I'm very disappointed, though not surprised, at this analysis. I don't fault the author, but rather the inherent bias of the academic fields involved.

I really don't want to be a troll or a know-it-all because both are extremely annoying and I enjoy io9 and Annalee's work, but...

Photos from the 1983 graduates in mathematics at Moscow state university

Looks almost as bleak and depressing as parts of London in the 80's.

And this one, just because it's so adorable.

, including a lot of the Black Sea coast.

A nice autumny shot of the main avenue in Kiev in the 80s, where all the protests are now.

Here's another set, 50's to 80's, including a little 1980 Olympics.

Well, I'm probably not going to scan my actual family photos, but there were a lot of cameras in the USSR even in the 80's.

Oh, for the love of. Yes, the USSR was pretty depressing in that quality of life and access to consumer items was lower than in the west, but this attempt to...exotify that is just weird. Want me to go through the family photos and find the sunny holidays on the beach in Crimea, the bohemian student parties, the…