Babushkas sitting and chatting next to the entrance to the building. We were poor and we never had any play consoles so we could only play with ourselves, we had great adventures and very awesome love stories. Life was easy and great and with any problems. Now I have money, car but the coldness of the West is still making me sad, I wish I could bring back one of these glorious days, even for one evening. The sound of the waves and sound of crickets is still in my memory until this day.
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  30. My dad grew up in the soviet union, and your account of these popular hobbies really gives me an insight into how he grew up. Thanks for that!
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  31. Close to where I live :) Some random facts about that 'military building': 1. That building started off as a manor owned by a wealthy German fellow in the 19th century. He named it 'Lustberg' (Mountain of of pleasure/joy/lust). 2. In 1906 it was bought by the steward of the influential Тишкевичі family (which is a family that originated in Kiev by the way! :D) - a Lithuanian man named Kazimieras Gustaitis, who translated the Lustberg name into Lithuanian, making it Linksmakalnis(Mountain of joy/pleasure). 3. Gustaitis gave out the lands around the manor to his daughters. The building was bought by a Lithuanian ex. prime minister. 4. Ever since the summer of 1944, Soviet military started turning the place into a radio intelligence center of the KGB Radio Intelligence Unit for Foreign Intelligence and Diplomatic Relations with Western Europe. All the people that lived in the area were moved out, the place was surrounded with a barbed wire fence and POWs were moved in. During 1944-1950 those POWs built buildings in the area, including a barracks, an officers club, and all the apartment houses on what today is known as "žalioji"(green) street, where the officers and their families used to live (you can look up "Žalioji gatvė Linksmakalnis" on google maps to see those buildings).
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  32. Dear Sergei, Having watched all your Life In The USSR videos, I am saddened by the fact that your grandparents' village where you spent wonderful summers and ate bananas now lies abandoned. If I am saddened, then you must be devastated. Thank you for your wonderful stories and presentations; I have enjoyed them so much and look forward to future videos. Personally, I don't like city life and live in a village myself - though not in as rural a setting as this one. I think I am going to have to become a patron. Here's to the next time!
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  33. Thanks Sergei always enjoy the content. Life in the USSR is a fascinating subject and you always make it interesting but also very humorous and sharing your own stories about life there always keeps in engaged. Hope the family and everyone here in America and abroad for you are in good health and safe.
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  34. This was hilarious and disturbing at the same time! Thank you, Sergei! Blyat
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  35. Finally you did it....................................I have been here for a year and finally you represented by country thanks a ton.................sending loads of love from INDIA
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  36. I appreciate how you extract so much from all the facets of Soviet life, and how you can share your personal experiences in many cases. The only brush I ever had with Soviet-era education was dating a woman (Russian, Armenian, Kazakh) in the 1990s who had a semi-privileged background (mother a scientist, father an army officer)that graduated from Moscow University with a chemistry degree. She was definitely intelligent, a no-nonsense woman. She pursued her Masters here in the US (we lived in the San Francisco area at the time.).
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  37. I'm never bored with your stories. They're the main reason I enjoy your videos. Take it easy, and have a good day. 😎
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  38. I don't know if this was also true in the USSR, but Slovenia had two casinos, and no Slovenians were allowed to enter. You had to show your passport or the temporary ID card you got if your hotel kept your passport. One was the Grand Casino Portorož, located in the Grand Hotel in that beach resort city. The other was in Nova Gorica, but I don't remember the name. When I first went to the Grand in 1988 it had a strict dress code. Long pants and collared shirt during the day and jacket and tie at night. Women had to wear pantsuits or dresses. It was a very classy place, but minimum bets for blackjack was $5 during the day and $10 at night. You had to change at least $100 in hard currency for chips. The bar was very nice. I was there in the low season and had a very attractive female bartender all to myself. I think I was the only non-Italian there. We stayed at the Grand in 1995 and got a two bedroom suite for $105 for five of us. I doubt I could get one now for that price.
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  39. I’m just amazed at what I don’t know, and more-so, what our elders seem to forget or fail to mention. I had NO IDEA Yeltsin visited Houston clear lake area and stopped at a Randall’s. Somewhat depressed me how no one has ever mentioned this- not in my history classes, not over a beer. I friggen live here!! Really appreciate this narration and personal account. Crazy to think what changes were set in motion by that one 20 minute visit. Interestingly, Deng Xiao Peng also visited Johnson Space Center- and even went to a Houston rodeo. I sometimes don’t like where I live- but it’s historical significance is undeniable. Thank you Comrade 😂
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  40. I lived in St. Petersburg from 1992 to 1996, and encountered all of these dishes during my time there. I also learned to make quite a few of them at home, both while living there and after returning to the US. "Tvorog" is actually called "farmer's cheese" in English. Cottage cheese curds are typically larger and the consistency is more runny than farmer's cheese. I love how "tvorog" can be used in sweet and savory forms. I had never heard of "grechka" (buckwheat groats) before living in Russia. I learned to cook it by wrapping the pot in a blanket after bringing it to a boil and leaving it to steam for awhile so the groats were tender. As mentioned below, many forms of "kasha" can be found in other countries, although prepared different ways. "Stolovaya" (cafeteria) cuisine ranged from pretty good to pretty terrible, depending on the day and mood of the women preparing it.😉 The green sorrel summer borshch is the BEST when it's really hot out, as is the cold summer beet borshch. I have made "vinigret" (cold chopped vegetable salad with beets, pickles, potatoes, carrots, peas and a few other ingredients with a light mustard dressing) for parties and everyone LOVES it, particularly due to all of the chopped dill and scallions included in it. Благодарю за отличный видеоклип!
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  41. That scene between the two of them was hauntingly beautiful. I'm so happy you chose to add more Chernobyl content.
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  42. Awesome video! I was a pipefitter in a shipyard for a while. I worked on destroyers, helicopter carriers and amphibious assault ships. We had alot of interesting safety posters, and there were some gruesome accidents to. Superheated dry steam from a high pressure piping system can cut a man in half like a light saber. I mainly worked fire suppression systems in machinery spaces on destroyers, but we had some scary things happen sometimes.
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  43. I remember all the this from the American point of view. I glad to actually learn about your side of things. 😊 I was taught many incorrect ideas in my childhood. Perhaps more I simply perceived incorrectly. After seeing Belarus 4 times for myself, and hearing your videos. I'm amazed how ignorant I truly was. Take our booze, fine we simply make our own. So many other " Very Human" behaviors. We as Americans, well we won't readily admit it, really are no different than Russians. People are people they all share certain traits.😊
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  44. My grandparents were from Kiv. As a kid in New York I often wanted to write our family who stayed behind in Russia. But no one knew the address and one uncle said the family would be punished by the KGB if they got letters from the USA. I hope I can go to Kiv someday. I hear the ice cream is amazing. Spacibo for your channel!
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  45. Serhij, I´m an ethnic hungarian from Zakarpatska oblast. My parents and I moved to western Europe after the collapse of the soviet union. So I barely speak ukrainian anymore but I still have relatives there and I visit frequently. I now live in Hungary and what bothers me a lot, is lies and propaganda by the hungarian government about ethnic hungarians being opressed in Ukraine. Nothing can be further from the truth. There are TV and radio stations and newspapers in hungarian language in Zakarpattia. In Berehove everything is labled in both languages, street signs etc. I even have friends who are ethnic ukrainians called Kiril or Jaroslava for example who speak hungarian fluently, simply by growing up with us hungarian kids. Schools teach in hungarian until 5th grade, then it´s mixed. Nobody I know has ever had problems being hungarian there. You see, hungarian nationalists are playing the same game as the russians do, on the other side of the country. Even when traveling further into the country, like into the carpathians, you´ll meet hungarian speakers or the people there at least know a little. Thank you for your videos and your perspective. Slava heroyam, smertj voroham!
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  46. Despite my screen name, I am not the Dead Tsar (far from it... just a Russian history buff). I was born here in the United States of America in 1986, and I can honestly say, am 110% aware of what the KGB (and it's current successor, the FSB) is, as well as several precursors to it (the Soviet NKVD, Cheka, and of course, the Tsarist Okhrana come to mind). Not all of us Millennials are totally unaware of things like that. I blame the shoddy education system over here for the fact that the Cold War is largely overlooked, or downplayed by some teachers here in the U.S. today. It's a big part of the history of both the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, and it honestly shouldn't be downplayed the way it is.
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  47. It‘s 11pm and I should be asleep, BUT A NEW UPLOAD FROM USHANKA SHOW IS ALWAYS WORTH IT!
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  48. I admit, they were still around in the early 1990's and even then I carried a clean rag to wipe the rim of the glass.
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  49. Fascinating. I confess it is interesting to hear a first hand account.
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  50. I once visited the Czech nuclear powerplant at Dukovany - they had cute system to prevent theft: They weighed each worker on entry into the plant, and then again on exit. Not a perfect system, but I was told that it worked well. Very little theft. It is also true, that the workers were selected, they would not let just anybody work at the powerplant.
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