Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
1) China
2) USA
3) India
4) Japan
5) Russia
6) Germany
7) Indonesia
8) Brazil
9) United Kingdom
10) France
World Bank Top Ten economies by GDP (PPP)
1) China
2) USA
3) India
4) Japan
5) Germany
6) Russia
7) Indonesia
8) France
9) United Kingdom
10) Brazil
Another good example of the nonsense of comparing nominal figures. Saudi Arabia nominally spends as much as Russia (and probably even few billions more) on defense. How many hours do you think Saudi military forces would last under the pressure of the Russian Armed Forces (I'm not talking nuclear exchange)....hint, not very many.
By the way, according to the latest available data from the World Bank, the United States has a quite more unequal distribution of income (GINI Index) than Russia, The US is #55, Russia #77 (the list starts from the most unequal which is currently South Africa).
I'm well aware of that list, but it does seem odd to me that India is above Japan and Indonesia above both the UK and France.
Obviously, Saudi Arabia wouldn't fare well if pitted directly against Russia.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saturno_v
I did not need to being told anything..i saw it with my own eyes....I used to think exactly like you, before moving and living in the US and visiting modern Russia....
DKM also lived and worked in Russia not too long ago.
Quote:
US standards of living for a large part of the population are appallingly low....from the supposed #1 country in the world.
The son of one of my wife's client (in order to be client of the firm where my wife works you need to have a net worth of minimum 5 mil, real estate excluded) met a girl from St Petersburg and after visiting each other for a while they decided to get married.
In typical (and i have to say American) ignorant fashion, his family was concerned that she was interested in him "only because she wanted to move to America". She basically said "you are crazy if you think I want to move to the US, you either move here or we will go separate ways".
It has been 4 years since and he absolutely LOVE living in Russia (one child already, another on the way), no need to mention his family is baffled to say the least, typical West Coast wealthy liberal folks that think Russia is bad and Putin is the devil in person.
Fair enough, but it could also be due to a preference to the type of lifestyle found in Russia, along with it's more conservative values. Some people would rather have that then western style liberalism and that's their prerogative.
I also know Russians who have absolutely no desire of ever stepping foot there again.
A Wal-Mart greeter job for a pensioner is a luxury, compared the grandmother street-sweepers (using homemade brooms) that were common in the Soviet era, as a way to supplement the meager pension.
Erasure is right. Pensioners in the USSR lived quite normally, did not bathe in luxury, but did not live in poverty. They had enough pensions for their needs and they could still help their children.
The minimum social pension in 1980 was 32 rubles, the maximum - 120 rubles. Most pensioners received an average pension of 60-80 rubles. What were the expenses of pensioners? This is mainly rent, food, and clothing.
For example, rent in 1980 for an apartment of 32 sq.m. the living area was 15-25 rubles, depending on the quality of housing and the region.
Bread cost 0.15-0.2 rub,
1L of milk-0.22rub,
1kg of meat 2-3rub,
1kg of potato - 0.08-0.11rub,
1kg of onion - 0.10-0.12rub,
chicken 1kg - 1.1-2.5 rub.,
ticket in public transport - 0.05 rub.,
men's suit - 140rub,
women's fur coat - 180rub,
women's boots -55rub.,
men's shoes imported - 45 rub.
If a family of two pensioners, then they received a pension for two 120-160rub. And after all the expenses, they probably still had 40-50 rubles a month. Many retirees could even set aside excess pensions in a savings account.
My grandmother, who worked all her life at school, received a pension of about 65 rubles, my grandfather, a former dean and rector of the institute, about 100 rubles.
I was talking to a friend that came to US from Russia 15 years ago. We were talking about school and she made a claim about Russian school that discipline there was much better compare to US schools. She brought up the fact that starting from 5th grade and on students were required to clean classroom and that is one of many way school kept student disciplined from early age. Also students afraid of teachers as they can get hit by a teacher and nothing will happen to that teacher. Is any of that true?
I was talking to a friend that came to US from Russia 15 years ago. We were talking about school and she made a claim about Russian school that discipline there was much better compare to US schools. She brought up the fact that starting from 5th grade and on students were required to clean classroom and that is one of many way school kept student disciplined from early age. Also students afraid of teachers as they can get hit by a teacher and nothing will happen to that teacher. Is any of that true?
Yes yes and yes, ( except for the hitting part - that I am not so sure, but the students were DEFINITELY afraid of the teachers ( or rather their authority,) and the teachers were given the free hand to enforce the discipline in schools. ( But then, again, I think that Russian kids are more unruly than American white kids in general, particularly boys. And yes, boys were getting more slack in this respect than girls - it was kinda expected... )
The academic level was 10 times higher than in American schools as well.
Cleaning classrooms?
Absolutely - there were assigned duties.
P.S. ( I don't know whether all this changed by now, except for the quality of education in schools - that definitely went down from what I've heard... )
Yes yes and yes, ( except for the hitting part - that I am not so sure, but the students were DEFINITELY afraid of the teachers ( or rather their authority,) and the teachers were given the free hand to enforce the discipline in schools. ( But then, again, I think that Russian kids are more unruly than American white kids in general, particularly boys. And yes, boys were getting more slack in this respect than girls - it was kinda expected... )
The academic level was 10 times higher than in American schools as well.
Cleaning classrooms?
Absolutely - there were assigned duties.
P.S. ( I don't know whether all this changed by now, except for the quality of education in schools - that definitely went down from what I've heard... )
Wow not sure how i would feel about my kids spending time cleaning classroom instead of janitors. Seems like having professional do the cleaning would be more efficient. Why do you say academic level is 10 times higher compare to American schools. What do they do different/better?
Wow not sure how i would feel about my kids spending time cleaning classroom instead of janitors. Seems like having professional do the cleaning would be more efficient.
It's not like there were no janitors there, but we were still required to sweep the floors, to straighten out materials, to put the chairs up on the desks ( if janitors were planning to come and wash the floors that day,) - that kind of stuff.
Quote:
Why do you say academic level is 10 times higher compare to American schools. What do they do different/better?
We've had text-books written for us, with carefully-chosen material to learn grammar in depth, using the best samples of writing, taken from the best poetry and literature. ( Same with the lessons of reading/literature - we had to go through certain amount of classical writers/poets and had accompanying text-books for that - not some crummy pieces with "puzzles" and clips from newspapers as it's done in American schools.)
We've had text-books for math as well from the first grade on, that were indicating to everyone where they were supposed to be, on what level, and not "it depends on every student individually how fast they can learn." It was highly-competitive environment too.
From fourth grade on, ( as far as history lessons go) we had to study the "Prehistoric humans," the "History of the Ancient world," the history of the East, the history of medieval Europe, the history of ancient Russia, the history of the US, the history of modern Russia, (the history of the WWII as a separate subject,) and the history of church in-between.
From the fifth grade on we had to study ( as separate subjects) physics ( with all the calculations and formulas involved,) botanics, anatomy, chemistry, geography, astronomy, geometry, and by the 10th grade we were already required to study calculus. ( Oh, and the foreign language of course from the fifth grade on in the regular schools or from the second grade in the specialized schools.)
And then, after all that, we were sweeping the floors in the classrooms)))
Those that couldn't keep up with all that, ( failing the tests that we kept on having throughout the year, and they were NOT of American kind, with "yes/no, choose the correct answer out of 4 possible" - oh no, we had to actually write the answers ourselves, in full,) - well, those who couldn't keep up with all that, were channeled to the trade schools from the 8th grade.
Compare it all with American schools, and you will get the idea)))
It's not like there were no janitors there, but we were still required to sweep the floors, to straighten out materials, to put the chairs up on the desks ( if janitors were planning to come and wash the floors that day,) - that kind of stuff.
We've had text-books written for us, with carefully-chosen material to learn grammar in depth, using the best samples of writing, taken from the best poetry and literature. ( Same with the lessons of reading/literature - we had to go through certain amount of classical writers/poets and had accompanying text-books for that - not some crummy pieces with "puzzles" and clips from newspapers as it's done in American schools.)
We've had text-books for math as well from the first grade on, that were indicating to everyone where they were supposed to be, on what level, and not "it depends on every student individually how fast they can learn." It was highly-competitive environment too.
From fourth grade on, ( as far as history lessons go) we had to study the "Prehistoric humans," the "History of the Ancient world," the history of the East, the history of medieval Europe, the history of ancient Russia, the history of the US, the history of modern Russia, (the history of the WWII as a separate subject,) and the history of church in-between.
From the fifth grade on we had to study ( as separate subjects) physics ( with all the calculations and formulas involved, botanics, anatomy, chemistry, geography, astronomy, geometry, and by the 10th grade we were already required to study calculus. ( Oh, and the foreign language of course from the fifth grade on in the regular schools or from the second grade in the specialized schools.)
And then, after all that, were were sweeping the floors in the classrooms)))
Those that couldn't keep up with all that, ( failing the tests that we kept on having throughout the year, and they were NOT of American kind, with "yes/no, choose the correct answer out of 4 possible" - oh no, we had to actually write the answers ourselves, in full,) - well, those who couldn't keep up with all that, were channeled to the trade schools from the 8th grade.
Compare it all with American schools, and you will get the idea)))
Wow, the trade school part really surprise me. Are they not too young to go to trade school unless it is to learn how to sweep the floor which sounds like they should have mastered by that grade. To me it sounds like too much to learn way too fast. Sure history and all of that is important but what about electives such as art, music, computers etc. I didn't take foreign language class till 10 grade. Between classroom cleaning and doing all of that learning, how many hours a day are students in school?
Wow, the trade school part really surprise me. Are they not too young to go to trade school unless it is to learn how to sweep the floor which sounds like they should have mastered by that grade. To me it sounds like too much to learn way too fast. Sure history and all of that is important but what about electives such as art, music, computers etc. I didn't take foreign language class till 10 grade. Between classroom cleaning and doing all of that learning, how many hours a day are students in school?
I am not sure why the trade school part surprised you.
Of course I am talking about the system of education back in Soviet times, when computers were not around yet. ( Or rather they were, but not in shape and form as it is today, so dealing with them was left up to higher education.)
Now of course they are included in a school program, along with few other new subjects, but you'd have to ask Zimogor or Maxim about it.
When it comes to "electives" - we didn't have such thing, those classes were a "must" for everyone from the first grade on)))
At least in my school there were lessons of drawing ( a must,) music lessons ( vocal/choir) a must, and P.E of course. ( Oh, "labor" lessons too - sewing for girls, hammering and that kind of stuff for boys.)
When it came to learning how to play MUSIC instruments - that was left up to each family individually.
We've had what's called "music schools" ( I think they were free,) and those parents that would choose it, were sending their children for lessons after school hours. (Some of them became professionals this way.)
( Overall there were plenty of after-school activities for children, all free, sponsored by the state - be that sports or technology, or art/music.)
Now the classes themselves were starting at 8:45 from what I remember, and we were done by 2:15 or sometimes by 3 p.m.
Each lesson would last 45 minutes, with 15 minutes brake, and one major brake for 20 (or 25?) minutes at noon.
P.S. ( I don't know whether all this changed by now, except for the quality of education in schools - that definitely went down from what I've heard... )
Unfortunately, everything has changed for the worse. As they used to say in the USSR, "the pestilential influence of the West" completely decomposed the relationship between teachers and students.
Many current students have absolutely no respect for teachers. They allow themselves to openly insult and beat them.And then they are videos posted on the Internet with mockery of teachers.
If earlier the school staff and parents in the conflicts between the student and the teacher, were mostly on the side of the teacher, and together put in order the discipline of students, now it is exactly the opposite. The teacher became completely disenfranchised, and children feel absolutely unpunished.
And all sorts of stupid mothers scream: "How you dare touch my child!" The teacher is to blame for everything!!. This has now become a huge problem.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
and the teachers were given the free hand to enforce the discipline in schools. ( But then, again, I think that Russian kids are more unruly than American white kids in general, particularly boys. And yes, boys were getting more slack in this respect than girls - it was kinda expected... 
) 
)
