Rich Russia and poor population: causes of the paradox

The article analyses the paradoxical socio-economic situation: with all the huge national wealth the level and the quality of life of majority of the Russian population remain low. Two radical attempts of 1917 and 1991 to bring the level of the population well-being in accord with the unique possibilities of the country were not successful. Moreover, at present there are prevailing the tendencies of weakening human potential, declining levels of health and education of the population. Among the wide range of causes of this paradoxical situation the author emphasizes two, probably the most important ones. The first cause is connected with the sphere of ideology. The second - with the system of distributive relations.