Memories of the Polish communist era

In fact as a P.S. I am lead to believe that quite often the people buying the foreign currenecy on the streets and in hotels were government officials who wanted to collect as much foreign currency as possible on behalf of the state.

Although I'm not Michal, I think I can answer because I'm Russian and remember well the late Cummunism in the Soviet Union. Of corse Michal will give his own answer.
In 80 Russians were admired by the West. For them Western Europe was a symbol of wealthy life and justice. Democracy and complete unexistence of everything they hated at home.
After Michal departure in 1984 Gorbachov came to power, communism ruined. Russians in its majority (some 70%) were very enthisiastic toward future union with the West and western influence in democracy and human rights. prowestern candidates to different parlaments gained more than 70-90% if their rivals were prosoviets.
That dissapeared in 90 when living standarts went down and the West violated gentleman agreement concerning NATO non expansion and in general stated that ruined Russia won't be able to oppose/ Russians became antioccidental when they felt the West is isolating them.
But if you visit Russia you won't feel hostility. Today after many years Russia doesn't have inferiority complex that existed all the years I remenber myself (I'm 43)

You also visited Kharkov?

Yes, it was very very hot when I was there. We even went swimming in a lake nearby. We took a night train from Moscow. I think the place was called the Engineering/Economic Institute a long walk from the main square. I would like to go back and see it all again. That would be nice. Nice cheap ice creams, funny really as nothing changes, I still think of nothing else but my stomach!

I would like to come back and see the old places again but it is very expensive. I bought a Russian grammar book for a pound today at the A3 car boot-a very good American publication. Maybe I should try and get back in to all those Russian verbs again but life is to short to waste.

I bought some Georgian wine in a foreign currency store called a 'kashtan'. Took it home and it was dreadful.

Yes Kulak is translated as fist.
But rich peasants as grossbauer in German also canned "fists" or kulaks.
Thet meant that the rich and hard working peasant Fist or Kulak is strong, seems to be agressive in defending his interests as if he shakes his fist at someone. Or he is the man who can keep his farm in his fist, control and strongly protect it.

In communist period kulak became a derrogatory term among communist. They said kulak is a rural capitalist. In 1929-30 kulaks' farms were confiscated and they all were sent to exile. Some to other villages of the same district the lived before, other kulaks to Siberia. Many of their familiars died by hunger. It should be mentioned that very few of opressed kulaks were rich by using worker's labour. The majority of them used the work of their families only. But they worked hard and had more profits. That was their main crime in Soviet Union.
This word came to Poland from Russian.

I asked my wife about kulak today, and she looked at me like I'm a nitwit.

It is probably where the Polish gets its expression trzymaj kciuki za mnie from.

'Kulak' is a Russian word, not Polish. In Polish, it used to be used in the Soviet meaning.

The word is a part of the Soviet hate vocabulary.

Well, so the Polonophobic psychopath 'michal' visited Soviet Russia and today is gloating about it with nostalgia, right here, on the Polish forum? - I wonder what did he do in the CCCP? It was most frequently privileged figures belonging to the commie party or even the murderous secret police, the bezpieka, who visited and praised Soviet Russia.

Visiting it and praising is like visiting and praising Nazi Germany.

I wonder when communism will be condemned in Europe at least as much as hitlerism? After all, communism was a far more murderous system than hitlerism. When will the psychopathic creeps who belonged to commie party be ostracised at least as much as 'the nazis' are? When young cretins wearing T-shirts with 'Che' Guevara, the mass murderer of e.g. children, will be jeered at in the street?

re: I am lead [sic] to believe that quite often the people buying the foreign currenecy on the streets and in hotels were government officials who wanted to collect as much foreign currency as possible on behalf of the state.

- Meaning that the street dealers, so-called koniki, were commie government officials? Any evidence of that?

So the commie government officials didn't have better things to do than swap a bit of currency in the dark places?

Would the practice be characteristic just of the so-called Polish People's Commonwealth, or of other Russian communist entities as well?

Were the guys selling e.g. 'Western' underwear in the Rozycki market in Warsaw also commie officials in disguise?
:)

re: Yes, I know I saw it at first hand on the streets of Kharkow in the Ukraine.

- 'Saw it at first hand' [sic]?

Meaning you did deals there?

As a commie government figure perhaps?

Or the bezpieka member?
:)

just to make it clear:
"konik" is someone who sells tickets (for concerts, sports events) at higher prices than s/he bought them, the word (as the phenomenon) still exists,
a man trading foreign currencies illegally was called "cinkciarz", now it's not in use anymore, since the trade is legal and is done by banks or exchange offices ("kantory")

Krzysztof, you are of course right. Even though where I used to live, the term 'konik' ('horsie' in literal English translation) was used occasonally to describe currency dealers known otherwise as 'cinkciarze.' Both terms are of course slang terms.

I think that the word existed before the Soviet era.

re: I think that the word existed before the Soviet era

- But, quite obviously, its Soviet meaning rather didn't exist before the 'Soviet era.'

"Kulaks" were generally murdered in Soviet Russa/Ukraine etc ,not as stated above,led off to a nice alternative life somewhere else....
Puzzler, as someone with conections to Polish underground workers (1939-1989) I understand your bitterness re communisim but,come on,loose the silly rant....just how many children exactly did Che "mass murder"?Now uncle Joe, he was a mass murdering see you next tuesday,as too was old Felix D...but che,leave it out mate,besides it was only Kennedys(the instigator of the 2nd Vietnam war,1.5mil civilian deaths) that forced the anti faschist revolution in Cuba to turn to the USSr in the first place...
anyhoo,back on topic.
My mate tells me of the choice of icecream in 1980s Warsaw; Red flavour Green flavour or Grey flavour :)
k.

Topic attached on merging:
Ignorant people blaming every misfortune in Poland on the communists

I am sick of peopel blaming every single problem on the Communist oppression.
Poland was 'bida i nedza' before the war and there was no communism in place (that is why there was so much support for socialist parties)

Polish people before the war were hungry for socialism. even before that in the 1700's and 1800's when there were dukes and other noblemen who owned whole villages and had the village-people working for them , it was poor and backwards compared to the rest of Europe.


I hate it when all these people complain about the Communist regime, after all it was just only over 40 years. of course there were hard times such as food shortages, a rationing system and so on .... but so what, there was a much harsher rationing system during Occupied Poland and the time where families were expelled from their homes and driven East or men & women taken into labour camps or onto private farms to work as slave labour for German farmers.


So I will say this one more time; STOP COMPLAING ABOUT THE COMMUNIST TIMES.

Ps: countries like the Czech Rep. (czechoslovakia) or Latvia, Hungary , were also communist and they dont cry about this so much and blame all their misfortune on it , yet they are better off now , and it was the same time when the communism fell (or close enough anyway)

Yes you are right, the Czech Republic and Hugary are economically quite good now. Poland and Romania still struggle because their economies are largely built on agriculture I believe?

even the Russians seem more forwards in some terms and dont b_tch so much about the past when they had the socialist system from 1917-1994 (not sure about dates)
Russia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world due to their huge natural resources and business. Of course the people are poor, but still they are proud and not pusseys and dont cry at every opportunity that they're russian and had a hard time for a long period of communism rule.

If anything, communism didnt really break anything. Only the post-communist state which was filled with corruption and lack of responsibility to the nation.

The Polish have a nasty tendency to blame everybody and anything except themselves. They were not happy in Communism and are not happy now.

Disagree...........of course they complain....the Polish nation has been sh!t on for a long, long time, not due to the people themselves, but their kings, nobility, shafting the 95% underclass, and then poor leadership, then the Germans and until a while ago...the Russians.

Its not so much a history as a running tragedy!

But they now have a chance, to better themsleves, their attitudes, their econmy and their standing in the world.......why not take that chance.

PS This has been debated endlessly on other threads.

Communism was and is a crime against humanity,

No.



Have you ever been in Latvia ?

No, because what Eastern Europe had was not true Communism, it was, as china once said, fascist socialism-mind you, their behaviour is not much better either.

communism 'STINKS' it always has, always will and it's best left in the past..........


It has no place on a 'POLISH FORUM' LOL !!

I notice the originator of this thread has only ever posted in a negative manner about everything else too........

So, this thread needs to go in the WPB !!!!!!!

Again, it was NOT communism!

Here speaketh the WISE MAN of PF....... :( rofl

It was called 'Communism' and it still STINKS !!!!

Why, were you ever there?