gunnergoz Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 How much of a following has CM built up the the former SU? Anybody know? I'd think that those lucky few over there with access to PC's and the internet would have by now have heard of our game and it's community. And with the advent of CM2:BTB, there will be even more for them to enjoy. I'd love to hear from anybody from over there by the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imported_Kampfgruppe_Commander Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Yeah, if it's American, of course the entire world has heard of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGMB Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 Soldiers, We hear a whole lot about American stuff up here in Canada (prenounced: Ca-Na-Da ). But I don't knwo to much about the former SU hearing about it. Come on.... repley, don't be shy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 OK, let's have a poll of all users with former Soviet-Union heritage. IE: Not just Russians, which I am proudly a member of, but also Ukranians, Belorussians, Georgians, etc. So far, the current count is 1. Hooray for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I am Canadian, but my great-greats were all born in Ukraine. I am a purebred - just a little geographically challenged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgars Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I'm from former Soviet Union, Latvia to be exact. Greetings from Riga, it's pretty hot here today (what am i doing by the computer?!?). I know there is another guy from Estonia, but he rarely posts here. Is there somebody from Lithuania? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mensch Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I AM CANADIAN.. but, I'm 7th generation Ukrainian (and mixed stuff) but mostly ukrainian. now living in Germ-an-ee oy boysche sweyte! (eye'm huckt ohn fonicks) and no I don't speak the language anymore.. I lost it.. *sniff* [ 06-16-2001: Message edited by: mensch ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miami164 Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 I am not Russian, but I live in central Siberia. I dont' know of too many CM fans in Russia (1 to be exact). Most people could not afford the price tag for a registered copy. I had mine purchased in the States and mailed to me. I believe that I had the first (and maybe only legal) copy of CM in Russia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 16, 2001 Author Share Posted June 16, 2001 Well, there's a few of you out there. I suspect there are others, though, we'll bump this to see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grisha Posted June 16, 2001 Share Posted June 16, 2001 The other thing is that since it isn't distributed through a main distribution chain this game is not too well known in places like Russia. Like Miami164 says, it is too expensive for many Russians, and because it isn't distributed even finding a 'burned' version at the bazaar is a rare find. Awhile ago I asked several of my Russian friends on the internet if they had heard of CM and they all said no (though they play games like CC:Eastern Front), and one even tried to find a copy at the bazaar, but he was unsuccessful. I suspect this game is limited to mostly a western audience. [ 06-16-2001: Message edited by: Grisha ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 16, 2001 Author Share Posted June 16, 2001 Grisha - You may be right, CM is very expensive by their standards. My wife's young nephew in Ukraine works full-time and earns about $7 for the month. My mother in law is a retired physician and her pension is about $15 a month. I don't know how they live... [ 06-16-2001: Message edited by: gunnergoz ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miami164 Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 The Russians do not buy licensed software. In fact, I have never seen any this side of the Urals (East of course). A week after CM was released, I saw my first pirated copy on the streets here. Kind of makes you mad when you know it will be months before you will see your legal copy. It was not sold in great numbers and the people selling it did not really know what it was about. One place had it listed as a "Tank Simulator". As someone stated above, the Russians do not make much money. The started salary for a doctor is $17 and it does not go up much from there. That means that a young doctor would have to work more than 6 months in order to purchase a copy of CM--does not include food. This is why pirating is VERY BIG here. I purchased a new computer here. I installed a licensed version of Windows ME on my machine. The technicial who assembled the computer for said to me when he saw my licensed copy thought that I was "foolish" for spending the money on a licensed copy when I could have purchased a cheaper copy (Like for $3) :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Despite the disgusting state of the economy there, most of the Russians are know are whiz-kids with computers - especially hardware. A friend of my father's who was educated there recently moved to this country with his family. Now holds a job with IBM as a technician, making something like 90 grand a year. Amazing really. If all Russians knew that they could actually "make it" like this instead of starving with a job that would earn them hundreds of thousands in the states, the country would be empty by now. This is strange though - I know a bunch of people on this board can at least speak Russian or are well versed in the language/been to the country. How many of those have we got? Be heard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miami164 Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 The country is emptying. In the past year, I have had 2 friends who have left for jobs in the west making $50000+ a year (They were making around $10 a month). I know several others who are trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Very true. The population is rapidly decreasing, and not because of fatalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Well it's not so much as the low Dollar amount, but the extremely low value of the Rubbel (sp?) isn't it? I mean what's the Prime Minisiter make in a month or year. It's something like $18,000/year isn't it? Not to be offensive or anything, but this is exactly what 80 years of Communisism will do for an economy. Which is funny because Star Trek is basically a communist society in that they don't use money and work to just "better themselves" emotionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Maximus, Yes, the rubel is worth very little. That is why it is almost unused in Russia. If you go into a store, chances are good that you will be able to buy things with dollars. When I was a kid, this used to be the case only for special foreign stores. I dunno what the prime minister makes, but the majority of the money (and there is a lot, actually) is made my various crooked politicians, mafias, smugglers, and lots of other no good bastards who have yet to be rooted out despite the new president's promises. Oh, and I saw the Star Trek episode where they unforze some people from the 20th century and explained to them how society worked in the future. Wouldn't it be wonderful if people could just suddenly become perfect and make a society like that work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapdragon Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 I have two University office mates from Kharkov, and they have played my copy, but wont purchase a copy, and I wont let them copy mine. They liked it, but both said that until a pirated copy gets loose into the wilds of Russian software, they were sticking with the much pirated Steel Panthers. Maybe someday they will spring for a copy and then join the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWB Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 Just a general point, but in most 2nd world countries, the dollar or other hard curriny goes much farther than the local stuff. I knew many a turk who would immediatly cash their paycheks and buy marks, dolllars and swiss francs because those monies held their values. WWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slapdragon Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maximus: Well it's not so much as the low Dollar amount, but the extremely low value of the Rubbel (sp?) isn't it? I mean what's the Prime Minisiter make in a month or year. It's something like $18,000/year isn't it? Not to be offensive or anything, but this is exactly what 80 years of Communisism will do for an economy. Which is funny because Star Trek is basically a communist society in that they don't use money and work to just "better themselves" emotionally.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Totally off subject, but the working to better youself thing was a Rodenberry thing (even though he was a money hound). His feeling was that when transmutters and cheap power comes around, and you just have to shovel stuff in one end and get stuff out the other, capitalism is dead, having served its purpose. That leaves personal fufillment as the only currency. In a way, you see a little of that today. How many people maintain there own websites without pay on some hobby or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skipper Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 > So far, the current count is 1. Hooray for > me! Count is hereby 2. Double hurray! Or is it 3, counting ciks? 2nd generation emigrants do not apply. Only those who were in the Youth Communist League. As it seems, I am the one with most direct and recent experience of living in Russia proper. So, few comments. > I'd think that those lucky few over there > with access to PC's Those lucky 10 million people or so. Sold couple thousand with these wee hands o'mine. > and the internet 1 million subscribers figure was discussed a couple of years ago. Must be some 5 million by now (wild guess). Of course, it is nowhere near IP penetration in the US market, but if my mom (50 y.o. and retired from government job recently) got it this year, you get the picture. > Would have by now have heard of our game > and it's community. I think, several thousand illegal copies were sold. Maybe even several tens of thousands. NB: yours truly bought two licensed copies, but I work in Cyprus -> have no problem to afford it. > And with the advent of CM2:BTB, there will > be even more for them to enjoy. That's for sure. Soviet schoolbooks all but completely discounted the other allies. As a result, there is not much interest in Normandy. > My wife's young nephew in Ukraine works > full-time and earns about $7 for the > month. My mother in law is a retired > physician and her pension is about $15 a > month Ukraine is screwed up real badly. In Russia proper, it is now normal to earn usd 50-100. With local price structure, one can live off this sort of money. It's no thrills living, of course. OTOH, there are lots of cars on streets, and they cost anywhere from 2000 usd (2nd hand Lada VAZ 2105 in a driveable condition) upwards. Ie, it is not quite that simple. In Moscow life is much better than the rest of the country. > but this is exactly what 80 years of > Communisism will do for an economy. Sorry, pal, but do you at all realize what was the state of russian economy in 1921? In 1947? In 1980? I dont think so! 1920-1980 communists have made their own share of strategic mistakes, but the present state of the russian economy is not exactly their fault. On the contrary, the fact that the economy is still running is largely due to their effort and sacrifice (in the form of capital assets, nearly every factory, power plant, pipeline, road etc that is still working was built before 1990). > Which is funny because Star Trek is > basically a communist society But Soviet Union wasn't. > Yes, the rubel is worth very little. That > is why it is almost unused in Russia. If > you go into a store, chances are good that > you will be able to buy things with > dollars. 4 years ago chances already were about 99% that you'd be sent to the nearest currency exchange point (which wouldnt be too far away, anyhow). Paying with dollars is illegal and this law is quite thoroughly enforced. The only reasonable savings instrument for most russians is hard currency, though. > capitalism is dead, having served its > purpose. That leaves personal fufillment > as the only currency. Problem is, the society educates young people in such a way that most of them see no need for personal fulfillment at all, or think that being a milionaire is the ultimate goal. As Grandpa Marx taught, society formations tend to reproduce themselves and never go away without struggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted June 17, 2001 Share Posted June 17, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Maximus: Not to be offensive or anything, but this is exactly what 80 years of Communisism will do for an economy.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You probably meant to say "what 10 years of market economy will do for an economy." Of course, not everyone in Russia has suffered from Boris' reformations. But agreed, communists seem to be very good in increasing inflation (see Italy). But I do recall there was a time when rouble was something like 10 Finnish marks (instead of 1 Finn mark being 100 roubles) and Soviets had nuclear missiles in Cuba. O tempora, o moneta... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 18, 2001 Author Share Posted June 18, 2001 Wow, a very interesting bunch of replies to my inquiry, thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UniversalWolf Posted June 18, 2001 Share Posted June 18, 2001 This is a bit off-topic but I'm curious: how much money do lawyers make in the former Soviet Union these days? BTW, here's a toast to things getting better there in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted June 18, 2001 Share Posted June 18, 2001 UniversalWolf, Certaintly not as much as they do here. Everything there is severely downgraded, money wise, so even people who are extremely bright get only a fraction of what they should be. One must also note that the whole dependance on lawyers seen in the USA for example is not mimicked in the former SU and Russia. People there just don't sue each other quite as much as they do in Western countries. So lawyers arent exactly in the highest of demand there, although it is of course a recognized proffesion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts