In 1986, myself and friend Randy Pardue took a journey to the USSR We chose four cities and the Soviet Tourist Agency took care of our transportation, hotel, meals and a one hour tour of each city. Other than that we were able to be on our own. Gorbachev was just starting to open the door. Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan were meeting while we were there. We were one of the test cases of tourist who were not totally controlled by a guide and the USSR. Eventhough we were watched ‘secretly’, we were able to have some unique private experiences and met wonderful people. In 1986 there were hardly any shops. Most the cars were low quality. Hardly anyone owned a car. The people were very nervous in the southern areas due to a more strict KGB. Only Moscow was ‘modern’ but represented more as a propaganda city. We saw long lines of people trying to enter a shoe shop. The shoes were all basically the same and hard and uncomfortable in design. Waiting in line was the norm for food or clothing. By age 18 you had a job. The nation propagandaly boasted 100% employment. One job we saw was an elderly lady with a bush attached to a stick. Her job was to walked the streets and sweep the dirt. The young people had failure in their eyes with their forced lifetime employment. But all in all, they were people like us. Where we had plenty, they had little, but they wanted our plenty. The sad change I have seen with the fall of the Soviet Union is that the people were suddenly onslaughted …
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