A very different style of presentation, but if you want to get a more close-up view of Transdniestria, [this video by bald and bankrupt][1] is worth a watch.
Except there weren't any bars in the Soviet Union, at least not for regular people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teZw4-trPuE If you really want to know about the Soviet Union, watch Ushanka Show.
(And in case you watch this and he says the meat markets are just like the Soviet Union, let's get it out of the way that there wasn't much fresh meat available in the Soviet Union for ordinary people either. But that's another Ushanka Show episode.)
https://www.rbth.com/arts/history/2017/07/28/soviet-hangover...
> Bartender of Gambrinus bar, 1967
> Bars only began opening in the seventies. Even the word "bar" itself was a novelty, and sounded Western to people. These joints tended to be pretty simple inside, serving draft beer, bar snacks, and even American cigarettes if you were lucky. During the anti-alcohol campaign of 1985, bars were allowed to remain open as beer was considered a far less evil than vodka.
Similar situation with meat, often there were shortages of meat, but it's not like people ate meat only rarely in the USSR, as far as I understand.
Soviet Union had bars common people went to?
(Answer: no. My parents lived in the USSR until they were in their mid-30s and _never_ went to a bar. And they had means. Bars simply did not exist for non-Westerners. Beer was sold in the streets and in liquor stores you could get beer/wine/vodka). See the Ushanka show link for confirmation of this, unless Sergei is also a liar.
Soviet Union had grocery stores where you could go and buy fresh cuts of beef?
(Answer: no. Beef in the USSR was usually old milk cows that got slaughtered. People generally didn't eat steaks like they do in The West, because old milk cows aren't good for that. Steaks were unheard of. If you got beef, you made zharkoye. People ate lots of pork. Fun fact: pork is still more expensive than beef in Ukraine). If you wanted fresh, good meat, you had to buy from a vendor directly at a bazaar. Stores had chicken and canned fish.
Source: my life until I was 5, my parents until they were 35, my grandparents until they were in their 60s. Also see Ushanka Show.