we were all taught that the old Soviet Union had little concern for human life. There's ample evidence they didn't, such as starving to death millions in the Ukraine and their insane military tactics during the "Great Patriotic War". However, they also make some very good ejection seats for their fighter planes and their launch escape systems for the Soyuz capsules works rather well. Both systems have demonstrated their capabilities in rather dramatic fashion, like the Mig-29 crashes at European airshows several years ago. I don't know if an American or British pilot would've been able to successfully punch out under those conditions.

"A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic." -- Joe Stalin