Слушайте, переводите сами, а?... Я могу, но мне влом. Серьезно.
"Рустем" wrote in message news:13178@kmf...
> Чтобы мы не засртевали лишь на концепциях, предлагаю малость свежих соц.исследований. Жизнь не стоит не месте...
> The Russia Journal
> October 26-November 1, 2001
> As economy grows, so does middle class
> By CAIN BURDEAU
>
> As the Russian economy forges ahead, with production levels on the up and
> incomes rising, evidence of a nascent middle class is blossoming on the
> streets of Moscow. And with a rosy economic outlook, economists say this
> new bourgeoisie can only get bigger.
>
> Moscow is the epicenter of the country's Western-style middle class. It is
> here that sport utility vehicles cruise the streets. Supermarkets stay open
> 24 hours, catering to late night office workers and time-pressed families.
> Meanwhile, gardening tools, chandeliers and wallpaper sell fast at the
> city's new home-improvement stores.
>
> "Now, there are some indications that there is again a Russian middle
> class," said Nadezhda Kosareva, president of the Institute for Urban
> Economics, an independent think tank in Moscow. "More stable salaries, more
> stable sources of income, more ability to look into the future and be ready
> to borrow."
>
> The August 1998 economic collapse largely destroyed the fledgling middle
> class that had grown up since the fall of the Soviet Union. In June 1998,
> the average annual income of a Muscovite was almost $8,000. A year later,
> average incomes plummeted to $2,800. Today, people in the capital earn
> about $5,970 - five times more than in St. Petersburg.
>
> And as the economy continues to take off, it is lifting millions of people
> with it.
>
> According to statistics from the State Statistics Committee, retail trade
> rose by 10.1 percent to 2.1 trillion rubles ($71.18 billion) between
> January and September this year; real income in the first nine months grew
> by 6 percent; and by August real salaries grew by 19.9 percent.
>
> And with the economy expected to grow 5.5 to 6 percent in gross domestic
> product by the end of the year, and steady growth forecast for the long
> term, analysts are hopeful that the wealth will spread.
>
> Comcon, a market research company that specializes in demographic trends,
> estimates the middle class makes up about 15 percent of the population in
> Moscow and 8 percent nationwide, with income levels ranging from $300 to
> $2,000 a month per family. Since the beginning of last year, 1 million new
> Russians entered the middle class, Comcom estimates. Nonetheless, of the
> country's 146 million people, more than a third still live below the $51 a
> month poverty line.
>
> "In the last year, you've seen a lot of stabilization in the job market,
> and right now it's probably one of the fastest growing economies in the
> world," said Art Franczek, president of the American Institute for Business
> and Economics. "You've got a per capita [income] in Russia, according to
> economists, of around $8,000. And with that, you have a lot of disposable
> income, so people can have vacations and really start to spend money on
> consumer-type items. So, you're seeing, definitely, a re-emergence of the
> middle class."
>
> And many businesses are racing to keep up with the new consumer spree.
>
> For example, according to a report by the Moscow-based Interactive Research
> Group, Yekaterinburg-based cosmetics company Kalina is forecasting sales to
> shoot up from $84 million in 1999 to $140 million this year; Gloria Jeans,
> a Rostov-on-Don children's denim manufacturer, expects sales to go from
> $17.5 million in 2000 to $60 million this year; and Stroi Dom, a home
> improvement chain in Moscow, projects sales to reach $3.1 million, more
> than double its sales in 1999.
>
> For many Russians, especially for the younger generations, the formation of
> a middle class is vital to become a thriving capitalist democracy.
>
> "If we want to have a civil society in this country, we need a middle
> class," said Ruslan Pshonkovsky, a 30-year-old Moscow bank manager. "Sooner
> or later, the middle class will be the main force, the main engine, for
> progress of the Russian economy."
>
> For people like Pshonkovsky, the fruits of a free market society have been
> obvious. Ten years ago he earned $50 a month - now he makes 30 times that.
> Back then, buying a car, a home and going abroad were "dreams."
>
> Now, he said, "I have a car, I have a flat, I have a garage." He is
> traveled to Spain, Portugal and Austria. And he plans to buy a dacha with
> his wife and child.
>
> "The middle class - it's an indicator of the stability of a society,"
> Kosareva said. "It's a very good indicator of the health of our economy and
> the social stability of our society."
>
> Despite the progress, the middle class is cautious about being overly
> optimistic about the future. It's no surprise, after a decade of chaos and
> changing fortunes.
>
> "So, you're seeing a middle class evolve again and you're seeing it emerge
> in a much more cautious way," Franczek said, referring to the way the 1998
> crisis dashed many Russians' hopes.
>
> "We had many illusions. We were romantics," Pshonkovsky said. "We have to
> get rid of our illusions. I want more protections of individual needs. I
> would like to see more freedom in the market, a free market economy. The
> government is influencing all spheres of Russian society."