Oh, I probably responded to that one someone else’s comment and forgot to bring it along with me.

My mother has tried to convince me of that. The “and then it got worse” is part of the core of their culture. I don’t want to believe that’s true, mostly because things DID get better after Stalin died.

I get that 500 years of state-subsidized alcoholism can greatly impact a nation, but surely they are capable of trying for something better.