Re: Russian Chaika [means seagull]

Posted by HH56 On 2009/5/10 9:41:27

Quote:

Thank you Gerd. That explanation and the pictures of streets with people but no cars, and low production numbers are very much what I was taught in school--only very important people had cars. Reasons we were told:
1) the people were poor and couldn't afford them
2) they didn't have any to buy because they didn't make any
3) the government wouldn't let them have one.
Thanks to you, we know number two is a stretch because they did make them--just not for the regular people.

There was a picture I remember in some book where a large Moscow street was divided into several lanes. One was only for official cars, I think another for Army or trucks & busses -something like that. Another was for regular cars (empty, while the others had traffic) and many hundreds of people on the sidewalks and in carts or other things in a different lane.

I didn't realize the lady was a hero of the Soviet Union but maybe should have guessed she was not the usual citizen because she is wearing a medal.