The truth about the standard of living of the USSR. The standard of living in Russia against the countries of the former USSR and the NEW The current level of the US economy

Lots of letters!
Since a person's brains have been beaten off by propaganda, he considered it useful to return to the topic.

Before comparing, I would like to note one extremely significant circumstance that the elves are not able to comprehend categorically. The USSR only as a result of the German attack lost in 1941-1945 about a third of the national wealth. In material terms, this is the following:
The regions of the USSR that were under temporary occupation, on the eve of the Patriotic War, occupied a significant share in relation to the entire territory of the USSR: in the population - 45%, in the gross industrial output - 33, in the sown area - 47, in the number of livestock (in terms of large livestock) - 45 and in the length of railway tracks - 55%.

The Nazi invaders and their accomplices burned down and destroyed 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70,000 villages, 1.5 million buildings and structures were completely or partially destroyed. About 25 million people lost their shelter.

Also destroyed and destroyed 31,850 industrial enterprises (of which machine-building and metallurgical enterprises played a particularly important role, giving up to 60% of the gross pre-war product), not counting small enterprises and workshops, 1,876 state farms, 2,890 machine and tractor stations, 98,000 collective farms , 216,700 shops, canteens, restaurants, and other commercial enterprises; 4,100 railway stations; rest homes, 82,000 primary and secondary schools, 1,520 special educational institutions - technical schools, 334 higher educational institutions, 605 research institutes and other scientific institutions, 427 museums, 43,000 public libraries and 167 theaters.

Destroyed, destroyed or stolen by the German invaders and their accomplices on the territory of the USSR, subjected to occupation, 175 thousand machine tools, 34 thousand hammers and presses, 2,700 cutters, 15 thousand jackhammers, 5 million kilowatts of power plant capacity, 62 blast furnaces , 213 open-hearth furnaces, 45 thousand looms and 3 million spinning spindles. Material damage was inflicted on the most valuable fixed industrial assets of the USSR.

Of the 122,000 km of railway track that was occupied on the territory of the USSR before the war, 65,000 km were destroyed and looted by the invaders. 15,800 locomotives and 428,000 wagons were damaged. The occupiers destroyed, sank and seized 4,280 passenger, cargo and towing steamers of river transport and vessels of the technical auxiliary fleet and 4,029 non-self-propelled vessels. Of the 26,000 railway bridges, 13,000 were destroyed. All 2,078,000 km of telegraph and telephone communication lines in the occupied regions of the USSR were destroyed or stolen by the German occupiers.

The housing stock of the population of the USSR was subjected to barbaric destruction by means of explosions and arson. Of the 2,567 thousand residential buildings in the cities of the USSR that were occupied, 1,209 thousand houses were destroyed and destroyed, and in terms of living space, this number of houses accounted for over 50% of the entire urban living space of these cities. Of the 12 million residential buildings of the rural population of the regions of the USSR that were occupied, 3.5 million residential buildings were destroyed and destroyed by the German occupiers.
There was nothing close in the USA. On the contrary, due to the war, the United States doubled its GDP.

It is clear that in the inflamed brain of the elves, these losses should have been restored by themselves and immediately. However, it’s necessary: ​​24 years have passed since the beginning of perestroika, and the country has not restored even the level of 1985 in terms of a single vital indicator ...
Therefore, when we take the year 1980 of the USSR as a base of comparison, it should be remembered that 35 years have passed since the end of the war in this year - only ten years more than since the beginning of "outstanding democratic transformations."

The second point that should be kept in mind is the difference in the structure of incomes in the USSR and the USA.

Based on this distribution, the median annual income of an American household today is about $50,000.
We see, however, that this distribution has two pronounced humps: the "lower class" with incomes below 100,000 and the "upper class" with incomes over 100,000. The "upper class" makes up approximately 13% of the population. The distribution of income in the USSR had a different character: there was no “upper class” in the USSR in terms of size, and the proportion of high-income families decreased evenly and rapidly.

Meanwhile, the presence of a fairly massive "upper class" in the United States significantly distorts the idea of ​​the real standard of living in the United States. First, this class is more visible to tourists who rarely visit relatively poorer areas. It is this middle class that has the most “noticeable” housing and cars, and, most importantly, people of approximately the same stratum who in the USSR relatively often traveled abroad fall into this class, but due to the absence of such a stratum in the USSR, their income was rather comparable to the income of the middle-lower class in the United States. This specificity is emphasized by the huge difference in the decile ratio (the relative income of the richest 10% to the poorest 10%) of the USA and the USSR.

With this circumstance in mind, it would be more correct to compare the standard of living of a Soviet middle-income family with the standard of living of an American middle-income family. It is easy to recalculate that the average annual household income, after subtracting the "top peak" of the distribution, in the United States does not actually exceed $40,000.

It is with this figure that we must compare the standard of living of the average Soviet family, which in 1980 received, as you know, with two workers about 340 rubles a month (the average salary is 170 rubles per month for a worker), or, exactly, about 4,000 rubles in year. That is, at face value in 2007-2008, the income of the average American family, expressed in dollars, is exactly 10 times more than the nominal income of the average Soviet family in 1980.

This nominal comparison, however, must be supplemented by an analysis of the comparative real purchasing power of the modern dollar and the 1980 Soviet ruble, precisely in terms of household consumption.
Comparison of domestic purchasing power of the ruble and the dollar.

Compulsory spending and their shares in consumption.

The most important component of the comparison is mandatory spending, which cannot be eliminated or significantly reduced. I classify mandatory spending into four categories of expenses:

1. Housing expenses

2. Compulsory transport costs

3. Food expenses

4. Clothes expenses

The first three categories are the most easily comparable, since they do not depend on climate and are "everyday". Expenditures on clothing are close to those on durable items, since despite the relatively high “one-off” price, clothing is spent for a long time and its weight in everyday expenses is relatively small.

This also applies to goods such as televisions or furniture: their relatively high one-time price is spread over long periods of time - the depreciation time, which for televisions, for example, is calculated in years, and for furniture, decades. Therefore, we will confine ourselves to comparing just the basic, everyday costs that make up the lion's share of mandatory consumption.

Housing

The price of housing in the USSR. 1980 Rental.

1. The price of rent for a standard two-room "state" apartment in Moscow was 12.5 rubles per month.

2. The price of the phone is 4 rubles. per month.

3. The average price of electricity is 0.02 rubles. per kilowatt hour

4. Gas - unlimited use - 2 rubles per month

5. Heating - 2 rubles per month.

The price of housing in the USA. year 2009. Rent.

1. The price of renting a “1-bedroom” apartment is at least $700 outside major cities. The popular site www.realtor.com for Alexandria (a suburb of Washington) lists a $900 minimum price for a 590 sq. ft. (less than 50 sq. meters) apartment. In the sub-$1,000 range, only 15 offers were found for approximately one million suburbs.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Alexandria_VA/beds-1/baths-1/price-na-1000/type-rentals?sby=1

2. The price of a landline phone is $36 per month

3. Price of water - $30-50 depending on consumption

4. The price of electricity - the average for the US - $ 0.11 per kilowatt-hour

5. Gas - depends on consumption. Personally, however, I paid $360 for a house in the winter for 3 months, that is, about $120 a month. In fact, this is also the price of heating and hot water.
Housing conversion factor:

The total cost of housing in the USSR for a two-room apartment is about 25 rubles per month.

The total cost of housing in the US for an equivalent "1-bedroom" apartment is about $1,000 per month.

Thus, the conversion factor: 1000:25=40. That is, for housing, the purchasing power of the Soviet ruble is approximately 40 modern dollars.

Transport.

The need to consider transport as a mandatory expense is related to a simple fact: in order to receive income, you need to at least get to work.
Here again we are faced with a fundamentally different structure of consumption.

In the United States, public transport, with the exception of large cities, is practically non-existent. Whereas work is often removed from the place of residence not a dozen, but even tens of miles. Therefore, we turn first to the comparison of transport costs in large cities.

Moscow 1980. The price of a single travel card in Moscow was 3 rubles per month for all types of transport.

New York 2009. There is no trolleybus or tram transport in New York. Bus routes are limited to delivering passengers to metro stations. As far as I know, there are no routes independent of the metro. The price of a monthly pass for the metro and bus is $80.

The average car mileage in the US is estimated at 12.5 thousand miles per year.
Almost complete depreciation of the car is carried out upon reaching approximately 100-120 thousand miles. That is, we can assume that the cost of a car is depreciated over about 10 years. Based on an average car price of $20,000, the depreciation cost is $2,000 per year. To this price should be added the price of gasoline. With fuel consumption a gallon per 30 miles (highway), which is typical for 4-cylinder cars of the middle and lower classes, the annual consumption of gasoline is 12,500:30 = 416 gallons of gasoline. At $2 per gallon, the annual cost is $832. In total, the monthly expense for depreciation and gasoline is $ 236, to which must be added the mandatory insurance, driving without which is punishable by law. The price of the minimum insurance (one-way - that is, covering the costs of only the other party) is $60 per month. In total, the minimum transportation cost per person in the case of using a car is approximately $300 per month.

Transport conversion factor:

Thus, the "transport purchasing power" of the Soviet ruble is about 30 to 100 times higher than the purchasing power of the modern dollar.

Nutrition.

Nutritional comparisons are more difficult due to significantly different eating styles. Two types of comparison are possible: by the price of a lunch in the catering of the USSR with mass chains in the USA and by the most common products.

A single meal in the cheapest US mass network McDonald's in the form of a sandwich with salad, cutlet, fried french fries and a glass of "soda", that is, carbonated water, is $ 6-7.

A single meal of three courses: borscht, meat in a pot and salad, plus a glass of coffee or tea, cost 0.60 rubles in an average Soviet canteen. The minimum price of a full meal: soup, cutlet with mashed potatoes or buckwheat porridge - 0.32 rubles.

Big Mac ratio: Thus, the Big Mac ratio was: one Soviet ruble to 10-20 modern US dollars.

The second possible way of comparison is by the price of individual products.

Potato coefficient: The price of potatoes in the USSR in 1980 was 0.1 ruble. The price of potatoes in the US in 2008 is $0.5-0.9 per pound, or $1-2 per kg. The coefficient for potatoes is 10-20.

Meat ratio. Since in some years in the USSR there was a shortage of meat at half the store price, but meat was always priced at 4-6 rubles per kg on the market against $ 8-15 per kilogram in the USA today, the coefficient for meat can be estimated with a guarantee as 2-4 (two to four modern dollars for 1 Soviet ruble)

Bread ratio. The price of a loaf of white bread weighing 450 grams in the USSR was 0.13 rubles. The price of an equivalent loaf of bread in the US today is $1.5-3. The conversion factor is thus 10-20

The third way of recalculation is by the cost of food per family per month.

Our family consistently spent 60 rubles a month on food for a person (180 rubles for three)

An American family of three spends about 800-900 dollars on food - that is, 250-300 dollars per person. Accordingly, according to this criterion, it can be considered that 1 Soviet ruble was equal to approximately 5 modern US dollars.

Cloth.

The ratio of the purchasing power of the Soviet ruble for clothing is also very complex. However, in the main areas, you can see that the conversion factor for shoes is approximately 3-4 - that is, one Soviet ruble - 3-4 modern dollars (for shoes of comparable quality), with the exception of women's boots, where the same coefficient is again 10 (the price of women's winter boots in the USA is 500-700 dollars)

At the same time, for a number of types of clothing - men's coats, jackets, suits, the quality is about 3-4.

Conclusions.

Thus, the purchasing power of the Soviet ruble for various types of goods and services ranges from 3-4 to 100 modern dollars per Soviet ruble.

Given the different weights of different types of consumption, it can be calculated that the Soviet ruble of 1980 is on average equal to 10 modern American dollars and, therefore, the life of an American today, BUT NOT INCLUDED IN THE HIGHEST INCOME GROUP, is comparable in quality to the life of an average resident of the USSR in 1980.

Thus, the apparent difference between the standard of living in the USA and the USSR is connected solely with the unjustified comparison of the life of the AVERAGE SOVIET PERSON WITH THE STANDARD OF LIVING OF AMERICANS IN THE HIGH INCOME GROUP AND WITH THE DIFFERENCE OF PAY PRIORITIES, because people with higher education in the USSR were not necessarily included in the higher Soviet income group (so, for example, the average salary in science in 1980 was in fourth place after the construction of transport and industry), while in the United States the highest income group is largely made up of people with higher education.

In other words, workers in the USSR lived NO WORSE, if not better, than similar workers in the United States, while the intelligentsia in the USSR, unlike the United States, did not fall into the highest income group.

In fairness, it should be noted that this state of affairs is another "achievement" of Khrushchev and Brezhnev. So, under Stalin, even during the war, the average salary of engineers was 2.6 times higher than the salary of workers, and the salaries of teaching staff were up to 6-7 times higher. Stalin's attitude towards the intelligentsia can be judged by the academic and professorial dachas on Sokolina Gora, in Mozzhinka, in Serebryany Bor, in Peredelkino, on Klyazma and other similar places, the price of which today reaches MILLIONS OF DOLLARS - which no American professors ever dreamed of.

This is the real, not elven, reality.

This does not mean that there were no problems in the USSR. But the course of perestroika itself showed that they were minimal. For the notorious deficit today owing to the increase in prices in the Russian Federation has disappeared, despite the fact that people's consumption has decreased in absolutely all respects, and, for example, in meat - by almost half. Except maybe cars.

Behind the obviousness of the data presented, no one, except for comrades who did not understand anything, dared to refute them. The only housing-related addition that needs to be made is the following. Two people made the following statement: in the United States, “the majority of the population owns houses,” and young people do not live with their parents.

According to the first thesis, I want to recall the well-known statement of F. Engels: "If a shoe brush is classified as a mammal, its mammary glands will not grow from this."

Why? - Yes, because there are very few homeowners in the United States. More precisely, it is believed that 66% "own" houses (the rest still rent housing). In fact, they don't own anything. The vast majority of them “bought” houses on credit, on a mortgage. That is, in fact, the BANKS own the houses, from which the American owners have rented money. In reality, the loan costs about 7-8% of the value of the house and is taken for a period of 30 years. This means that during the loan repayment, a person pays another two or two and a half to the bank for every dollar taken. That is, 2/3 of his payments are net rent. At the same time, there are two additional circumstances: the first and very significant is that since the "tenant of money" is called the "owner of housing", he, unlike the tenant of housing, is fully responsible for the condition of the house. The roof leaked - his responsibility, the toilet bowl broke - the same. When renting, the price of this is included in the rental price. Here, it is simply paid in a different way as it is received, more precisely, as a rule, in the form of insurance, which is paid to the insurance company. This is a premium to the real owner of housing - the bank - which, thereby, relieves itself of all worries about the safety of its housing.

The second feature is that loan payments are distributed in a very special way. For the first five years, the “tenant of money” pays the bank only and exclusively interest. Absolutely everything goes to repay those very 2/3 of the amount that the bank should receive in the form of a premium. Only after five years, some, minimal, deductions towards the main part of the loan begin, and only at the end of the term, the main payments go to repay the loan. What does this mean? - This means that for the first five years a person is ONLY AND EXCLUSIVELY A TENANT OF HOUSING AT THE BANK with the responsibility assigned to him to monitor his condition.

And the funny thing is that these five years are just about the average time to own a given house. Usually, the average American is forced to move to a new place of residence due to a job change in five to seven years. As a result, this is exactly the same lease, only in the "profile".
There is an important third circumstance: What as a result - if the loan is fully repaid - remains in the hands of the owner? - Answer: the owner is left with an almost completely depreciated house, subject to at least a major overhaul, the cost of which is comparable to the cost of new housing.

In other words, "home ownership" is practically pure wiring.

As, by the way, and owning a car, a loan for which is issued for five years. At the same time, over five years, the car is depreciated by at least 75% with medium-high mileage.

It is clear that the proud name "owner" caresses the soul, but has practically nothing to do with reality.

The second remark is, of course, the notorious deficit that was in the USSR and which is not in the USA.
Although this is essentially incorrect, since in 1980 products, and everything else, could be completely freely bought on the market, but people DID NOT WANT this, since they were looking for everything in stores at a state-appointed, and not market price, there are more important misunderstanding of this issue.
Namely: a shortage on store shelves is inconvenient, but does not mean POVERTY in the sense of low consumption. On the contrary, full counters are comfortable, but do not mean wealth at all.

The real measure is the actual consumption, not the type of shelves.

So: for all the main types of products (with the possible exception of cars), primarily for the quality of food, consumption in NEW RUSSIA has fallen in comparison with the USSR. Even the reformers do not deny this. And this means that DE FACTO today the people in Russia - with full regiments - are poorer than they were under the USSR in conditions of shortage. The absolute maximum consumption was reached in 1985.

This is no excuse for scarcity, of course. But, this is a clear indication that scarcity and wealth - that is, the standard of living - are things that lie on qualitatively different planes.

This applies not only to the comparison of the USSR and the Russian Federation, but also to the comparison of the USA and the USSR. Full shelves in the US do not mean at all that the level of consumption of the bulk of the US population is higher than that of the bulk in the USSR in 1980.

An attempt to present the matter in such a way that the deficit, they say, is evidence of poverty, and the absence of a deficit = a high standard of living is just as deceitful as the assertion that mortgage tenants are its real owners.

The third type of comment is most interesting: well, you proved that in terms of satisfaction of basic needs, we see that the average resident of the USSR lived at least as well as the average resident of the United States (with the exception of the "upper class"), but the standard of living in many respects it is defined just by "luxury". The fact that a person can afford beyond basic needs.

As we have seen, taking into account proportionality in basic costs, the average income per family of a Soviet person in 1980 is approximately equal to the income of an average American in 2008 (if the American "upper class" is excluded from consideration). Consequently, “free balances are also approximately proportional and one can directly compare the conversion factors for individual forms of application of this balance.

And here we are faced with such striking differences in the structure of consumption that only one conclusion can be drawn: in all areas of the free development of man - and these are circles for children, theaters, conservatories, cinema, books, recreation, the ruble was almost infinitely more significant than the dollar.

For example, it is absolutely impossible to compare absolutely free and exceptionally high-quality Soviet higher education with paid and very expensive higher education in the USA, which is actually a master's level. How many times is the ruble higher than the dollar in the field of higher education, if a year at a very average university in the USA costs $30,000 (the course is 150,000), at prestigious universities it costs 60,000 and more (the course is $250,000-300,000) - and this does not include housing costs , whereas education in Soviet universities was not only free, but a scholarship of 40-45 rubles was also issued and a place in a hostel cost about 3-5 rubles a month?

How can children's education be compared if a week-long specialized summer camp, say, with "advanced mathematics" costs an American about $ 1,000, while annual classes in any circle or any number of circles in the Houses (Palace) of Pioneers, in the Houses of Culture did not cost at all nothing?

Circulations of popular books in the USSR numbered in the hundreds of thousands, which exceeds typical circulations in the United States by dozens of times. Nevertheless, in the USSR in the 1980s there was a shortage of fiction. The reason for the shortage was the fabulously low prices of books. A rare book cost more than 2 rubles. In the US, the price of similar quality books is tens of dollars.

With scientific and technical literature, which was in great abundance in the USSR - both domestic and translated, the coefficient is even higher. If in the USSR the price of such books rarely exceeded 3 rubles (the main price range is 1.50-2.50), literature of a similar class in the USA costs tens and often hundreds of dollars.
In other words, everything related to HUMAN SELF-IMPROVEMENT in the USSR was DOZENS, if not hundreds of times cheaper and, therefore, more accessible.

Moral: Coefficient of at least 20.

But there is an objective point, according to which the USSR was definitely “losing” to the USA in terms of the coefficient - these are items ... let's say, not essential.

Here, it looks like the conversion factor is about 1-2: one 1980 Soviet ruble is about 1-2 modern dollars in this part. Approximately the same coefficient, according to my observations, is fair in relation to some types of clothing and footwear. In other words, non-primary necessities cost the Soviet person five to ten times more in relation to their salary than they cost the modern American.

Given the inflation of the dollar over the past 30 years, it is likely that 1 dollar in 1980 in terms of purchasing power in terms of this category of consumption really equaled 4-5 rubles of the same 1980, which approximately corresponds to the black market price of that time.

But such a course was determined solely by the fact that the interests of citizens traveling abroad were focused exclusively on this group of goods - they did not have to rent apartments, and service cars, etc.
As a result, it led to an "optical illusion" regarding the real value of the ruble in the full range of consumption. Even the fact that, TO SAVING money, Soviet citizens brought FOOD with them to the West, which directly testified to its significantly lower cost in the USSR, could not change this absolutely false impression, which citizens of the orange orientation of illiteracy have survived to this day.

General conclusion:

The development of a personality in the USSR cost one and a half to two orders of magnitude cheaper than the development of a personality in the USA today, while "materialism" - that is, facultative consumption - in the USA costs five to 10 times cheaper in terms of income than it cost the inhabitants of the USSR.

IN OTHER WORDS: TO BE IN THE USSR WAS 50-100 TIMES CHEAPER THAN IN THE USA TODAY. TO HAVE (over consume) TODAY IS 5-10 TIMES CHEAPER IN THE USA THAN IN THE USSR IN 1980.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, EVERYONE CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF.

The USSR and the USA are two world superpowers that competed for supremacy in everything from the post-war period to the early 90s of the last century. A very important aspect of this struggle was the economy. Particularly great importance was given to the GDP of the USSR and the USA. Comparison of these indicators was quite a powerful tool in the propaganda of both countries. But at the same time, with the help of these economic data, we can now, through the veil of past years, restore the real state of affairs in the countries under study. So, what was the GDP of the USSR and the USA during the period of their rivalry?

The concept of gross product

But before analyzing the GDP of the USSR and the USA, let's find out what this concept is in general and what types of it exist.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the value of all goods and services produced in a particular state or region. If we divide the total GDP by the average population of the territory to which it belongs, then we get the gross product per capita.

The indicators can be divided into two large groups: nominal and purchasing power parity. The nominal is expressed in the national currency, or in terms of the currency of any other country at the established rate. When calculating GDP at parity, the ratio of currencies to each other in terms of purchasing power for a specific type of goods or services is taken into account.

Comparison of economic indicators before World War II

Although the main peak of rivalry between the USSR and the USA falls on the period after World War II, for the sake of completeness, it would be useful to look at how their GDP changed in the first half of the 20th century.

The pre-war period was quite difficult both for the economy of the USSR and for V. At that time, the country was being restored after the Civil War, which resulted in two strong famine periods in 1922 and 1932-1933, and the United States in 1929-1932 experienced a period its history, known as the Great Depression.

Most of all, the economy of the country of the Soviets sank in relation to the US GDP immediately after the Civil War in 1922. Back then, domestic GDP was only about 13% of that of the United States. But, in the following years, the USSR began to rapidly reduce the backlog. By the pre-war 1940, the GDP of the USSR was equal to $417 billion in terms of the American currency, which was already 44% of the US figure. That is, the Americans at that time had a gross domestic product of about $950 billion.

But the outbreak of war hit the economy of the USSR much more painfully than the American one. This was due to the fact that the fighting took place directly on the territory of the Soviet Union, and the United States fought only abroad. By the end of World War II, the USSR's GDP was only about 17% of the US gross domestic product. But, again, after the restoration of production began, the gap between the economies of the two states began to rapidly decrease.

Comparison of GDP 1950-1970

In 1950, the share of the USSR in world GDP was 9.6%. This amounted to 35% of US GDP, which is even lower than the pre-war level, but, nevertheless, much higher than the figure for the first post-war year.

In subsequent years, the difference in the size of the gross products of the two superpowers, which by that time were the USSR and the USA, was increasingly reduced, although not at such a rapid pace as before. By 1970, the Soviet GDP was about 40% of that of the United States, which was already quite impressive.

USSR GDP after 1970

Most of all, we are interested in the state of the economy of the USSR and the USA after 1970 until the end, when the rivalry between them reached its maximum. Therefore, for this period, we consider the GDP of the USSR by years. Then we will do the same with the gross domestic product of the United States. Well, in the final stage, we compare these results.

USSR GDP for 1970 - 1990 in million dollars:

• 1970 - 433,400;
• 1971 - 455,600;
• 1972 - 515,800;
• 1973 - 617,800;
• 1974 - 616,600;
• 1975 - 686,000;
• 1976 - 688,500;
• 1977 - 738,400;
• 1978 - 840,100;
• 1979 - 901,600;
• 1980 - 940,000;
• 1981 - 906,900;
• 1982 - 959,900;
• 1983 - 993,000;
• 1984 - 938,300;
• 1985 - 914 100;
• 1986 - 946,900;
• 1987 - 888,300;
• 1988 - 866,900;
• 1989 - 862,000;
• 1990 - 778,400.

As you can see, in 1970 the gross domestic product in the USSR was 433,400 million dollars. Until 1973, it rose to 617,800 million dollars. The following year there was a slight drop, and then growth resumed again. In 1980, GDP reached the level of 940,000 million dollars, but the next year there was a significant drop - 906,900 million dollars. This situation was associated with a sharp drop in world oil prices. But, we must pay tribute to the fact that already in 1982, GDP resumed growth. In 1983, it reached its maximum - 993,000 million dollars. This is the largest value of the gross domestic product for the entire existence of the Soviet Union.

But in subsequent years, an almost continuous decline began, which clearly characterized the state of the USSR economy of that period. The only episode of short-term growth was observed in 1986. The GDP of the USSR in 1990 was $778,400 million. It was the seventh largest result in the world, and the total share of the Soviet Union in the world's gross product was 3.4%. Thus, if compared with 1970, the gross product increased by $345,000 million, but at the same time, starting from 1982, it fell by $559,600 million.

But here you need to take into account one more detail, the dollar, like any currency, is subject to inflation. Therefore, $778,400 million in 1990, converted to 1970 prices, will be equal to $1,092 million. As we can see, in this case, from 1970 to 1990, we will observe an increase in GDP in the amount of $658,600 million.

We considered this value, if we talk about GDP at purchasing power parity, then in 1990 it amounted to 1971.5 billion dollars.

The value of the gross product for individual republics

Now let's take a look at how much the GDP of the USSR in the republics was in 1990, or rather, how much, in percentage terms, each subject of the Union put into the common piggy bank of gross income.

Naturally, the richest and most populous republic, the RSFSR, brought more than half into the common pot. Its share was 60.33%. Then followed the second most populous and the third largest republic - Ukraine. The gross domestic product of this subject of the USSR was 17.8% of the all-Union. In third place is the second largest republic - Kazakhstan (6.8%).

Other republics had the following indicators:

• Belarus - 2.7%.
• Uzbekistan - 2%.
• Azerbaijan - 1.9%.
• Lithuania - 1.7%.
• Georgia - 1.2%.
• Turkmenistan - 1%.
• Latvia - 1%.
• Estonia - 0.7%.
• Moldova - 0.7%.
• Tajikistan - 0.6%.
• Kyrgyzstan - 0.5%.
• Armenia - 0.4%.

As you can see, the share of Russia in the composition of the all-Union GDP was greater than that of all other republics combined. At the same time, Ukraine and Kazakhstan also had a rather high share of GDP. The rest of the subjects of the USSR - much less.

For a more complete picture, let's take a look at GDP today. Let us determine whether the order of location of the former Soviet republics in terms of gross domestic product has changed.

The size of GDP according to the IMF for 2015:

1. Russia - $1325 billion
2. Kazakhstan - $173 billion
3. Ukraine - $90.5 billion
4. Uzbekistan - $65.7 billion
5. Belarus - $54.6 billion
6. Azerbaijan - $54.0 billion
7. Lithuania - $41.3 billion
8. Turkmenistan - $35.7 billion
9. Latvia - $27.0 billion
10. Estonia - $22.7 billion
11. Georgia - $14.0 billion
12. Armenia - $10.6 billion
13. Tajikistan - $7.82 billion
14. Kyrgyzstan - $6.65 billion
15. Moldova - $6.41 billion

As you can see, Russia remained the undoubted leader in terms of GDP of the USSR countries. At the moment, its gross product is 1325 billion dollars, which in nominal terms is even more than it was in 1990 as a whole for the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan came in second place, ahead of Ukraine. Uzbekistan and Belarus also switched places. Azerbaijan and Lithuania remained in the same places where they were in Soviet times. But Georgia noticeably slipped, letting Turkmenistan, Latvia and Estonia pass ahead. Moldova has fallen to the last place among the post-Soviet countries. And she missed ahead, the last in Soviet times in terms of GDP, Armenia, as well as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

US GDP from 1970 to 1990

Now let's look at the dynamics of changes in US gross domestic product over the last period of the existence of the USSR from 1970 to 1990.

Dynamics of US GDP, mln USD:

• 1970 - 1,075,900.
• 1971 - 1,167,800.
• 1972 - 1,282,400.
• 1973 - 1,428,500.
• 1974 - 1,548,800.
• 1975 - 1,688,900.
• 1976 - 1,877,600.
• 1977 - 2,086,000.
• 1978 - 2,356,600.
• 1979 - 2,632,100.
• 1980 - 2,862,500.
• 1981 - 3,211,000.
• 1982 - 3,345,000.
• 1983 - 3,638,100.
• 1984 - 4,040,700.
• 1985 - 4,346,700.
• 1986 - 4,590,200.
• 1987 - 4,870,200.
• 1988 - 5,252,600.
• 1989 - 5,657,700.
• 1990 - 5,979,600.

As you can see, the nominal GDP of the United States, in contrast to the gross domestic product of the USSR, grew steadily over the period from 1970 to 1990. Over 20 years, it has increased by $4,903,700 million.

The current level of the US economy

Since we have already looked at the current state of the level of gross domestic product in the post-Soviet countries, we should find out how the United States is doing with this matter. According to the IMF, US GDP in 2015 was $17,947 billion, more than three times the 1990 figure.

Also, this value is several times greater than the GDP of all post-Soviet countries combined, including Russia.

Comparison of the gross product of the USSR and the USA for the period from 1970 to 1990

If we compare the level of GDP of the USSR and the USA for the period from 1970 to 1990, we will see that if in the case of the USSR, starting from 1982, the gross product began to decline, then in the United States it continuously grew.

In 1970, the gross product of the USSR was 40.3% of that of the United States, and in 1990 it was only 13.0%. In natural terms, the gap between the GDP of both countries reached $5,201,200 million.

For reference: Russia's current GDP is only 7.4% of the US GDP. That is, in this regard, the situation, compared with 1990, has worsened even more.

General conclusions on the GDP of the USSR and the USA

Throughout the existence of the USSR, its gross domestic product was significantly inferior in size to that of the United States. Even in the best years for the Soviet Union, it was about half the size of the US gross domestic product. In the worst periods, namely after the Civil War, and before the collapse of the Union, the level dropped to 13%.

An attempt to catch up with the United States in economic development ended in failure, and in the early 90s of the last century, the USSR ceased to exist as a state. At the same time, in 1990, the situation with the ratio of the GDP of the USSR to the GDP of the United States was approximately at the level of the situation after the end of the Civil War.

The level of GDP of modern Russia lags even more behind American indicators than it was in 1990 in the USSR. But there are objective reasons for this, since Russia currently does not include those republics that made up the Soviet Union and also contributed to the treasury of the total GDP.

For many years, official Soviet propaganda spread the slogan "catch up and overtake America." It is not surprising that the idea of ​​comparing the USSR with the most “developed country of capitalism” is so ingrained in the public mind that the fact that the USSR lags behind the United States has become one of the main arguments in favor of abandoning socialism and starting “market reforms”. Meanwhile, an attempt to "objectively" compare the level of well-being achieved by the USSR with the well-being of the United States and other Western countries runs into many difficulties. The comparison itself according to the statistics of per capita income is incorrect if the representations are not taken into account. people about their well-being, and also if it does not take into account the distribution of wealth we want or the pattern of consumption and spending of the country. The feeling of comfort depends on what a person considers valuable. For example, for the Indians of one tribe, the iron irons that they kept in front of the entrance to the dwelling were very valuable. And China in the New Age "did not peck" at the cheap consumer goods of England and sold tea to England only for silver, so the British had to organize opium wars to conquer the Chinese market. When we compare the well-being of the Soviet people with the American one, we must also be prepared for the fact that some Russian citizens will not agree with the proposed comparison parameters, because for them jeans are more important than milk. Many Russian citizens still value the opportunity to buy milk without waiting in line and not getting up early in the morning for this much higher than the reduction in milk consumption itself (although it is not clear whether it was worth breaking the economy that produces so much milk to eliminate queues). What is more important - to allow the rich to travel to the Canary Islands or to have very good medical care for the entire population? In addition, the monetary expression of the same (in someone's assessment) comfort, resulting from a different way of satisfying a need, can be different. If some people prefer to have more rest, then their income is less than that of the "hard workers", but the life of the former, from their own point of view, is no worse. Yes, many Russians still believe that they lived in Soviet times 10 times worse than Americans, but this should be taken as a subjective assessment. At least the statistics of their per capita income do not confirm the tenfold difference. We would like to note that the organization of consumption in Russia or any other country can be based on national characteristics, but it must necessarily correspond to the interests of the country's long-term survival and development. If Russia as a whole does not consider the trips of its rich to the Canaries as a manifestation of its prosperity, then this type of consumption could not be included in the statistics.

Starting from a certain level of income, prestigious goods have a very large share in consumption statistics, but the subjective assessment of the value of basic goods drops sharply. Recall the situation in the 80s: the entire population is fed, clothed and shod, has a roof over their heads, that is, they are fully provided with basic well-being. In this case, it is the prestigious consumption that allows you to immediately satisfy the mi of superiority. The fact that many people in the USSR were willing to overpay monstrously for jeans, modern tape recorders and the like just shows that they no longer valued basic well-being more than prestigious consumption. But then the assessment of prestigious consumption at inflated prices turns out to be clearly inadequate. Imagine that the population of one country has only basic wealth, while the population of another voluntarily pays for prestige goods as much as it spends on basic wealth. In this case, the statistics show a twofold difference in consumption. But in fact, this does not mean a twofold difference in the power of the economies, since the production of prestigious goods is carried out by a small part of the population of a richer country, and not half of it. As the growth continues, the release of a really small number of additional workers from a poorer country for prestigious goods gives b about a better estimate of consumption growth based on market prices. But this is precisely the situation that developed in the USSR, whose authorities deliberately postponed the launch of a prestigious economy until basic well-being was provided to the entire population!

But even if we forget about subjective assessments of well-being and focus on the figures of per capita income as an indicator of the country's success, then even here many of the most important consumption funds characteristic of the economy of Soviet socialism do not fall into the statistics. The reason is a completely different type of exchange and distribution. If “free” consumption through public funds can still somehow be included in comparative statistics, then the effects associated with different pricing principles for paid goods are generally difficult to track. In general, the Japanese live poorer than the Germans, but Japan's per capita GDP, in monetary terms, is higher than in Germany. The reason is the way GDP is calculated. Even if natural goods are consumed the same, then the more money is spinning in the economy, the higher the so-called standard of living, calculated on the basis of per capita income. There are two factors intertwined. First, in countries with higher land rents, goods and services that do not fall into the class of exported and imported goods become especially expensive, because they cannot be exported and imported. These are, for example, heavy building materials, transport, hairdressing and utilities, hotel accommodation, services and goods included in public consumption. At the same time, the classes of goods and services that are not amenable to export-import, as a rule, are b about most of the GDP. At the same time, the exchange rate in the long run is determined primarily by the ratio of prices of exported and imported goods. The latter become cheaper relative to other commodities in countries with high land-rent than in countries with low land-rent. (We do not consider customs duties here, which introduce additional distortion in the exchange rate.) In Japan, you can buy a TV at a relatively low price, but a very modest room in a Japanese hotel will cost as much as it costs to stay for several days in such a hotel. the same class in Germany. Overestimation of property rents is not always eliminated even by such tricks of statisticians as converting the exchange rate to purchasing power parity, because an inadequate set of goods can be taken. By the way, a similar effect, albeit to a lesser extent, is produced by Russian overpricing, for example, for wine, compared to its price in France. High excise taxes on alcohol also give a visible increase in GDP, as well as land rent in the Japanese case. On the whole, the USSR was characterized by an artificial underestimation of energy prices, which led to an underestimation of the apparent GDP per natural economic indicators similar to Western countries. The non-inclusion of the increase in utility in the exchange of goods in the price had the same effect: price regulation reduced the possibility of market valuation of trade services, etc., included in the GDP of Western countries. Finally, the data on per capita income statistics left out that part of goods and services that were produced in the "shadow" economy in addition to official figures and were exchanged semi-legally, for example, unregistered services of music teachers at home, apartment renovation workers, a doctor in exchange for a mutual favor ( say, the son's admission to the university), etc. Goods produced within the subsistence economy, for example, food from household plots and summer cottages, are not included in the GDP statistics. All these factors, characteristic of the Soviet economy, give obviously underestimated indicators of the USSR economy in comparison with its real successes.

Therefore, we want to warn the reader that any statistics comparing the well-being of Soviet people and Westerners must be treated with caution. From the point of view of the members of the Brezhnev Politburo, the level of well-being of the Soviet people was quite close to Western, because they compared the well-being according to those parameters that they considered the most important for the Soviet people: the consumption of vegetables, milk and meat, housing, the level of education and recreation, cultural development. From the point of view of some Soviet residents, they consumed 100 times less than the American homeless, because, although the homeless did not have the basic welfare that the Soviet people had, he had jeans, and some Soviet residents valued jeans 100 times more than basic wealth. In terms of per capita income, calculated by statistics using the usual methods applicable to capitalist economies, the gap behind the United States was two times. With the creation of an adequate system of assessments that takes into account non-monetary consumption, the backlog could perhaps be reduced by one and a half times. In terms of welfare criteria adopted by the Brezhnev leadership, the gap was minimal. According to statistics on per capita income in the 80s, according to various estimates, the USSR lagged behind the United States by 2 times, but lagged behind Italy very slightly. Compared to Italy, the difference in consumption was, at most, in the more beautiful shop windows of city shops, but the standard of living of the vast majority of the population was no lower in the USSR than in Italy. And the "socialist" Czechs certainly lived much better than the "capitalist" Italians.

A more adequate comparison by natural indicators. In this case, UN statistics, for example, reveal that the Soviet Union was in the top ten countries in terms of the quality of food. We present 3 tables comparing the development of Russia and other countries.

Table 2. Ratio of leading countries to the leading(Selishchev A.S., Macroeconomics, p.422)

	Leading country	Second country	third country	fourth country
	USA - 100%	USSR - 51%	Japan - 34%
	USA - 100%	USSR - 29%	England - 19%	France - 13%
	USA - 100%	Germany - 37%	USSR - 37%	England - 27%
		Russia - 123%	Germany - 113%	England - 100%
		Russia - 117%	England - 100%	France - 85%
	Russia - 132%	France -105%	England - 100%	France - 87%
military spending
	USA - 100%	USSR - 100%	China - 18%	England - 15%
	USSR - 106%	USA -100%	China - 18%	England - 16%
	Germany - 651%	USSR - 483%	England - 161%	Japan - 154%
	Germany - 129%	Russia - 125%	England - 100%	France - 99%
	Russia - 127%	France - 119%	England - 100%	Germany - 68%
	France - 148%	England -100%	Russia - 92%	Austrian Hungary - 54%
industrial production
	USA - 100%	USSR - 52%	Japan - 30%
	USA - 100%	USSR - 24%	Japan - 19%
	USA - 100%	Germany - 40%	England - 34%	USSR - 29%
		Germany - 109%	England - 100%	Russia - 26%
	England - 100%	China - 75%		France - 37%
	China - 319%	India - 185%	England - 100%	Russia - 59%

A source : Russett B.U.S. Hegemony: Gone or merely Diminished, and How Does it Matter? // The Political Economy of Japan Vol.2. /Ed. by Takashi Inoguchi & D.I.Okimoto. Stanford, 1988. p.87)

Table 3. Comparison of average annual per capita incomes in international dollars(according to purchasing power parity) 1988 (Selishchev A.S., Macroeconomics, p.423)

Brazil
Indonesia
Britannia
Germany

Determining the current rating of each of the fifteen former Soviet republics, Western experts, first of all, pay attention to statistical indicators that give an idea of ​​the level of their economic, humanitarian and social development, while making the main emphasis on the quality of life of the population, since this is what is commonly considered the main indicator of success or, conversely, the failure of public policy.

Deriving the level of social security of the population, Western experts estimate, first of all, the size of the average salary and average pension in a particular post-Soviet country, taking into account also the average life expectancy of its citizens and the average level of employment of the able-bodied population.

When assessing the level of economic independence of a former Soviet republic, attention is drawn to the size of GDP per capita at current prices and the ratio of the country's external debt to its GDP.

Most Western experts on first place in the development rating of the fifteen former republics of the USSR as of August 2011 put Estonia (population - 1.6 million people), citing the following indicators as evidence: GDP per capita at current prices (in US dollars) - 14.836; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 7.8%; average salary - 790 US dollars; average pension - 305 US dollars; average life expectancy - 75 years; employment of the population - 83.5%; the number of families with a personal computer - 65%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 95%.

Regarding the standard of living in Estonia, which is the only one of all 15 former Soviet republics that has already adopted the euro, one can also judge from its national statistics, according to which the cost of 1 kWh of electricity is 0.1 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.5 US dollars; loaf of bread - 1.5 US dollars; 1 liter of milk - 0.9 US dollars; 1 square meter of housing (in Tallinn) - 1500 US dollars.

The figures seem to be very high, but nevertheless, almost 45% of Estonians believe that 20 years ago their standard of living was much higher and their economic situation was more stable. Despite the fact that Estonian mothers receive an allowance in the first 1.5 years after birth, the amount of which is equal to their salary before going on maternity leave, the demographic situation in the country has deteriorated significantly in recent years.

The problem of national minorities is acute in Estonia, since all those residents who could not or did not want to obtain Estonian citizenship, often because they did not know the Estonian language, received the status of stateless persons and a “foreigner's passport”, which significantly restricts their rights, including for employment.

The close connection between the people and the authorities in Estonia is especially noted. For example, almost all residents of Estonia have the addresses and phone numbers of the president, prime minister, ministers, mayors and heads of leading companies, as well as the opportunity to contact them and be sure to get an answer to their questions.

On the second place in the development rating of the former Soviet republics, Western experts put Latvia (population - 2.6 million people) with the following indicators: GDP per capita - 10.692 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 50%; average salary - 840 US dollars; average pension - 400 US dollars; average life expectancy - 73.5; employment of the population - 81%; the number of families with a personal computer - 60.5%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 88%.

A loaf of bread in Latvia costs US$1.2; 1 liter of gasoline - 2 US dollars; 1 liter of milk - 1.5 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.2 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Riga) - 650 US dollars. In 2008, the price of foodstuffs rose sharply in Latvia, and today their cost is the highest in the Baltics.

In 1999 Latvia became a member of the WTO, in 2004 a member of NATO, since 2007 it has been a member of the Schengen area. More than 95% of the population is fluent in Russian in Latvia, but Russian has the status of a foreign language in Latvia. Documents to government agencies can only be submitted in Latvian and Lithuanian, despite the fact that over 30% of the Russian-speaking population lives in the country.

There is an active departure from Latvia of its population for permanent residence in other countries, primarily in the UK and Ireland. On average, from 10 to 15 thousand of its inhabitants leave the country every year.

Third place in the development rating of post-Soviet countries, Western experts assigned Russia (population - 150 million people), which had the following indicators as of August 2011: GDP per capita - 10,500 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 12%; average salary - 700 US dollars; average pension - 250 US dollars; average life expectancy - 69; employment of the population - 93%; the number of families with personal computers - 50%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 90%.

A loaf of bread in Russia costs $0.5; 1 liter of milk - 1.1 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.1 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.13 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Moscow) - 5,000 US dollars.

In Russia, the positions of the ruble have significantly strengthened in recent years, since salaries and prices are only quoted in rubles and are not converted into dollars. Industrial production is rapidly recovering, a radical modernization of the economy has begun, the purpose of which is to turn Russia from a country that is a supplier of energy resources and raw materials into an exporter of technologically sophisticated products, road construction is widely deployed, and a total rearmament of the army and navy is being carried out.

The Russian authorities pay great attention to the social sphere - the salaries of state employees and pensions are regularly increased, the volume of social housing under construction is growing, new hospitals, schools and kindergartens are being built.

Russia, which has the world's largest energy reserves and is rapidly developing its economy, is the leading force in the post-Soviet space, the core and backbone of the Customs Union (CU) and the CSTO. She attaches great importance to the preservation of the Russian language in the CIS countries, considering it as a means of interethnic communication.

Russia's goal in the Commonwealth today is to create various integration structures, to create a situation in which its CIS partners will feel the vital need for real and full participation in all joint programs.

Fourth place in the development rating of post-Soviet countries, Western experts gave Lithuania (population 3.1 million), which boasts the following indicators: GDP per capita - 11.050 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 42.5%; average salary - 760 US dollars; average pension - 290 US dollars; average life expectancy - 73; employment of the population - 82%; the number of families with personal computers - 57%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 76%.

A loaf of bread in Lithuania costs US$1.4; 1 liter of milk - 1 US dollar; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.8 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.2 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Vilnius) - 1500 US dollars.

Only 35% of students study for free in Lithuania, the rest pay from 2500 to 3000 and more dollars for one semester. More than 95% of Lithuanians speak Russian, but the Russian language does not have an official status.

Lithuania has the largest used car markets in Eastern Europe. There are on average 18 cars per 10 adult Lithuanians today.

Lithuania, which has lost its former industrial potential, has the highest unemployment in the European Union (16%), which is why the level of emigration is also high. Many Lithuanian guest workers today work in Ireland, Great Britain (about 120 thousand Lithuanians live in London), Spain and Germany. Due to fierce competition and public selfishness, the suicide rate in the country is very high - 40 people per 100,000 inhabitants.

Fifth place in the rating of the development of the former Soviet republics, compiled by Western experts, took Azerbaijan (population - 8.8 million people), which currently has the following indicators: GDP per capita - 6,000 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 12.5%; average salary - 380 US dollars; average pension - 200 US dollars; average life expectancy - 70.5; employment of the population - 93%; the number of families with a personal computer - 18%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 24%.

A loaf of bread in Azerbaijan costs $0.4; 1 liter of milk - 0.8 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 0.4 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.1 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Baku) - 1300 US dollars.

Private business in Azerbaijan provides about 70% of GDP. All new enterprises in the country engaged in agricultural production are exempt from paying taxes for a period of 3 to 5 years. The total number of taxes for businesses has been reduced in recent years from 15 to 9.

In connection with the translation of the Azerbaijani language from Cyrillic to Latin, the population of the country currently has big problems with the correct writing of official documents.

As a result of a bloody fratricidal war in the early nineties of the twentieth century, Azerbaijan does not control the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and its neighboring regions today, in fact, it is in a state of “frozen war” (there is no peace treaty) with neighboring Armenia.

On the sixth place , according to the conclusions of Western analysts, in the rating of its development is today Kazakhstan (population 16.5 million), which has reached the following indicators so far: GDP per capita - 8.900 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 19%; average salary - 520 US dollars; average pension - 200 US dollars; average life expectancy - 68.5; employment of the population - 94%; the number of families with a personal computer - 18.5%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 39%.

A loaf of bread in Kazakhstan costs $0.3; 1 liter of milk - 0.6 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 0.7 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.03 USD; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Astana) - 1600 US dollars.

Astana became the new capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, rebuilt on the site of the former Tselinograd (the former capital was Alma-Ata).

Kazakhstan is focused on close cooperation with Russia and Belarus within the framework of the Customs Union (CU), which brings great economic benefits to the country, providing a strong inflow of capital from Russia, especially to the northern regions.

In Kazakhstan today there is a big gap in terms of income between rich and poor citizens, between residents of cities and villages.

The Russian language is widely spoken in Kazakhstan and is the second official language in the country. The majority of the population speaks Russian, Russian speech can be heard much more often than Kazakh.

Seventh place in the development rating over the past twenty years since independence, according to the conclusions of Western experts, occupies Belarus (population 9.5 million), which has the following estimated indicators: GDP per capita - 5.800 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 28.5%; average salary - 420 US dollars; average pension - 200 US dollars; average life expectancy - 71; employment of the population - 99%; the number of families with a personal computer - 30%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 98%.

A loaf of bread in Belarus costs $0.4; 1 liter of milk - 0.5 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 0.8 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.03 US dollars, 1 sq. meter of housing (in Minsk) - 1200 US dollars.

Belarus is one of the five largest exporters of dairy products in the world, ranks first in the world in terms of potato production per capita, covers 12% of world exports of butter and 6% of cheese.

The Russian language in Belarus has the status of the state language, while the scope of the use of the Belarusian language is constantly decreasing (only 1,900 schools with the Belarusian language of instruction remain for 9 million people).

There is no significant social stratification between citizens in the country. GDP growth rates are above 8%. However, raising salaries to the level of $500 in 2011 led to the devaluation of the Belarusian ruble and a sharp rise in prices, especially for food.

Eighth place in the development rating of the post-Soviet republics of the former USSR, compiled by Western experts - analysts, takes Ukraine (population 46 million) with the following main indicators: GDP per capita - 3,000 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 41%; average salary - 280 US dollars; average pension - 150 US dollars; average life expectancy - 69; employment of the population - 92%; the number of families with personal computers - 21%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 97%.

A loaf of bread in Ukraine costs $0.5; 1 liter of milk - 1 US dollar; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.2 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.03 USD; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Kiev) - 1900 US dollars.

According to foreign experts, over the twenty years of independence, Ukraine has not been able to achieve decisive success in the economy and social sphere due to total corruption and the negative “features” of its political elite, who know the art of waging “clan wars”, but do not have a clear idea of which direction the country should go - to the West, to the EU and NATO, or to the East, to the Customs Union and the CSTO.

Today, the main problem for the CU remains the position of Ukraine, which is aimed at integration into the EU. At the same time, experts note that Ukraine runs the risk of losing very much by continuing its attempts to simultaneously sit on two chairs - the CIS and the EU. In particular, if Ukraine joins the EU Free Trade Area, cheaper and higher quality Western goods will quickly sweep away Ukrainian goods from the domestic market.

The Russian language in Ukraine is ubiquitous and is used both in official correspondence and at the household level, but it does not have an official status.

ninth place in the anniversary development rating, Western experts took Moldova (population - without Pridnestrovie - 3.6 million people), which has reached very modest indicators compared to other former republics of the USSR, in the time that has passed since the day of the proclamation of its state independence and sovereignty: GDP per capita - 1,600 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 35%; average salary - 240 US dollars; average pension - 80 US dollars; average life expectancy - 69; employment of the population - 92%; the number of families with personal computers - 30%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 73%.

A loaf of bread in Moldova costs $0.3; 1 liter of milk - 0.9 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.4 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.15 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Chisinau) - 900 US dollars.

Today, more than a third of the able-bodied population of Moldova works abroad. Remittances from Moldovan guest workers from abroad, sent through official channels, annually exceed 1 billion US dollars. Approximately the same number, according to experts, is sent illegally.

Almost 70% of the industrial potential of Moldova remained on the left bank of the Dniester, in the self-proclaimed PMR. The privatization of the enterprises that remained on the Right Bank was extremely inefficient, many plants and factories are now destroyed and do not work. The previously flourishing agricultural production is in a deplorable state.

The Russian language in Moldova is ubiquitous, has the status of a language of interethnic communication, but recently the liberal authorities are trying to oust it from the sphere of public administration and limit the scope of its use in everyday life.

The lack of stability in the highest echelons of power in Moldova has a negative impact on the business climate in the country, as potential investors in this situation refrain from making large investments.

Attempts to "simultaneously go to the West and to the East", the priority of "European integration" (without visible positive results of such a policy) have led to the fact that Moldova does not use the advantages that membership in the CIS, including the CU and the CSTO, gives it, does not advance in the issue of reintegration of the country, loses support and assistance from Russia.

On the tenth place in the rating of its development for twenty years of state independence was Georgia (population 4.4 million), which today has the following main indicators: GDP per capita - 2.600 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 48%; average salary - 300 US dollars; average pension - 40 US dollars; average life expectancy - 71; employment of the population - 83%; the number of families with a personal computer - 12%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 63%.

A loaf of bread in Georgia costs 0.5 US dollars; 1 liter of milk costs 2.10 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.5 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.12 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Tbilisi) - 1400 US dollars.

After the 2008 war, as a result of which Georgia finally lost control over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Georgia's railway communication with Ukraine and Russia was interrupted, but there are charter flights to Moscow and Kiev.

The citizens of Georgia have a strong nostalgia for the Soviet era, when there was universal employment and free healthcare, because the country has a high unemployment rate and very low incomes.

In addition, one day of stay in a hospital (which is privatized) in Georgia costs 150 lari, that is, more than 70 US dollars.

In Georgia, restrictions have been introduced on the holding of public positions by former members of the CPSU, Komsomol and KGB officers. The majority of Georgian citizens speak Russian, but it does not have an official status.

Eleventh place in the development rating for twenty years of state independence, according to its main indicators, it took Armenia (population - 3.4 million people), which today has: GDP per capita - 2.850 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 52%; average salary - 290 US dollars; average pension - 70 US dollars; average life expectancy - 73; employment of the population - 92%; the number of families with a personal computer - 11%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 33%.

A loaf of bread in Armenia costs $0.3; 1 liter of milk - 1 US dollar; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.3 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.2 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Yerevan) - 750 US dollars.

Independence took away from the Armenians free education, free healthcare, they were deprived of their savings accumulated during the Soviet era, as well as guaranteed employment and stable social security.

Armenia is today a hostage of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has not yet been settled, and therefore relations with Azerbaijan remain tense. Armenia found itself in a complete blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey, which Yerevan blames for the Armenian genocide in 1915.

Armenia is connected with Russia and the rest of the world only by a road (extremely unreliable) through Georgia, as well as a road through Iran. For this reason, imported goods in Armenia are very expensive.

The lack of hope for a change for the better encourages many Armenian citizens to leave the country. The Armenian diasporas in Russia, the USA and France provide great assistance to their compatriots.

Twelfth place in the development rating, compared with other post-Soviet countries, Western experts took Uzbekistan (population - 28 million people), which currently has the following economic and social indicators: GDP per capita - 1.380 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 12%; average salary - 240 US dollars; average pension - 60 US dollars; average life expectancy - 68%; employment of the population - 98%; the number of families with personal computers - 8.5%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 26%.

A loaf of bread in Uzbekistan costs $0.5; 1 liter of milk - 1.5 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 0.7 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.04 US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Tashkent) - 600 US dollars.

The current Uzbek authorities keep the country isolated from the outside world. Only a few checkpoints on the border are open, where strict filtering of those entering is carried out, especially from Tajikistan or other neighboring countries, where detachments of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) are based.

All media in Uzbekistan are official, the activities of the opposition are, in fact, prohibited. The system of power has remained almost unchanged since Soviet times, many officials have been in their posts for over 25-30 years. A monument has been erected in Tashkent to the former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan Sharaf Rashidov, highly revered by the current leadership.

Most citizens of Uzbekistan live in poverty, especially in rural areas. Several million Uzbeks work today in Russia.

The state in Uzbekistan keeps local oligarchs under strict control. The authorities present the constant arrests of businessmen as a fight against corruption. Foreign goods are subject to very high customs duties, which makes them uncompetitive in the local market.

The high concentration of police in Tashkent, with permanent posts even in underground passages, contributes to the extremely low level of street crime in the Uzbek capital.

As a member of the CSTO, Uzbekistan, however, today opposes the rejection of the principle of consensus in decision-making proposed by its other members. For this reason, they want to put Uzbek President Islam Karimov in front of a choice - either he will put his signature under this agreement, or his country will lose its membership in the CSTO.

thirteenth place in the development rating, experts took Turkmenistan (population - 5.0 million people), whose indicators to date are as follows: GDP per capita - 3.900 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 17%; average salary - 300 US dollars; average pension - 70 US dollars; average life expectancy - 65; employment of the population - 84%; the number of families with personal computers - 7.5%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 18%.

A loaf of bread in Turkmenistan costs $0.3; 1 liter of milk - 1 US dollar; 1 liter of gasoline - 0.2 US dollars; 1 Wh of electricity - 0.0 (for the population - free of charge) US dollars; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Ashgabat) - 1,000 US dollars.

The country is tightly closed from the outside world. With all CIS countries, Turkmenistan has established a strict visa regime.

All large industrial enterprises belong to the state. Slightly modified collective farms remained in the countryside, where schoolchildren and students are required to work during the cotton harvest.

The land is given to everyone for rent, but the state itself determines what should be grown on it, giving a specific order and providing financial and technical assistance to tenants.

At the same time, the authorities are constantly introducing various benefits for the population. Import duties on cars are very low. All car owners are given 120-150 liters of gasoline for a month free of charge, gas and electricity are supplied to their homes free of charge. On average, Turkmens pay no more than $50 a year for a two-room apartment. There are subsidies for bread, and salt is given free of charge.

The closeness of Turkmenistan to tourists leads to the fact that the new five-star hotels in Ashgabat are empty, as local citizens cannot use them because of their poverty. These hotels have become today a place of revelry for the Turkmen nobility.

The country's problem is a very low level of health care. Although modern medical centers have been built in Ashgabat, there is an acute shortage of qualified doctors - specialists, since most of them have retired or left for Russia. For this reason, Turkmen women give birth at home, which leads to high infant mortality.

In Turkmenistan, in 1998, President Saparmurad Niyazov abolished pensions for peasants, arguing that older people in the countryside should be supported by their children and grandchildren, and set pensions for urban residents at $10 a month. Today the situation is changing for the better - the new President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov established a pension for peasants in the amount of $ 25, returned benefits to the disabled and women in childbirth.

On the fourteenth place in the development rating of the former Soviet republics for twenty years after their withdrawal from the USSR, according to Western experts, was Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan) (population - 5.4 million people) with the following indicators: GDP per capita - 870 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 70%; average salary - 160 US dollars; average pension - 50 US dollars; average life expectancy - 67; employment of the population - 94%; the number of families with personal computers - 3%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 15%.

A loaf of bread in Kyrgyzstan costs $0.2; 1 liter of milk - 0.5 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 1 US dollar; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.03 USD; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Bishkek) – 700 USD.

Over the past six years, two presidents have been overthrown in Kyrgyzstan - Askar Akaev in 2005 and Kurmanbek Bakiyev in 2007. There were pogroms in large cities, inter-ethnic bloody clashes in the city of Osh between the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. Entire Uzbek quarters were burned.

Many experts believe that the cause of these clashes is the poverty of the majority of the local population, problems with education and employment, acute social inequality and corruption. For example, in 2010, over 60% of Kyrgyz citizens received wages below the subsistence level. About 30% of the Kyrgyz live below the poverty line. Food prices are very high.

Islam is actively reviving in Kyrgyzstan. If twenty years ago there were two dozen mosques in all of Kyrgyzstan, today there are more than 1,500 of them. The role of the conductor of Islamism in Kyrgyzstan is played by Turkey, which paid over 70% of the cost of building mosques and sends its emissaries-preachers. A lot of money comes to support Islamism from Kuwait.

The most developed sector of the economy in Kyrgyzstan today is textile production (30% of GDP). Gold mining brings 40% of export earnings.

The Russian language in Kyrgyzstan has an official status. Parliamentary and government web pages are maintained in Kyrgyz and Russian languages. However, and.about. President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva and a number of other leading Kyrgyz politicians believe that all education in the country should be translated only into the Kyrgyz language.

However, ordinary Kyrgyz see their future in Russia and therefore learn Russian, and when they leave for Russia, they change their surnames to Russians. Today, more than 600,000 Kyrgyz already live and work in Russia, and more than 1 million (about 50% of the able-bodied population) outside the country in general.

From Russia to Kyrgyzstan, its former citizens annually transfer 1.2 - 1.5 billion US dollars. For every second family in Kyrgyzstan, this is either the main or even the only source of livelihood.

At the CIS summit in Dushanbe, representatives of Kyrgyzstan said that their country intends to join the Customs Union (CU), but they want Kyrgyzstan to remain a member of the WTO as well.

Last thing, the fifteenth, occupies a place in the development rating today, according to the conclusions of Western experts, Tajikistan (population - 7.5 million people), whose indicators are as follows: GDP per capita - 740 US dollars; the ratio of external debt to GDP - 45%; average salary - 85 US dollars; average pension - 20 US dollars; average life expectancy - 67; employment of the population - 85%; the number of families with a personal computer - 2%; the percentage of school graduates entering universities is 9%.

A loaf of bread in Tajikistan costs $0.2; 1 liter of milk - 0.5 US dollars; 1 liter of gasoline - 1.5 US dollars; 1 kWh of electricity - 0.03 USD; 1 sq. meter of housing (in Dushanbe) - 700 US dollars.

The country is pursuing a policy of total nationalization; all Soviet names and Turkic toponyms have completely disappeared from its geographical map. Even Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov has renamed himself "more Tajik" Rakhmon.

From 1992 to 1997 In Tajikistan, there was a civil war in which more than 55 thousand civilians died, and the country's economic potential was significantly weakened. Today Tajikistan is the poorest (after Afghanistan) country in the region. Since the early 1990s, even in Dushanbe there has been no centralized heating.

The political and economic influence of China is growing in the country, with which Tajikistan, in exchange for humanitarian aid, has signed agreements on border demarcation beneficial to Beijing, ceding more than 1% of its territory to its neighbors.

According to Western journalists, the citizens of Tajikistan are sure that the authorities cannot but steal, and therefore they strive to occupy leadership positions both for personal enrichment and to help their relatives and fellow villagers.

Important drug transit routes from Afghanistan to Europe pass through Tajikistan. Drug trafficking is controlled by large mafia groups with connections in law enforcement agencies. However, compared with neighboring countries, there are few drug addicts in Tajikistan itself, and the law provides for long prison terms for growing opium poppy. Every year Tajikistan receives large grants from international organizations to fight the drug business.

Imported goods in Tajikistan are very expensive, since the border with Uzbekistan is effectively closed and therefore all goods are delivered via dangerous high mountain roads through the Pamirs from Russia and China.

In Tajikistan, unlike in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the government officially recognizes the opposition and, in accordance with the peace treaty that put an end to the civil war, provides it with up to a third of the seats in government bodies.

Opposition parties in Tajikistan, according to Western journalists and experts, are not ideological formations, but are only groups of lobbyists for the interests of various regions of the country.

India has a strong influence on the cultural life of Tajikistan. Tajik youth practically do not know the Russian language, but middle-aged people still speak it. Recently, there has been renewed interest in the study of the Russian language among young people, which is caused by their desire to find a well-paid job in Russia.

Introduction.
I want to immediately make a reservation that in this article I am trying to highlight only one of the aspects of the standard of living, namely its material and financial component, thus leaving out the issues of health care, education, crime rates and everything else, because it is impossible to grasp the immensity.
Interest in financial side (let's call it that for simplicity) of the standard of living of the population of the USSR, I am caused by the main directions of my handicraft economic and sociological research, in which I try to understand as much as possible on a number of issues, such as the state of labor productivity in the Russian Federation, the degree of dependence on raw materials of the Russian economy, its growth rates, the economic growth potential of the Russian economy and the real level of material well-being of Russians. And for such studies, economic history is an indispensable assistant.
In addition, it seems to me that there are many who want to take a retrospective look at our distant past, in order not only to nostalgic for the past, but also to understand the present even deeper.
I would also like to draw attention to the fact that the data on the salary chart (N1) refer only to the category of workers and employees. Wages and pensions in rural areas were much lower. In addition, the proportion of the rural population was the highest in the republics of Central Asia, therefore, in terms of monetary income of the entire population, the indicators of the Central Asian republics were actually lower.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL How much did a cooperative apartment cost in the USSR?

(Cooperative housing cost approximately the average monthly salary in the construction industry of the USSR per square meter. + - 15%.

In Moscow, in the late 70s (until 1983, when prices rose by an average of 30%), apartments in the P-44 series cost 250 rubles per square meter.)

How many years, on average, did a citizen of the USSR wait for a free apartment?
(More than 50% of the recipients of housing have been waiting for it for 5-10 years.)

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The third graph again gives a result similar to the previous one. The Baltic states are in the lead by a wide margin from the rest of the republics, but Georgia and Armenia occupy the honorable 4th and 5th places, respectively. Russia is also almost in the middle of the table, while having the second place by salary level. What kind of miracles?

N3

ADDITIONAL MATERIALHow much did cars cost in the USSR?
Official retail prices for a number of goods, including cars
http://istmat.info/files/uploads/15863/narhoz_rsfsr_1990_socialnoe_razvitie.pdf

for products (p. 178)
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+

http://autokadabra.ru/shouts/33186

How much did cars cost in the USSR?

Zaz -968M -4500

VAZ -2101 -5500

VAZ -21011 -6500

VAZ-2104-7400

VAZ-2105-7700

VAZ-2106-9100

VAZ-21061-9000

VAZ-2107-8500

VAZ-21074-8900

VAZ-2108-8400

VAZ-21081-8340

VAZ-2121 (Niva) -9800 (after Andropov's decline)

Volga Gas24-10 -12000

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Let's move on to the last tablet. Who is the most thrifty here? A very diverse team turned out to be in the top three. Lithuania, Armenia and Belarus got there. The rest of the Baltic republics, Ukraine and the RSFSR were located not far from them. The Central Asian republics and Azerbaijan have a multiple of lower rates.
But if the significant lag in almost all financial indicators of the Central Asian republics, together with Azerbaijan, can still be explained by their historically established economic backwardness and traditionally more numerous families, then Russia's rather modest indicators, it seems to me, require some reflection.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALSocio-demographic characteristics of the population of the republics of the USSR.
Auxiliary chart N1


http://istmat.info/files/uploads/17594/naselenie_sssr._po_dannym_vsesoyuznoy_perepisi_naseleniya_1989g.pdf p.10-19

Auxiliary chart N2


Auxiliary chart N3

In my opinion, the roots of the existing discrepancy between the high income level of the population of the RSFSR and the insufficiently high standard of living lay in the specific domestic policy of the Soviet leadership of that time.
Such a significant discrepancy in the level of financial well-being that suddenly formed in Russia compared to a group of leaders can only be explained by the influence of shadow financial flows. But after all, speculation and the shadow sector were present throughout the USSR. This statement will be fair, but far from complete .. .
The fact is that the level of tolerance on the part of the authorities to the existence of a shadow economic sector in the republics of the Soviet Union was different. practically legalized and successfully developed for decades!
Of course, in such "exceptional" conditions, the shadow sector in these republics was able to bring much more additional per capita income than it brought in Russia.
In addition, we should not forget about the huge negative consequences of the numerous sweeps carried out in relation to the most enterprising citizens of Russia in the course of the collapse of the NEP and collectivization.
To be continued...

N4


A source