I remember visiting Romania & Hungary in the mid 2000s. Clay walls, outhouse toilets, chickens walking through living rooms, stamped-dirt roads and lots of trash. It only gets worse the further east you go: Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia.

I think some people just simp for Russia because it's provocative. That's a dumb reason. Not saying everything in Russia is bad - they certainly have a beautiful culture with operas, literature, classical music and breathtaking landscapes. Their economy or suppression of freedom of speech aren't to envy tho.