People still like the foods of the past such as borsch (which I have already talked about) and even some of the old Soviet-themed dinners, but the only real signs you can see of Russia's Soviet past are in the symbols on the streets and advertisements.
Because of the Soviet times as well as modern political difficulties, Russians tend to think about life as a series of challenges instead of as a positive experience. For a long time, especially during most of my friends' grandparents' lives, the Soviet Union was not a very fun place to live, and they were not dreaming of becoming cosmonauts (a Russian astronaut) but whether the next harvest would have enough food. This mentality has been passed down to the younger generations, though it is not nearly as extreme. I have noticed that young people here tend to think less about what they want to do and focus more about what they can do in the world. What about you? What do you tend to focus on in life?
During my time here, I have found two types of Russians. The most common type are those who do not like the idea of the Soviet Union at all and want to forget it existed. The second type, which isn't as common, don't want the Soviet Union to come back, but they miss the culture of the Soviet times. These tend to be older people. One of my favorite things about the Soviet Union's history is that the country (and all its Soviet states) were isolated from western culture due to their type of economy. They didn't have jeans, Mustangs or malls back in the Soviet Union! Instead, they had their own types of clothes and cars. Some of this has stayed true, but most of it has faded away.
