,
5 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
I visited Russia a few years after Bernie did. I saw Bolshoi Ballet in Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It was gorgeous! So was the metro station. I also saw Vladimir Lenin's embalmed body in Red Square (yes they still have his body, the real one, on display). That was creepy! ... 1/
Then I saw something else which reminded me how 'great' Soviet Union was before the Berlin wall came down. It was a beautiful restaurant in one corner of the Red Square, which I was told was the most endearing restaurant for all Russians. 2/
People could always get a warm meal there, even if they had to wait in long lines for hours. It was not easy to get a meal in Moscow apparently during the late years of the Cold War, no matter how much money you had, because there just wasn't enough food to go around. 3/
The restaurant was painted red and it had beautiful golden arches. Yes indeed, it was a beautiful McDonald's -- apparently the best restaurant in Moscow during late 1980's. You didn't have to be 'connected' to eat there. Whole families could eat there without fear or favor. 4/x
Incidentally, I went to Moscow (and to Saint Petersburg) after the wall came down, on a business trip. I was invited to give a talk to a conference of bankers on the "Future of Money."
