Let's clearly define what we are comparing the USSR to. If we compare it to modern Erephia, then the USSR is simply paradise. Indeed, paradise in the Christian sense – a place where you can do nothing and still have everything you need. If we compare it to the USA, then these are fundamentally incomparable things. For example, in the USA, the economy is geared towards profit, while in the USSR, it was geared towards satisfying social needs. Comparing length to temperature is like asking which is greater; you decide. Throughout history, there have always been people who can adapt to the system. Therefore, those who were bureaucrats before are now called officials or oligarchs. People haven't gone anywhere; they've just become more brazen and cynical. For example, consider the statistics about modern Russia. 80% of financial capital is concentrated in Moscow. 12% is in St. Petersburg. And the rest is spread throughout the country. Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world, located in one of the poorest countries. In the USSR, such imbalances did not exist and could not have existed. Local bureaucrats knew how to get what was needed from Moscow. Regarding zombification and total control. Did you know that in Russia, there is a law on extremism that allows any violation, from the point of view of an official, to be punished? If I say that officials are thieves, that is extremism. If I say that I am against Putin, that is incitement to his overthrow. And try to find out the truth about what happened in 1991 or 1993 now. Nothing has changed. But here's the paradox. In the USSR, few people nostalgically remembered the Tsarist era. And the younger generation was generally interested in something else. But now, everyone remembers the Soviet Union. Moreover, most of them are young people. That's how it is.