soviet union was actually very good at providing basic needs (food, housing, education, medical care) to its population. in fact much better than even the US does right now. that is not the reason ussr collapsed
What it does not say though, is that housing supply was extremely poor. There was extreme lack of decent housing, and people could be easily on a 10+ year wait list (as my parents were). There was practically only government provided houses (e.g. apartments), you could not buy land to build your house yourself (all land was nationalized and belonged to "people", i.e. government). So your option was to wait until you were given one. There was also virtually no secondary housing market, you could not buy an apartment since the supply was so low. So while you waited for the gift from government, you either lived with your parents (if they had place), lived in "kommunalka" (shared apartment where each family got one room but shared kitchen, bathroom etc with other families), or rented a room from whomever you could find (which was not legal actually because it was deemed private entrepreneurship which was not allowed). Was not fun, believe me.
nope. the us for example had a much higher population growth than eastern europe. every western country continues to experience population growth. the population growth pre 1990 in eastern europe was at a healthy 1%. stagnation and negative rates started in the 90s, which was hardly a period of prosperity in eastern europe
> Countries that stagnated for 50 years went through a 10x growth in 30 years after the Soviet grip disappeared
tell that to everyone that dreams about leaving and working in western europe
My point is that USSR was providing bare basics for some and not for all. If you were member of CPSU or an informer, or of privileged nationality then your chances were much higher.
in the mean time, here are some of my own
NUTRITION
Approved For Release 2007/05117: CIA-RDP84B00274R000300150009-5 RFUTEPS 8 JANUARY 1983 5 PENGTH-DIET American and Soviet citizens eat about the same amount of food each day but the Soviet diet may be more nutritious. According to a CIA report released today both nationalities may be eating too much for good health.
LITTERACY
The education system that emerged after the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922 became internationally renowned for its successes in eradicating illiteracy and cultivating a highly educated population.
MEDICAL CARE
Despite its drawbacks, the soviet healthcare system (Semashko model) is considered by the majority of Russian experts to have been one of the best in the world, because overall it met the requirements of quality, availability and provision of healthcare services, drugs and materials. After the collapse of the USSR, the health-care system was stagnant: funding was greatly limited, highly-skilled medical professionals emigrated, medical research came to a halt and manufacture of drugs and medical equipment declined dramatically.
HOUSING
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/what-is-it-like-living...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_home_ow...
all ex socialist countries
You just have to look the refuges after the wall fell which were buying all the basic necessities in bulk, you know it's BS.
Yeah... no. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification
The socialist revolution may begin in the very near future. In that event the proletariat will be faced with the immediate task of capturing power, of expropriating the banks and of introducing other dictatorial measures. In such a situation, the bourgeoisie, and particularly intellectuals like the Fabians and the Kautskyists, will strive to disrupt and to hinder the revolution, to restrict it to limited democratic aims. While all purely democratic demands may—at a time when the proletarians have already begun to storm the bulwarks of bourgeois power—serve, in a certain sense, as a hindrance to the revolution, nevertheless, the necessity of proclaiming and granting freedom to all oppressed nations (i.e., their right to self-determination) will be as urgent in the socialist revolution as it was urgent for the victory of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, for example, in Germany in 1848, or in Russia in 1905
and yes ... nato is bad. every imperialist organisation is bad. be it russian, american, chinese, or whatever