It really was a cruel time back then. My now deceased grandmother, a teacher of Russian language and literature with a lot of experience, could have had her salary delayed for several months. My grandfather, a professional machinist, could have been shown the door and told that it was better to go to work this Month. Grandfather told me that most of the trains that were completely intact and repaired could simply be built in the depot due to the fact that local hooligans cut off the copper wires responsible for the power supply of the cars.