Of the three Russians I personally know, who live in Canada now, none of them considered Soviet times as happy, let alone very happy. But I imagine this could be colored by the fact that they were teens and young adults in the late 70s and into the 80s as things started to deteriorate. None of them could get a house, nor did they have access to a personal motorized vehicle. Quality clothing was hard to come by and later on, even food.And if you ask any Russian life in the Soviet times was very happy..not that you know any of it even though you have a lot to say…
Could be that life was better in the 50s and 60s. I'm genuinely curious about that time period in Russian history.