Forced labour in Russia in the 1930's and beyond ..

[suein56]

Michael Palin .. in young guise .. in once again on our screens.

Talking at the mo of forced labour extracting uranium to build the Russian atomic bomb

OH hates M Palin so I am filling my boots ..

I studied Russian at a progressive Girl's High School in the UK in the 60's just before, and then around, the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Even though the film dates from 1997 M Palin had trouble finding a bathplug .. reminds me of the many stories our teacher (recently returned in 1966 from an exchange year in Russia) told of GUM and the difficulties of trying to buy anything useful .. even in Moscow.

Brilliant .. for me ?

[Lehaut]

We toured Estonia and Finland very close to the Russian border on our motorbike three years ago, still few plugs in sinks and bathrooms!

[NickP]

This topic brings back memories of working in Riga Latvia in 92/3. Before Latvia got it's independence Riga was the playground for KGB high ups and if they thought that was good, well, heaven help the lower orders. I stayed in the 26 storey Hotel Riga which was totally bizarre, the room doors opened outward, when I asked why, they said: " that it was so that when the KGB came to arrest people the room occupants couldn't wedge a chair against the door handle to block the door". Apart from the already mentioned sink and bath plugs, everything was in desperately short supply, if you wanted to eat in a restaurant you had to make a reservation in the morning and give them a deposit, they used the deposit to buy food. There was plenty of Salmon and so-called "caviar" available and some meat, one day we questioned what meat it was and got told: " it was big animal meat". We filmed in the ex KGB prison, it was really scary and showed us just how cruel the Russians were. Cells in the outside yard were under 1 square metre wire cages that the inmates could only squat in. We also filmed in a metal casting factory were they sandblasted train wheels in the open factory, when it was going home time for the workers they lined up outside and were given an emetic to make them sick to clear the dust. I spent 3 months there, it was appaling conditions for the locals and most of them were Russians as Russia colonised it, and also based troops there. Funnily enough, I believe it's now a stag and hen party destination.??

[Lehaut]

We went to Riga on our tour too, wanted to see Stalin's Birthday cake. The three huge zeppelin hangers we individual markets. Walking round we could not identify much of the fish and meat that was on sale. No sign of hen parties, thought the locals we spoke too had a dim view of the Russians, your post explains why!

[suein56]

Lehaut wrote the following post at 11 Oct 2020 8:48:

We toured Estonia and Finland very close to the Russian border on our motorbike three years ago, still few plugs in sinks and bathrooms!

Yes I had heard that it was recommended even recently that you pack a plug of each size if you were planning a visit .. perhaps just not at the moment.

On the serious side .. it is very grounding to learn of dreadful examples of 'man's inhumanity to man' .. in many ways humanity has come a long way in the last 100 years .. in some countries nothing much seems to have changed. It is still nigh on impossible to find out the truth about the awful treatment being afflicted on some citizens by their own governments.

[Hoddy]

I took a school trip to Moscow and St Petersburg. I had a universal plug which I lent out , but eventually it disappeared. One of the kids luggage disappeared and we struggled to find even a toothbrush for him.

I had a little personal triumph though. I was in the lift with one of my boys - a huge lad with bright red hair and two French women were speculating about where we from. They were extremely embarrassed when I told them in French that we were English.

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Toured E Germany in the later 70's, cannot remember whether there were bath plugs, but I do rememebr the plumbing was interesting, showers which wet the whole room!  Mind you, I still take a bath plug around even now.  Especially in Spain.  And now they produce sinks with no plugs .. even in France, they must think that everyone showers all the time.  Not in this household, in the morning no way, and any way OH is a bath person even now.