Yes, G speaks the truth here but in all honesty- us over here have no idea what kind of tough times those must have been in the 90s - imagine being 60,70 years old there in 1994/95. Your monthly pension dissolves to near nothing with the crash of the ruble on the international market. I grew up orthodox Christian - in my church I met a couple who moved here from there and they told me about what happened to their parents- they ended up moving to their dacha to turn it (one quarter acre only) into a subsistence farm to support themselves and their three kids. They worked hard, every day- and they were in their mid 70s, still farming, when my friends moved here as young adults to try to start a new life. The mafia controlled their town and would take most of what little money they made, bringing their vegetables to market! I'm not going to stand on some moral high ground here... I have three kids- you don't want to know what I would do to provide for them! I think this should be remembered before anyone starts thinking anyone is better than anyone else though. Items, rings, tags- sure.
We can judge them easy. Not the people though, no way. Just my opinion, but I found a good lesson there when I met my friends those years ago.
