Report

It is obvious that collapse of a soviet system leads to a countless number of

circumstances. There were a lot of different transformations in all parts of the
system and, what is more important, these events lead to a varies transformations
in the world perception of Central and Easton Europe society. First and the most, it
was closely connected with consumption and the influence of new competitive
market economy. It was something like a mental shock for people, who used to
live in restrictions and to be content with less, when countless number of foreign
goods gushed into post-Soviet territories. Furthermore, a great flow of information
that incudes Western notions of success, citizenship and life in general and
extremely new life approaches makes people a bit frustrated in new reality. In
GDR it led to the total disenchantment of new regime. People were confused
because they tend to live according to the motto that labor is what separates
humans from animal and the quality of their labor defines their identity. At the
same time in Western consumption culture the appearance usually supreme over
quality that, logically leads to such a frustration of Soviet people’s minds. e same.
It affects people's sense of self-worth to be perceived losers and to be increasingly
relegated to the margins of society in their daily lives. In other words, people lose
access to the criteria that define modern life. And these problems still exist in
modern world. There are some people who still strive to live according to soviet
model and who are proud of being a part of a working class. In contrast with
modern trend of self-trade they prefer to produce goods on a good quality and
realize it. Unfortunately, this kind of people are the minority. The integration of
western cultural interests leads to the destruction of a, so called, working class and
development of the concept of middle class. The problem is, that there was not
such an interlayer in soviet society. The idea of equality always prevails and the
gap between rich and normal people was extremely high. It is another great
contrast between Western and Ester systems. That is why, people have no idea
how to identify a middle class, and, logically, how to identify themselves as a part
of society. Another contrast that appears with a Western integration lies in the
change of mans role and identification in the society. In Russian context we can
talk about new masculinity for men as a social interlayer. In Soviet traditions
Russian men was a breadwinner in his family, strong and rood, but a great support
for a woman. It was suitable for men to work at the factory or doing any hard
work. Today, business is trendy. A new ‘corporate standard’ of hegemonic
masculinity, in which emergent forms of consumption such as mobile technologies
and high-end wristwatches signify men’s control over information, time and social
space. While such features are common to constructions of hegemonic masculinity
in Western countries, contemporary versions of successful masculinity in Russia
also valorize modernity, individuality, novelty and a cultural orientation towards
the West, all of which reflect Russia’s wider attempt to divorce itself from the
Soviet past. Women role also changed. In accordance with western traditions and
standards, women became more independent and masculine in some cases.
Undoubtedly, they are still dependent on men and there is a glass selling for them,
but woman strive to protect their identity and rights to be equal. In contrast with
west, is Russia this process Is only in the beginning of the way.