For example now USSR is gone, in US labour movement is very weak and people are generally poorer than in 1998. Another good example is Finland. When Finland gained its independence it was one of poorest nations in Europe. After WW2 Finland was still relatively poor nation without industry and technical know-how and fell under influence of Soviet ideology that demanded better life for citizens. Today Finland is ranked close to top on every welfare, health, safety and happiness surveys.
The derelict towns of Karelia might hint a different opinion...
I'm sorry but your assertions are completely false. Finland gained the economical and civil freedom only and because it never was a part of CCCP. When Soviet Union collapsed the border between Finland and Russia projected the biggest gap of existing living standards in the whole world. Before the collapse people in Russia were only happy if they managed to run away from their totalitarist repressors (Berlin wall), all the Soviet products on the market had been of lousy quality, only things Finland ever imported from SU were weapons, energy and some raw materials. Soviet Union, yes, supported peace movements all over the world like it did promote workers rights, but in Soviet Union there was no talk of disarmament nor a possibility for a worker to go on strike.
Soviet influence on Finland was largely negative, all its interests were in supporting the extreme lefties, who hardly ever held important minister posts. Finnish workers mostly voted the Social Democrats, who had been the most popular party before the ww2, and they were the biggest party after the ww2 as well. The prominent leaders of SDP had been Väinö Tanner and later on Mauno Koivisto - both determate anti-Communists. And of course the longest presiding front figure of the state Urho K. Kekkonen, was of central party - anti-communist as well.
Finland was also about the get a UN Secretary General, Max Jacobsson, elected - but the Soviets of course vetoed it.
The most important influences to Finland came from Sweden and Scandinavia in general. That Swedes and Norwegians, even Icelanders, also rose in their living stadards is very difficult to explain as some Soviet influence.
I can go on...
Another example of the same phenomenon is the case of North Korea and South Korea. That would be another story, but here's an old television commercial that became symbolical for the collapse of Soviet Estonia:
[video=youtube;8Lh9IDb2_x8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lh9IDb2_x8[/video]
In Soviet Estonia people were staring mostly empty shelves while queying to buy necessities, there hardly even were open markets! Black markets there were, however. And this commercial was of course just 'capitalist propaganda'.