STUDY OF PRICES AND EARNING IN USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100093-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 93
• Publication Date: December 29, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100093-6
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
'LA"'AFICATION RESTRICTED
CENTRAL IN dff NffWW6gli REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
Weekly newspaper
15 Feb 1948
THIS DOCUMENTCONTAI NS 15ro E1An 0111IICiuQ THE 010014 10110115
05 TN[ 05IrE0 STAT,E WITHIN Txr 1GNg5 OI O51ONANE ACT 5O
N. N. C.. IT AND NI.15 1115050. ITS TSANNSIENION ON TIE NETEUTIOS
011T, CONTENT, I5 ANT 1155511 To AN 0NAUTNONIIOO 155]01 I5 ENO.
U NITE0 5T IAW. NCIN000CDON 0I THIS TONS 1E 5AOIIINITE0.
DATE DIST.& Dec 1952
NO. OF PAGES 6
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
STUDY OF PRICES AND EARNINGS IN USSR
On 14 December, 1947, the Council of Ministers USSR and the Central Commit-
tee of VKP(b) passed a decree concerning the enactment of monetary reform and
the abolition of ration cards for consumers' goods. The foreword to the decree
stated that monetary reform would increase the real earnings of workers and em-
ployees and would aid in raising the workers' material welfare. The purpose of
the decree was to abolish high commercial prices and establish uniform reduced
state retail prices on consumers' goods. Actually, however, the only prices
lowered were those on bread and flour (an average reduction of 12 percent) and
on groats and macaroni (an average reduction of 10 percent). Prices on meat,
fish, fats, sugar, confectionery products, salt, potatoes, vegetables, vodka,
wine, tobacco products, and matches, were 1,:ft unchanged, Prices on eggs, i_uit,
tea, and on textiles, footwear, clothing, and knit goods were raised.
On 16 September 1946, all prices on rationed goods had been raised by an
average of 200 percent. At that time some increase in earnings, although'not
in proportion to the price increases, had been effected as follows: 110 rubles
for those receiving up to 300 rubles a month, 100 rubles for those receiving
up to 500 rubles a month, 90 rubles for those receiving up to 700 rubles a
month, and 80 rubles for those receiving up to 900.rubles a month.
The 1947 decree was accompanied by Order No 550 of the Ministry of Trade
USSR, entitled "New Uniform State Retail Prices on Consumers' Goods." Actually,
the order established uniform prices on only a few articles: tea, coffee, beer,'
ice cream, caviar, vodka, matches, soap, better-grade cigarettes, thread, ladies'
combs, clocks, phonographs, radio receivers, and cameras. The remaining food
products were divided into three groups: bread and other foods, milk products
and eggs, and dried and fresh fruits. For each product-group, the whole country
was dlv!-,ed into three zones. Each zone had its own prices, varying from each
other as mu-_h as 7-25 percent.
CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED
STATE NAri NBPB
DISTRI RIITInN
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The majority of manufactured articles had two prices, rural and urban.
Prices in rural communities were 5-12 percent higher than in cities.
The e:Jist for caviar, apublioshed
for Products
, but priceone were g food
lard, included prices for ice cream,
etables; the price list for manufactured articles quoted,pricesnonpfancyrcocks,
ladies' combs, phonographs, and cameras, but failed to mention prices on coats,
gloves, wool socks and stockings, boots, or children's clothing.
Order No 550 established the following prices (sume of the secondary.arti-
cles are not included in this table):
Bread and Other Food Products
(in rubles per kg)
Article
Bread, rye
Zone 1
2.80
Zone 2
3.00
Zone 3
3.20
Bread, wheat,
2d tirade
4.00
4.40
4.8o
Bread, wheat,
1st grade
6.20
7.00
7.80
Flour, rye
4.40
4.80
5.20
Flour, wheat,
1st grade
7.00
8.00
n iv
Millet
5.50
6.00
6.50
Buckwheat
11.00
12.00
13.00
Macaroni
9.00
10.00
11.00
Lump sugar
13.50
15.00
16.50
Beef
28.00
30.00
32.00
Corned beef
62. ,,0
64.00
66.00
Oil, sunflower w
eed
28.00
30.00
32.00
Fish, frozen
10.50
12.00
10.50
halt herring
17.00
20.00
17.00
Salt
1.6o
1.60
1.80
Fruits, Milk Products, and Eggs
(in rubles)
Apples
TI -10
Milk
(liter)
Eggs
8.00-12
00
(ten
.
2.50-3
o0
12.00-18.00
.
00-4
3
00
10.00-14.00
16.00-25.00
.
.
4.00-5
00
12.00-16.00
.
14.00-18.00
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Tea,(Georgian (100 gr)
Coffee beans (L' kg)
Beer (. liter)
Ice cream (1::gB)
Caviar, soft (1 kg)
Vodka, special Moscow (j liter)
Article
,Woolen fabric (136 cm wide)
Ladies' dresses, cotton
Men's suits, part-wool, 2-piece
Ladies' dresses, wool
Men's suits, wool, 2-piece
Shoes, ladies'
.Shoes, men's
Cigarettes, better grade
Laundry soap (60%)
Toilet soap
Wrist watch, metal
Phonograph
Camera
Quantity
Cities
Rural
Areas
1 meter
450.00
510.00
one
77.00
86.00
one
430.00
450.00
one
510.00
560.00
one
1,400.00
1,500.00
pair
260.00
288.00
pair
260.00
288.00
25 per package
6.30
6.30
400 pr
5.20
5.20
100 gr
4.00
4.00
one
900.00
900.00
one
900.00
?000.Ca
one
1,100.00
It is interesting to compare the above prices with average earnings. Accord-
ing to the Fourth Five-year Plan, the average monthly earnings of workers and
employees (kolkhoz workers are not included, as their wages are calculated in
workdays), were to reach 500 rubles by 1950. On the basis of extensive data, it
can be assumed that the average wage of Soviet Yorkers had already reached-that
figure in 1947.
However, the average wage,.arrived at by dividing, the entire wage fund (de-
termined by the state plan in the USSR) by the total number of workers and em-
ployees, although very significant, can provide only average data., While there
are wages exceeding 500 rubles per month, there are even more that do not reach
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this figure; Therefore, in determining the level of real wages of workers
in the USSR, it is. important.to ascertain the lowest wage established by the
government, i;e;; the'minimum living wage, as this alone is a true index of the
status of. the workers.
The Soviet press says nothing about the lowest wage. Only a special pub-
lication,,a book entitled Labor Legislation (Zakonodatel'stvo o trude), published
by the Juridical Publishing House of the Ministry of Justice USSR, Moscow 1947,
contains.a "Commentary" which gives definite indications on this point. On the
basis of these indications ittappears that since 16 September 1946, i.e., after
the increase of 110 rubles for those receiving up to 300 rubles a month, the min-
imum wage of workers and employees, as determined by the government, is 220-225
'rubles, a;month.
On the basis of the 8-hour day and the 6-day week prevailing in the USSR,
the 1947 prices, converted into hours and minutes of work, together with the
monthly wage rates, i.e., an average of 500 rubles, 300 rubles, and a near-min*
imua of 250 rubles, give the following picture of the real earnings of the ma-
jority of workers and employees in the USSR.
In the following table, the minimum and maximum zone prices are used for
food products; urban and rural prices are used for manufactured articles.
With the help of this table, tuc can determine how a workers' family lives,
for example, it consists of four people and the dead of the family earns 500
per month.
Rye bread
Millet
Sunflower seed oil
Herring
Sugar
Total labor
2 kg equal to 2 hr 40 min labor,
j kg equal to 1 hr 20 min
100 gr equal to 1 hr 20 min labor
200 gr equal to 1 hr 40 min labor
100 gr equal?to 0 hr 42 min
7":hr 42 min
Taking into consideration that there are a number of deductions, such as
state-loans, taxes, etc., amounting to about 19 percent of the earnings, there
would be nothing left for rent, fuel, or clothing.
Cable follows on next page
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hr 40 m
hr 00- m
hr 4o
hr 00 m
r 40m
30 m
it 50 m
10 m
00 m
Article
Bread, rye
Bread, wheat
@uaatitz
1 kg
With Earn
500,Ruble
1 hr20m
"Bread, wheat, i t grade 1 kg
1 hr 40 m-;
2h
Flour, rye
Flour. Wheat,
1st grade
1 kg
1 kg
r35m
1hr 50m-f
2 hr 55 m
Millet
1 kg
2 hr 18 m-2
Buckpheat
1 kg
4 hr 35 m-5
Macaroni
1 kg
3 hr 45 m-4
1kg
5 hr 37 m-6
Beef
1 kg
11 hr 40 m-1:
Salted butter
1kg
25 hr 20 m-27
Oil, sunflower seed
1 kg
11 hr 4o m-13
1kg
4 hr 20 m-5
I kg
7 hr 05 m-8:
Bait
1 kg
0 hr 4o m-0 1
1 kg
3 hr 20 m-10
1 kg
1 hr 02 m-2 i
Eggs
10 kg
4 hr 10m-7h
LAdi
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LAdioins page
5 here)
Tea
100 gr
6 hr 4o m
11 hr06m
13 hr 20 m
Coffee beans
1 kg
30 hr 25 m
50 hr 50 m
6o hr 5o m
Beer
liter
2 hr 55 m
4hr41m
5hr50m
Ice cream
1k3
8hr20m
13 hr53m
16 hr 4o m
Cigarettes, better
25
2 hr 37 m
4hr52m
grade
5hr14m
Laundry soap (60%)
400 gr
2 hr 10 m
3hr37m
4hr20m
Toilet soap
100 gr
1 hr 40 m
2hr47m
h
CO 1 '
53 , .
Caviar, soft
i kg
167 hr 50 m
285 hr
r20m
3
383 hr
C73 ,
Vodka
I liter
25 hr 00 m
41 hr 40 m
50 hr 00 m
Woolen fabric, 136
cm. wide
1 meter
188 hr-213 hr
313 hr-354 hr
375 hr-425 hr
Ladies' dress, cotton
1
32 hr-36 hr
54 hr-57 hr
64 h4-724 hr
Ladies' dress, wool
1
207 hr-233 hr
346 hr-389 hr
415 h
46
h
r-
7
r
Men's suit, part-wool
1
179 hr-189 hr
297 hr-331 hr
358 hr-375 hr
?den's suit
-wool
1
,
584 hr-625 hr
973 hr-]p42 hr
116
h
12
7
r-
50 hr
Shoes, ladies
1 pair
108 hr-120 hr
180 hr-200 hr
216 hr-249 hr
Shoes, men's
1 pair
108 h
r-120 br
180 hr-200 hr
217 hr-240 hr
STAT
Wrist watch, metal
1
375 hr
.625 hr
750 hr
Phonograph
1
375 hr
625 hr
750 hr
Camera
1
428 hr
764 hr
917 hr
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