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“Razil Damirovich, what is that large piece of glass standing there? The plant director glanced in the direction of the block. A smirk came over his face as he walked over and lightly caressed the smooth surface. His eyes betrayed a hint of nostalgia when he turned back to look at me. “This,â€� he said, “â€� this block is a reminder of from where we have come. This block is what we used to make to satisfy the annual output quotas from the central ministry in Moscow.â€� The look of confusion on my face must have been unmistakable. “The chinovniki (bureaucrats) in Moscow would give us a target for how many kilos of glass we needed to produce each year following the Five-Year Plan. There was no concern about the quality of the glass or whether the glass met certain specifications. Therefore, when we found ourselves behind the plan, we would simply make large glass blocks, like this, useless to anyone, but it counted against our quota.”
― Kenneth Maher, Wind of Change: An American Journey in Post-Soviet Russia

“That is what I find so wonderful, that not a day goes by....hardly a day, without some addition to one's knowledge however trifling, the addition I mean, provided one takes the pains.”
― Samuel Beckett, Happy Days

“The old rules no longer applied but new ones were not yet clearly defined, leaving those with authority or power to determine what was acceptable.”
― Kenneth Maher, Wind of Change: An American Journey in Post-Soviet Russia