Appreciating the Ability to Buy a Vacuum

“A few weeks ago I spoke to a Russian and Belarusian living outside of their countries due to threat of imprisonment and/or living under severe censorship if they go home. In conversations about the Soviet era, one of them mentioned his father jumping up and down absolutely thrilled for scoring the right to potentially buy a vacuum. Not for a vacuum itself - merely the right to (just maybe) purchase one. It's hard for Westerners to imagine such limited access to goods. Coincidentally, I hung out with a Russian friend yesterday who talked about growing up in the final years of the USSR not with Barbie dolls, but a Katya doll, which is a blonde knock-off with a strange haircut. I recommend appreciating the small things about democracy, and wrote about the idea. Check it out.”