Sharing a Laugh with Slavenka Drakulić
Sharing a Laugh with Slavenka Drakulić
By: Nathan Peter-Grzeszcak Buhr
Having in-laws that are from Poland that lived in the country during the forty or so years that the communist system was in practice, I have had the chance to hear many stories about how backwards, oppressive, and bleak it was. My mother in law especially is quick to condemn and pass judgment on the corrupt and broken system that she was forced to live under for close to thirty years of her life, before emigrating to the United States. She is adept at comparing the economic, social, and other freedoms that we enjoy in this country to the great lack of such freedoms in communist Poland. The stories told by my parents in law served as a good introduction to the book “How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed” by Slavenka Drakulić. Possessing a literary gift for conveying the day-to-day experience of citizens of the USSR and its Communist satellite states, Drakulić picks up on the small details that made living in the socialist experiment truly unique.
One symbol of modernity and success that Drakulić highlights which brought status to a family in the USSR was a washing machine. In chapter five that is titled “On Doing Laundry” Drakulić tells of a family who purchased a washing machine only to place it in their living room as a sort of shrine to their success. Instead of putting the machine to use the family was just proud to have the item in full view of any houseguests. Eventually the wife comes to the conclusion that the washing machine should be used instead of merely put on display. It is easy to understand a disadvantaged family taking pride in a new item that for others may be an unthinkable luxury, but putting such emphasis on an item that had likely lost its allure to most in the west appears behind the times.
My Polish grandparents through marriage were the first on there block to get a color television. According to their stories the whole neighborhood was invited over to view and marvel at the new TV. This Television, much like the clothes washing machine that Drakulić mentions in chapter 5, likely brought the family much pride from the fact that they were able to afford such a luxury during a financially difficult time. While this sort of competition amongst neighbors to determine who is the most successful and prosperous is nothing new, and could have likely been found occurring throughout the United States during the same time period, the economic conditions in the USSR made the acquisition of such status symbols much harder. One irony of the communist system is that even once a washing machine was purchased and installed, attaining proper washing detergent for the machine was not an easy task. Drakulić interviews Balga who states, “When I find it (detergent), I buy two or three big boxes. You can never be sure when it will appear again. I am doomed to wash by hand”. This irregular supply of goods ultimately broke down the citizen’s confidence in the state and the system that was expected to provide and care for them.
A system so disconnected from the needs of its citizens is only likely to persist through the repression of its people. By not meeting the basic needs of the people this increases the likelihood of an organized revolt against the system. One example that Drakulić devotes a whole chapter to is the absence and scarcity of toilet paper. While not a vital requirement for survival like food, water, or shelter toilet paper is a necessity to retaining a certain level of human dignity for those who see themselves as a part of the "developed world". How were the citizens of the Soviet bloc supposed to feel that they were equal to other modern nations with out a simple and basic personal hygiene item that they had no doubt become accustom to? Toilet paper is not complicated, advanced or cutting edge and most people would not consider it as a sign of modernity, but without it a person is left with the feeling of being distinctly behind the times.
Throughout history challenging the established order or status quo has largely been not tolerated and met with severe punishment. The freedom of speech and ability to share personally views are a relatively new phenomenon. When citizens do choose to speak out in authoritarian oppressive societies it must be done in a nuanced and subtle way. Drakulić shares the requirement of being candid and carefully covering up their true beliefs for writers who wished to publish in the USSR and its satellite states. This would allow the article to pass the censorship of the state, but still provide subtle commentary that the state would likely oppose. Drakulić states, “But we had brought to perfection the social game called “reading between the lines,” so of course it was understood that her article was not about pinball machines, but about privatization of the economy”(Drakulić 1993, 3). Those citizens that knew what to look for in the articles and read them in a critical and interpretive way would likely be able to see the author’s true thesis.
In chapter 19 Drakulić explores the way that ordinary objects that are at the end of their lifecycle are re-used in other ways. For example old stockings, clothes, jars, rubber bands and other used or typically disposable items are repurposed in numerous ways. It is a sign of the times that this resourceful reuse of items is back in vogue. A combination of factors ranging from the economic recession to contemporary environmental movements have been encouraging people in the United States (as well as other "developed countries") to become more aware of the objects that are thrown away or wasted. During times of economic strain, which Drakulić points out were unceasing in the communist countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, individuals and families must make use of all their resources as a matter of survival. In the United States post WWII the abundance of relatively well paying jobs and enduring economic growth has allowed its average citizens to be spend thrifty in comparison to those mostly frugal average citizens of the USSR.
The lack of material goods and possessions in the USSR is one major theme of the book and can easily be measured by a cursory more superficial look while the lack of freedoms and rights is a harder to explain and convey. In Chapter eight, titled “A Chat with my Censor” Drakulić shares her experience of a meeting with an inspector who worked for the state security Police. The inspector mentions that he has something important to ask her and after the time and place has been established the fear, doubt, and anxiety that Drakulić feels begins to build. She starts to attempt to anticipate what the meeting could possibly be about and proceeds to interrogate her own past. The meeting turns out to be a mere formality and Drakulić appears to be more shaken up from the anticipation than the actual meeting. In the words of Drakulić “And then I understood perfectly the significance not only of censorship but of it subtler, deeper variations – autocensorship, internalized in each of us, so that we don’t need to chat with our censor too often, so that we make their job easier” (Drakulić 1993, 80-81). She is showing that the purpose of the meeting was to make her feel threatened and intimidated so that she would think twice about writing or acting in a way to challenge the government. After the meeting with the censor she discovers that the police had listening devices in her editors office. This lack of trust between the citizens and the government in the USSR and its satellite states creates an unfriendly and antagonistic environment that leaves both average citizens and those in positions of power suspicious, fearful, anxious, and conspiratorial.
Drakulić focuses parts of the book on activities and phenomena that are widely regarded to be in the female sphere. The chapters “Make-up and Other Critical Questions”, “On Doing Laundry” and “A Doll That Grew Old” highlight the female experience in the Soviet bloc. For this she is regarded as a Feminist, but her book is not preachy and remains accessible to all audiences. In the chapter “A Letter From The United States” Drakulić recalls using Tampax as a prop in an academic lecture to make a point about the failures of Communism. She goes on to expose the distinct lack of “progress” on “women’s issues” such as abortion, sexual harassment, and reassessment of gender roles in Eastern Europe. Drakulić shares stories of her involvement with newly forms feminist groups in Yugoslavia and Poland, showing how they differed from those in the Unites States. During a time when women’s rights were a foreign concept or just beginning to be explored in Eastern Europe and the Balkins, Drakulić reminds readers how socially and culturally diverse this area is. In this way she warns readers not to make grand generalizations about all women of the Soviet bloc.
After the examples that Drakulić gives in her book it is easy to see how the dystopian situation that the Communist governments created was obviously lacking in comparison to the United States and other "developed countries". Drakulić paints a portrait of a civilization breaking down and failing to meet the basic needs much less the hopes, goals, and dreams of its people. If this was the only political and social system available the citizens may have been more understanding, but there were other countries that were moving forward and providing people with safety, material comfort, and hope for the future. This is not to say that the capitalist system, the antithetical of communism, did not have its problems as well. Elements of mistrust of government, political repression, and unjustified use of power were also present in capitalist systems, but those countries that adopted a more capitalist oriented system were likely to provide more goods, services and freedoms for larger segments of their populations. Between these two systems there are stark contrasts and the benefits of both can be measured. As scholars we can appreciate the lessons that both systems provide and seek to the keep the good and discard the bad. Drakulić has done a fine job of highlighting the bad points of Marxism Leninism and we should thank her for it.
Drakulić, Slavenka. How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
