Was Russia at one time, not a shithole?

Pretty much no.

Even the period between 1815 and 1853, which I'd categorize as both the Tsardom's geopolitical zenith and a Russian cultural renaissance, was still an absolute dumpster fire for anyone not amongst the aristocracy. You'd probably be a medieval serf or living in nightmarish urban poverty, assuming you didn't get chucked into the Balkan meatgrinder against the Ottomans instead.

>Was Russia at one time, not a shithole?
yes, when it was Mongol Rus

it was worse than shithole in that period

Not like in western utopia, amiright partner?

In which country did the poor enjoy tolerable standards of living during that time period—or any time period before the 1950s?

parts of it weren't at times.

but mostly I think Russia has had the problem of being too big for it's own good.

The 1920s were good times for alot of countries

Yes, when it was under Tatar yoke

1950s-1970s was the peak of Russian living standards in relative terms vis-a-vis the West.

I love Russian whataboutisms. Face it, Sasha, your country during its Golden Age was still a fucking shithole.

It went downhill after Ivan the Terrible.

Most Tsars and emperors were either paranoid megalomaniacs or highly incompetent.

St. Petersburg and Moscow have not been shitholes for centuries, other major Russian cities have been well developed and thriving since the USSR as wells as some periods under the empire. However rural Russia is generally a shithole. But to be fair, so is rural america. The coasts in America are great. But take all of Pennsylvania that isnt Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, or all of west virginia, or all of georgia, ohio, etc.

At least in the shithole they know how to wash themself

Russia has the special place in history as always being a sort of a poor place, whereas most other European countries can claim at least a moment as a wealthy nation.

Shithole compared to what? Western Europe?

Maybe Kruschev era then? Economic growth + high life expectancy + lowest level of authoritarianism + pride in status as world power = best time to be a Russian.

lmoa

It didn't emerge there, it was a Norse colony, part of a connected cultural circuit reaching from Byzantium to North America.

>it was a Norse colony
no, it wasn't.

Yeah, sounds about right. Between the Sputnik satellite and the Moon Landings it even seemed like the Soviet Union was "winning" the Cold War for a moment.

w-what happend to spurdo?!

>it was a Norse colony
Wrong!

Mongols never conquered Rus'

Not him but it was actually founded by vikings

Relative to both contemporary European countries and Russia during other historical periods, I'd say the timeframe you described was one of the best eras to be alive in Russia. Yes, it was before the emancipation of the serfs, but you had:
>no major conflicts besides your perennial (and comparatively minor) border war with the Ottoman Empire
>the growth of a bona fide socioeconomic middle class in urban centers
>the emergence of a modern civil society and stable governance
>flourishing literature and arts, the golden age of russian poetry
>political dissidence still largely restricted to being an affair between social elites as opposed to the masses
>profitable economic adventures in the near east and no major famines
Hell, even if you were a serf, this was the time period when you were most likely to be literate and least likely to be slaughtered as part of some random conflict.

>manlets

Russains dont deserve to live, i wish based Charles won!

there is no evidence for it

It fell apart into different principalities after the Mongol invasion of Rus that most paid tribute towards the Golden Horde. The so called Mongol-Tatar Yoke.

But yeah, they were never directly incorporated into the Mongol empire, but Mongol forces could travel freely through their lands and demand tribute wherever they pleased while making their way to the Polish/Hungarian frontlines.

>In which country did the poor enjoy tolerable standards of living during that time period—or any time period before the 1950s?

Compared to Russia? The entire western world.

>Shithole compared to what? Western Europe?

Sure.