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This is a thread about life in the USSR. There is a remarkable degree of nostalgia in Russia today about the Soviet Union. A recent poll suggests that Stalin's popularity is at 70% but even those who recognise Stalin's crimes often hold benign opinions about life after Stalin.
Brezhnev's long rule is associated with relative prosperity and stability. Brezhnev and his "developed socialism" are back in fashion in today's Russia. Of course, few Brezhnev defenders bother to check the archival record. I'd like to address this gap.
Recently I came across a fantastic (and fantastically long) Presidium [Politburo] discussion on the state of the Soviet economy. Dated January 1966, this is an uncensored record of the state of affairs as they appeared from the Kremlin. It reads like an unheeded warning.
The discussion uncovered several key problems. First, the Soviet economic growth was slowing down. In this excerpt Brezhnev is being told that due to the failure to boost labour productivity, both industry & agriculture will have lower growth rates than in the preceding period. 
The situation in the countryside was particularly dire. This bit here discusses the rate of electricity provision in the countryside: 50%. Translation: in 1966, one half of Soviet villagers still lived in the 19th century. 40% of houses had "straw roofs."
As a result, people were leaving the countryside by the hundreds of thousands. But the situation in cities was also not that great. This excerpt discusses provision of running water in cities. Turns out that not all regional centres had access to running water (never mind towns).
BTW, I grew up in such a town without running water. Didn't realise it was a USSR-wide phenomenon. Provision of living space was quite low as well: as low as 4-5 square meters per person. This means 16 square meters for a family of four. Good god!
The real problem in cities was the absence of the service economy. Here, the party stalwarts are discussing introducing dry cleaners and shoe repair shops. "If we do this, the people will say: glory to the party".
Prime Minister Aleksei Kosygin had a bright idea. Given that the Soviet public cafeteria provision was "like in prisons", why not let pensioners organise cafes and restaurants. They don't have anything to do: might as well feed the people.
The Soviet leaders were quite aware of the core problem of the Soviet economy: over-reliance on the export of oil and insufficient computing power. At one point in the discussion, a point was made that the entire Soviet computing power was less than that of General Motors.
And my favourite bit. Already in the mid-1960s, the Soviets realised that their population statistics looked troubling for the future. Thus, the Soviet reproduction rate was *already lower* than in the United States. Before too long, they say, we'll run out of labour force.
So to sum: in the mid-1960s the Soviet leaders realised that things were not going in the right direction and that if the patterns continue, the Soviet economy would crash. Their answer was to introduce material stimulus - in effect, elements of capitalist economy.
For the time-being, they tried to obscure the depth of the crisis. Here, for instance, one attendee of the meeting proposes to blame the domestic failures of the tense international situation. "So that we don't create the impression that we are bad managers."
Have to say, that particular excuse is still popular with the Kremlin.
What bailed the Soviets out in the short term was the increase in the price of oil, which also allowed them to postpone the necessary reforms until the mid-1980s. "We have to do the best we can or we'll keep sliding down this slope and end up in a very difficult situation."
They did end up "in a very difficult situation", which is why the Soviet Union ultimately crashed. Was it a good place to live in? Well, re-read and judge for yourselves.
