A better answer would have been that one can criticize Nazi Germany for stuff it actually did, like massacre Jews and invade countries, not for fictions such as its oppression of the leprechaun population. Attack the USSR all you want for suppressing the Prague Spring, locking up dissidents and so forth. Accusing it of having pauperized the working class is the stuff of fantasy. Actually the working class was the most priviliged stratum of the population outside the elite.
A while ago we had almost an identical conversation on this list, and I asked my friend Sasha, who is an English-Russian translator who graduated from university in 1981 in Moscow. (Yeah, Peter, Big Sasha.) This is what he said:
"You are right: Your opponents are again mistaken! Working class in the USSR was quite a privileged stratum of the population. The average wage of a factory worker was about 230-250 rubles per month plus they received quarterly bonuses, the so-called "progressivka" (bonus for overfulfillment of the plan) and "vysluga let" (regular extra pay for long service). All combined, a factory worker with over 5 years of service made around 400 rubles per month. Moreover, workers enjoyed huge discounts and even free passes to health resorts, free passes to vacation resorts for their children, etc. However, to be honest, low skilled labor was not paid that well. Cleaners, for example, made around 100 rubles per month, but these were utterly lazy people, mostly alcoholics. For comparison, a university graduate was paid 115 rubles per month and his best prospect was to rise to around 300 rubles per month toward pension. Of course, professors and members of the USSR Academy of Sciences were paid well, but they were few. Doctors and teachers were paid around 150 rubles per month. Furthermore, being a factory worker was a privelege in itself. "I'm a worker" was always pronounced with pride, while "intelligentsia" was often called "spoilt brat"."
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2004/2004-February/002503.html
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com