Methodical specifics of socio-economic comparative analysis of Russia in 1913 and in 2013

The author attempts to perform socio-economic comparative analysis of Russian Empire in 1913 and Russian Federation in 2013. Choice of the period is based on author’s opinion that reasons which led to revolution in 1917 have their roots in the events of the second half of XIX century. The following methodical approaches were used to compare indicators for 1913 and 2013: 1) wherever possible, data used for analysis reflected the state in those regions of Russian Empire that are present within modern borders of Russian Federation; 2) financial indicators were recounted relative to the price of gold in 1913 and in 2013; 3) data on such social institutions as health care and education were compared in relative values, rather than absolute. The results obtained clearly demonstrate that the revolutionary situation in the Russian Empire was fueled by objective circumstances. The set of statistic indicators can also be used to create a counterfactual model of what Russia would have been in the first half of XX century, if no wars or revolutions were present.