To the question of the quality and living standards of Russians in the post-Soviet period

The article examines the impact of market processes in the 1990s on the level and quality of life of the Russian population. The author notes that during the period of market reforms in Russia there was a significant decrease in the level and quality of life of the country’s population. Between 1990 and 1999, real wages more than halved against the backdrop of a slight drop in employment in the Russian economy. A comparative analysis of indicators of inequality in the distribution of earnings and incomes in Russia and CEE countries from 1991 to 2000 has been carried out. It was determined that in Russia, unlike some other post-socialist states, there were higher rates of general inequality in the incomes of the population, which was a consequence of linking wages to the performance of enterprises, leading to significant differences in wage levels between companies. The financial condition of companies affected not only the level of average wages, but also the structure of earnings and the regularity of bonuses. Within the country, since the beginning of the 1990s, there has also been a sharp increase in interregional differences in the incomes of the population. As the author notes, the shock liberalization in the country has put many of the most important sectors of the national economy at risk of degradation. Indicators are given that characterize the crisis situation that has developed in the socio-economic sphere of the country by the beginning of 1996. The analysis of the dynamics of wages as the most important type of income in the spheres of the economy from 1999 to 2008 has been carried out. It is noted that with the beginning of economic growth in the country in the late 1990s, the process of a steady increase in the level of well-being of Russians begins. In all sectors of the public sector, real wages grew, this process also affected industry, while higher growth rates were in the management sector.