What was the German view on the life of the average citizen in the Soviet Union?

I just heard a podcast in which an east German was talking about how the general view was that the Russians were backwards in terms of standard of life. What stopped the Germans from resenting their government for being communists if the average Russian didn't have what they had?<br><br>I will also be honest and say that I have no experience with life in Eastern Europe, and my view of life in the Soviet Union is shaped by western media.