A separate line in the themes of fake memories of the USSR are stories about the eternally hungry, barefoot and snotty childhood of unfortunate Soviet pioneers and Octobrists. Sometimes it seems to me that the stories that activists scribble on the Internet in an organized way are copied from some one story about post-war childhood.
And this story, by the way, could well be true. Because in the country recovering from the ruins, the children were really not sweet. There was no supervision over them, no special care of some kind, especially in the outback. The stories about some shoes, which were bought at the beginning of the school year and fell apart just by the end of it, are not fiction, but with the specification of the years.
And furious essays on the topic "sweets and tangerines, and even apples, I saw only in New Year's gifts" - from the same opera. The sixties-seventies-eighties (and it was then that most authors grew up) were completely different.
Cakes in cooking, sweets (even in the poorest families there was enough for caramel, or even for all sorts bars, milk or chocolate), apples with tangerines, all kinds of juices, soda of several varieties. Cookies, waffles, gingerbread - in every store. Ice cream. This is one of those products that belonged to children's delicacies.
But here's what's funny: even those who admit that all of the above was, add: all the same, it was not so, and Soviet children only dreamed of real delicacies.
So what, then, in their opinion?
Bananas
I do not know why bananas acquired the status of such a sacred product, demonstrating both the level of prosperity of individual citizens and the level of food security of the country.
Like, now it's good, even there are bananas, then it was bad - there weren't even bananas! Soviet children only dreamed about them, drooling over the strange bundle held in the hands of Volka Ibn Alyosha (who does not know the Soviet pioneer, the hero of the book "Old Man Hottabych" and the film of the same name).
I admit, there were not many bananas, well, they did not grow in the USSR, what to do. Therefore, even in the movies, bunches of papier mache bananas most often flashed, then do it. Sometimes green, unripe bananas appeared in stores. They were not fodder, as some now say, they simply did not have time to reach ripeness. Now, as far as I know, bananas are also loaded green, transported, and then they ripen.
Chewing gum
In the USSR, several types of it were produced: coffee, orange. strawberry, muddy (this is one of those that I remember). Today's clever people say - they produced little, and gum is small and there are few tastes.
Although, to be honest, modern chewing gum also does not differ in taste, although almost all, as one, promise to prevent tooth decay. True, they prevent sucks, and that's another topic.
They say that for one such imported chewing gum, in a bright wrapper, they fought for a ruble. They did not taste the same. They bought, most likely, because the inserts were needed.
Gum was needed for the inserts. They, and not the gum, were the cause of childhood dreams.
Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola
Cult products, or rather drinks, if I may put it now. Yes, many people had a chance to try this drink only when wild capitalism came to our country. However, before the advent of capitalism, Tarhun, for example, was enough for us (me and my friends) in childhood. Or Bakhmaro. Or many other drinks.
And what did you “dream about”?