Party in the USSR

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

It surprises me to hear it, me who have lived for twenty years in the Soviet Union. If there was exchange of services on a barter basis (like moving furniture for a bottle of vodka) that was certainly NOT the modus opreandi of the ECONOMY as a whole.

He's essentially describing Soviet corruption, which was endemic, and the fact that to get anything done you often had to do a favour for someone else, or pay a bribe which might be a "gift" in kind.

All of which goes back to the fact that the "cover" price" of anything in Soviet Russia was less than it actually cost economically.