Russia Moving Into The Fastlane

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on March 29, 2013 .1 Comment

One of the most reliable indicators of influence is access to cars. They are the standard symbol of affluence and middle-class status the world over. They are also far more understandable at the everyday level than things like the PPP GDP per capita, or the number of burgers your national McWage will buy. Following on […]

Russia Is Now An Internet Society

This about Society, tagged , , , was written by for on September 3, 2012 .3 Comments

One of the most common arguments made to explain why Russians don’t finally overthrow the evil Putin in a bloody bunt is that they are brainwashed by the regime’s TV propaganda stations. This isn’t actually very accurate at all. Russian TV isn’t any more propagandistic than in the West, and on some issues, less so; […]

Russia Overtaking USSR, Converging With West, On Food, Housing Consumption

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on August 18, 2012 .4 Comments

Just to hammer down the myth of Russian impoverishment one more time (with the help of graphs from Sergey Zhuravlev’s blog)… In the past few years, in terms of basic necessities (food, clothing, housing) Russia has basically (re)converged to where the Soviet Union left off. Here is a graph of food consumption via Zhuravlev. At the bottom, the […]

Russian Wages Are Fast Converging To Western Levels

This about Economy, tagged , , , was written by for on June 21, 2012 .22 Comments

Via The Economist, I’ve come across some fascinating research by Orley Ashenfelter and Stepan Jurajda (Comparing Real Wage Rates, 2012) showing how real wages can be meaningfully compared across different regions by taking notes on prices and wages in McDonald’s restaurants. The methodology seems solid. Big Macs are a very standardized product, hence they are already […]

More Russians Vacationing Abroad

This about Economy, tagged , , was written by for on June 19, 2012 .No Comments

According to a recent Levada poll, more Russians are starting to go to fun places on vacation. The total numbers of those going to the Black Sea or the Far Abroad rises to 16% in 2012, compared with 9% in 2006, 5% in 2000, and 4% in 1997. The percentage of those saying they won’t […]

Are Russians As Rich As Czechs?

This about Economy, tagged , , , , was written by for on January 31, 2012 .20 Comments

In terms of new cars, they now are. According to 2011 statistics, Russians bought 17.6 new automobiles per 1000 people. This indicator is still quite a bit below most of Western Europe, such as Germany’s 38.5, France’s 33.4, Britain’s 31.9, Italy’s 30.1, and Spain’s 20.0. However, it has already overtaken most of East-Central Europe, whose […]