Spoken like someone whose never set foot outside the Western world.

The main reason this sort of attitude pisses me off is because it assumes -- arrogantly -- that hundreds of thousands of people stayed in the USSR because they were not as determined/motivated as some kid on HN. You simply have no clue how uninformed you are about the reality of that situation at that time.

Hiding under a train carriage to escape the country? Are you kidding!? Try it some time, it's harder than you might think.

Dude, this is as obvious as hiding your key under your doormat. They checked for that with dogs, flashlights and the like. Also, USSR track width was different than anyone elses, so carriages had to be moved between platforms with a crane.

haha, being karma-bombed here.. will not reply in this thread. QED on the article's accuracy. Thank you for confirming my thoughts!