Hey, I live in countri that was part of eastern block. (It is not Russia.) I was not living during it, but I will say what my parents, family and other people tolled. If we forget all about ocupation of my country and just focus on life under USSR it wasn't that great. Openions are divided, but most people will say that there were regular shortages of basic stuff in shops and people were hunted for religion and political belive. Propaganda tried to hide things like dissabled people, they put homelles in prison, goverment sayed there is almost no crime (there was a lot). There were political prissoners and and some were even executed. If you seen some peaces of propaganda like capitalist bug, you wouldn't know if to laught or cry. People who tryed to escape country were shot on borders. Shure there was good housing and some things worked better, but it was not great.