I was born there too... The country wasn't quite as shitty as you describe. The system was fatally flawed (long list of reasons) and that's why it collapsed, but it had some pleasant aspects as well. Job security, low prices etc.
There are some really, really amazing parts. Palaces in St Petersburg. Museums. Vast tracts of wilderness.
But that's true about most any country. I've found beauty in 49 states and even New Jersey made the list. Haven't been to Hawaii yet.
Job security was a good thing, unless you were trying to accomplish something. Can't fire someone who's drunk at work, let alone just sleeping or not doing much. Stabbing your boss might do it. Or telling the wrong political joke. Yeah, it's cool that you can't be fired for being drunk, but you can be jailed (or, in earlier parts of history, summarily executed or sent to forced labor camps) for making the wrong joke to the wrong person. Did I say "can?" I meant to say, "nobody knows what happened to my mother's grandfather, they never heard of him after he got sent to a camp." So I guess it also helps to have job security if you're not a journalist. Or too smart. Or in charge of anything.
Low prices were fixed by the government, which worked well in theory, but in practice production and distribution was controlled by the government which was not always efficient, or fast to react to changes, and often made omissions because controlling the entire country is a lot of work. This led to things like, say, waiting in line for four hours to buy some boots, because this is the only time this year they're on sale. (On sale, to you fine readers, means "available to be bought" not "on discount".) Low prices, for things you can buy.
My parents never had red meat - or even pink meat - until only a couple years ago, when I was cooking for them. You don't trust meat that was in a deep freeze for 20 years. You cook that shit until it's the color and taste of a hockey puck.
People walked around with bags called "avoska", roughly translated to english, "maybies" or "hopefullies", as in "maybe hopefully something will be being sold on my way home from work that I need, and then I can buy it and carry it home."
But yes, it's very impressive how Russia was able to steal nuclear secrets and cobble together their own bombs, eventually surpassing the US in most powerful warhead detonated. Military spending was not something they cheaped out on, unlike, say, proper food distribution. You remember the US's "Star Wars" program under Reagan? Major investments by the government into things like computers, which translated very well into commercial success and economic growth. Russia, a tiny country by population in comparison, spent as much on actual hardware - weapons, tanks, etc. That was the final nail in the coffin that caused the USSR to collapse. Brilliant move, by whoever designed the strategy. So I guess life was good if you were on the military or political dole, as long as you didn't, you know, get shot.
