Yeah, if they're willing to learn Russian again, they must be desperate. I only mention this because when I lived in Romania (early sixties) everyone chafed at having to learn Russian (starting in 5th grade); this was just an obstacle to their desire to steer westward toward French and English. (Also when Kagarlitsky was visiting in the bay area, he spoke at length about the desperation of just about everyone (especially the Modovans) to enjoy the high living standards of Moscow.
One of the consequences of censorship in eastern europe was everyone's belief in the riches of the west. Several people told me with great certitude that if they could just manage to get to the west, they would be given a house, a car, and a job. Nothing I could say could dissuade them. I'm sure that at the beginning of the soviet dissolution, there were a lot of people who thought that allegiance to the free market would get them American-style capitalism goodies. Because, after all, as we all know, capitalism is the capitalism of the U.S. and western europe; it is not the capitalism of Haiti, Chile, and Indonesia.
But the U.S. and western europe had different plans for eastern europe and the former soviet union. Funny that! And their plans looked a lot more like turning those regions into the Mexico of Europe: cheap, skilled labor; oil, etc....with, of course, the requisite little goodies for the bankers and the bosses ...and for the rest? What else but a little spine-straightening austerity. (Hitler was more honest; he said "slave camps" and he meant "slave camps.")
What do you think are the chances for the reunification of a socialist federation east of Germany?
Joanna