>>17892013
>party elites lived pretty good compared to common workers but by American standards they would just be considered modestly middle class.
Yeah. They might have a chauffeur. Perhaps an air conditioning unit in their apartment. But a big thing was access to special stores where they could get stuff that was usually unavailable to most of the population. That would be things like fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter. Or some salmon. Like certain meats or caviar or wine from Georgia.

One thing that Russians didn't seem to lack was vodka.