USSR found water on the moon - in 1976!

[Human No More]

...of course, West Berlin was a 'model' fed by the rest of the USSR simply because of its location, and as such, strategic and symbolic value, much like an inhabited version of North Korea's propaganda village - not representative of general living conditions.

Higher education should never be provided on a quota basis but on a meritocratic basis for those who are able to qualify for and benefit from it. The question of higher education was a dilemma for the USSR - they wanted to say "it's cheap and easy for our people" but didn't want to deal with the result - that it turned intelligent people who might otherwise have just kept their heads down into dissidents who wanted a better life.

Talking about 'Matrixes' and then going on about how ideal the USSR was seems somewhat ironic - by no means was the US/UK/Western Europe perfect, then or now, but they not only survived, but prospered, and let that prosperity be available to the individual rather than Party officials. Perhaps you're thinking wishfully about the USSR.

Ignoring the whole point about resorting to argument form authority since I've said it before and really don't see why it's relevant, I've been to Berlin, to both former West and former East, if you're really interested. Didn't get to speak to people who lived through either, but did visit several related museums, including the one at Checkpoint Charlie. I don't see the relevance though. I'll just add that somewhere people want to live does not need a wall and 'death strip'.