The Daily Mail is perpetuating a very subtle but big journalistic lie with this article, that this was the tail end of the failing Soviet Union, but otherwise it was okay. No. Things sucked there bad for seventy years, and the new Brit version of centralized government/collectivism won’t be any better.
It sucked wicked in ‘76, but we still managed to have fun. We hauled grain in cleaned-up tankers to Novorosisk (Caucasis) and Poti(Georgia)under the Nixon Grain Deal.
Everything was for sale, and the price was cheap.
Remember ‘Leggs’ in the eggs? They were good as gold for bartering/gifting. I had a case, and my pal spoke fluent Russian.
The old devushka at the gate? Pack of Wrigleys made her year!