Staff author: Adilia S.
Personal income of Russians shrank by 52.2% in January 2016 as compared to December 2015. According to the report by the state statistics body Rosstat, the monthly income in January averaged only 21365 rubles (about USD $291) though only a month ago it was 45212 rubles ($614).
End of the year bonuses and the long January holidays that limited paydays for contract workers are among the reasons for the sharp drop in the monthly income figures. December numbers are usually 30-35% higher than the average monthly income. January figures traditionally show 30-35% drop as compared with the yearly averages. However, 2016 December-January drop in monthly incomes was sharper than during previous years.
Real vs. Nominal Monthly Income in Russia
Real incomes in Russia decreased by 6.1% over the course of 2015 while the average nominal monthly wage increased by 3.1% to the level of 32122 rubles ($437).
Living standards in Russia: average monthly income, real income. Graphics: GKS.ru (click to enlarge).
Nominal income is the dollar/ruble amount of income. Simply put, it is the amount of money paid out in cash. Real income is the income of a person after taking into consideration the effects of inflation. It shows how much a person can buy on that amount of money. Theoretically, the amount of nominal income should be regularly adjusted according to the inflation level in the country, so that the person’s purchasing power stays on the same level.
Practically, the situation in Russia leaves much to be desired. In 2015 inflation in Russia reached the level of 12-15%. But nominal wages increased only by 3.1%. No wonder that real incomes decreased and keep going down.
Moreover, the research holding Romir adhere to the opinion that the official inflation values are way lower than the actual numbers. Experts believe that the actual inflation values could be up to 3 times higher than those showed by the state statistics.
Real disposable income in Russia, data by the state statistics body. Graphics: GKS.ru (click to enlarge).
Average monthly wages in Russia by industry (2015):
- Finance — 69480 rubles ($941)
- Mining — 63716 rubles ($863)
- Fishing, fish-farming — 46339 rubles ($627)
- State Administration and Defence; Social Security — 41786 rubles ($566)
- Real Estate — 39698 rubles ($537)
- Transport and Communications — 38758 rubles ($525)
- Manufacturing — 31839 rubles ($431)
- Household, Social and Personal Services — 30067 rubles ($407)
- Construction — 29887 rubles ($404)
- Healthcare and Social Services — 28035 rubles ($379)
- Education — 26888 rubles ($364)
- Hotels and Restaurants — 20486 rubles ($277)
- Agriculture, farming, hunting, forestry — 19455 rubles ($263)
Fear of Poverty
The amount of unpaid wages to Russians reached USD $58,8 million as of 1 February 2016. It is 21,3% more than the previous month.
Delayed wages are not an unusual thing in Russia, where people receive remuneration monthly, not weekly. Companies explain to the employees that they have no money at the moment and ask them to wait a little longer. Some companies may owe 2-4 month wages to employees. It starts with delaying wages for a week, within a few months it could be a delay for 2-3 months. Instead of getting paid once a month people are getting paid every 5-6 weeks and are being paid their salary from 2-3 months ago. The companies do not pay interest on unpaid wages.
It’s not only government employees that suffer from delayed remuneration. 70-80% of players in Russian soccer clubs do not get paid on time, Lenta.ru reported. It’s a country-wide epidemics. For the owners of the companies, delaying wages became another tool to maximize profits. Because the problem is so widespread, people don’t complain, as in another company the situation is just the same.
The unemployment rate in Russia is 5,8% for the total economically active population (7,58 million people). While the number is not excessively high, there is a sizable proportion of the population that do not register as unemployed due to miniscule benefits.
Russians are becoming increasingly concerned about the economic situation in the country. The research conducted by the Levada Center shows that the majority of people in Russia fear poverty (53%), economic crisis (49%), unemployment (35%). They consider the current economic crisis to be the most important threat to the future of the country.
The situation in 2016 strongly differs from the happy outlook of “the fat years” as they are called now, when oil prices were over USD $100/barrel. The years of expansion and development that everyone remembers are in a sharp contrast with today’s contracting economy of Russia.
Crude oil price chart 1950-2016. 2008 and 2011-2014 were the years when Russia enjoyed oil prices over $100/barrel. Drop in oil prices sent Russia into an economic crisis.
Read also:
- Russia Is Hit by 46% Growth In Credit Card Arrears, 10% of Bank Debts Are Overdue
- Russian Economy Takes Another Hit: Oil at USD 26, US Dollar at 85 Rubles (updated)
- Russia: Prospects of Economic Growth Delayed Until 2017
- The Cost of Property in Russia
It appears from the chart that this has been a trend for quite a while with $140 being the upper limit of the scale. Between 1940 and 1970, its really grim Is oil Russia’s main export ? Notwithstanding my cheap crystal ball, do you (Elena) have a feel for any improvement ? Please excuse my ignorance….
LB
Lew, If you ask for my opinion, oil prices are unlikely to go back to the heights of 2008 in the near future. But demand for oil is still strong, so Russia will do OK. Russia is also a leading provider of gold; a Russian company dug the most gold last year. Right now the ruling party’s biggest task is to stay in power in parliament after September 2016 elections. Then they have another 5 years. (The president is elected every 6 years, next elections in 2018.) If they are through, which is highly likely given the political structure of… Read more »
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Hello,
Thank you. I’m writing to a lady in Chernovtsy. Just trying to get a rough overview of things.
LB
Chernovtsy is not Russia 🙂 It’s Ukraine. Income of people in small Ukrainian cities is only about $100-150/month. Ukraine is in a great political and economical crisis. It’s unstable and things keep getting from bad to worse. Corruption is widespread. Lots of people are unemployed, wages are often delayed for 2-3 months even if people have jobs. This is why there are lots of women and men involved in Pay-per-letter dating scams. These scams are built to extract thousands of dollars, litte by little, from men for each letter, chat. The letters tell men the woman is interested and wants… Read more »
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Thank you,
I am aware that Chernovtsy is in the Ukraine,
I have read about the PPL sites so unless EM is one of them I guess I’m not worried. We are communicating via personal email and she has not hinted about sending her money. I learned my lesson on Match.com Thank you again,
Well, Ukraine and Russia are completely 2 different countries, they are not even friendly anymore. You asked if things were going to get better, I assumed about Russia, since the post is about monthly income and average wages in Russia. And I don’t get your comment about “unless EM is one of them” – do you pay for every message and chat or not? Unless you do, there is no way to pay someone a percentage for talking to you. The scheme only works on pay per letter sites. Regarding your relationship, don’t forget to use Skype/video calls, call her… Read more »
lol you leave out the part where Russia’s had a deplorable effect on the Ukrainian economic and political climate. Shocking, coming from a Russian where your media’s owned by your government. There’s a reason your country’s wages have fallen and a big ol’ sanction’s a nice reason. But let’s keep all of that out and white wash Russia lol.And obviously when you shoot down a public flight, blame it on another country, invade that country claiming as “separatists”, then annex parts of another country and are now moving in further. And there’s a reason there’s the term “Russian Bride”. Gold… Read more »
CallaSpadeaSpade,
I don’t live in Russia, and I suppose neither do you 😉 The government of my country is supportive of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
I can read Russian and access statistics, this is what this post is about. Regarding so called “Russian brides”, you may not be aware of the actual situation how it works when people date internationally, it’s very much the same as local dating today.
I am dating a woman from moscow. I met her in manhattan nyc. I live on long island ny. It is hard but we manage with face time at least 3x a day. I am going back over in November. We try to fly back and forth every other month for about 2 weeks each. I do not look at her as my “russian bride”. I look at her as my girl friend and the woman i love the most. We are going to get married and then figure out where we will live. We are looking at England we… Read more »
can u plse tell me how much rubles required in simferopol for the famuly of 4 per month. also how much a schoolteacher gets paid per month.
waiting thank u.
nilesh,
What is “required” depends on what you consider a necessity.
The official amounts needed to survive (as per government norms for 2016):
– Per person on average: 9956 rubles/month
– Working population:
10722 rub/month
– Pensioners: 8163 rub./month
– Kids: 9861 rub./month
School teachers in Russia earn less than an average salary.
thank u alena, u told me about overall russia..including moscow-st.petsburg.. but what about cremia. how much average per person requires.
plse mention
waiting..
Nilesh, Crimea is now a part of Russian Federation. So, it’s the same.
It is interesting that in this discussion does not take into account what an average cost of living is. This taken recently and compared to USA. Cost of living in Russia is 50.64% lower than in United States (aggregate data for all cities, rent is not taken into account). Rent in Russia is 60.83% lower than in United States (average data for all cities). Milk is about that same cost in the USA as it is in Russia $2.75-$3.00 a gal, yet if you smoke- a pack cost you $1.50 where as in the USA it is $4.50 – $5.00… Read more »
Harley S.,
Where exactly is it said that the average Russian makes $70/month? In Russia salaries are paid (and calculated for statistics) MONTHLY, not weekly or yearly. Average income figures include pensioners and others living on social security payments. All data is from the official source Gks.ru.
Look for the article on how wages in Russia changed in 1991-2016 this coming Wednesday 12 October.
pshh bread is 3$ here.. for the decent kind..
Hi. I like your comments. At any time if you need to know the price of something just let me know. I live on long island ny. People are always trying to compair prices to get an idea whatbit coast to live in other countries. I live on long island wich is part of new tork state in the U.S.A Dollars Ok. Car insurance app from 1,800 to 5,000 per year and depending on your driving record and age Car payment can be from 250.00 to a 1,000.00 per month Price of car app from 25,000 to 100,00.00 depending on… Read more »
Elena, I have been writing a doctor-surgeon and she can’t pay to come to the states. How can I know she is not lying and just wants money for herself? I told her from the beginning I don’t have money to send and yet after 2 plus months writing she want over 700 dollars. What do you think about this. I would love to believe her but so many men are scammed and I can`t give it. What do I do?
Lenny, it’s a common online dating scam. Don’t send money. Report it to cyber crimes (ask in whose name to send money, the name will belong to the gang member).
You were not talking to a real woman, it’s just a set of prewritten mails and photos stolen from the Internet. Real Russian women chat to you on Skype (video), they have Wi-Fi and Internet just like we do.
What is the bottom line…In comparison to US…..AVERAGE US person retires with about $30,000.00 per year compared to a Russian what amount?…in American money?……
Steve,
Some Russian pensioners live on 6,000 RUB a month (USD 100), most of them get under $200 a month.
how much models and actor make? Billboard ads and shopping commercials.
Shkh,
If you are looking for cheap labour, most European companies prefer Ukraine over Russia. For example, Lacoste did their concept ad in Kiev recently. Wages there depend on the talent, but you can find models for as little as $80 per day. In Russia salaries are about 2 times higher.
do models earn above average wages in Russia .?
my friend seems to be quite ok for funds… so was just wondering .
Bill,
Models in Russia can earn good money, depending on their contracts and the city where they live. Wages in Moscow and St. Petersburg are 3-4 times higher than average, while wages in small regional towns are 2-3 times lower than average.
So WTF is Russia so bloody darn expensive for travelers?
SDC, Russia as a country is not expensive for travelers, but tourist places (especially Moscow and St. Petersburg) can feel pricey for foreigners. Why? Ticket prices for foreigners are much higher than for locals. Russians pay cheaper prices and can enter places of interest free on special days. Branded hotels in Moscow cost the same as in any European capital. Public transport is cheap for both foreigners and locals, but foreigners rarely use it. By the way, the average wage in Moscow and St. Petersburg is also several times higher than country-wide, although most Russians only take home around US$300… Read more »
How can anyone live on 300.00 per month…..that is only $3,600.00 per year…I understand things are cheaper there?…but still in Russians standard your pretty poor if you make that amount???
Steve, look at the date of this report.
The average wages in Russia since had risen, mostly due to the difference in USD-RUB exchange rate. Now it’s around $600/month. But in Ukraine it’s still around $300/month.
Besides, pensioners in Russia and Ukraine live on much less.
In Moscow, Russia, average wages are around $1000/month.
Read more articles here to get the picture.
Russia average wage is 600$ lmao, where do you get such numbers, it’s on the par with major ukrainian cities now, Kyiv, Odessa. May be moscow or st.petersburg slightly more, but some cities in russia even make less than people in Odessa or Kyiv.
Paul Johnson, look at the date of publication of this article
Elena i met a nice russian girl i am paying for her to come here .i am excited and she is too.
I hope she comes and i am not catfished .
There is not any reason not to.i have not seen her yet just pictures via emails what is your thought lol
Mark, you are being scammed. Do not send money.
hi, can someone please explain me the income, average household income, and population proportions per income bracket of Russia, thank you.
Roja, what an explanation from someone on the internet will give you? You need to do your own research to get reliable data. Go to the official website offering statistics on Russia: gks.ru
That’s the only current official information you can use.
Elana, quick question for this thread, so I could live off of a 1,200$ small pesion in US just getting by montly for better standard of living in the Russian Federation is what this gist of all this is saying?
I saw video recently on youtube of average russian grocery store and prices were very reasonable and fresh local food. Just curious, the west isn’t all it’s cracked up to be imho. Mark 😉