A Russian produces three times more for one dollar of wages than an American does

For one dollar of wages a Russian produces three times more of products than an American does.

These data were provided on Monday in Moscow by Academician Dmitry Lvov, chief of the economic section of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who addresses the 7th World Russian People's Council on the subject of "Faith and Labor".

Lvov explained that for one dollar of wages an American produces USD 1.74 of US gross domestic product while a Russian for one dollar of wages produces 4.75 dollars of the Russian gross domestic product.

The Academician appealed to stop unjustified, in his opinion, talks about the Russians being "poor workers" and stated the necessity to increase wages in Russia by, minimum, three times.

Lvov reminded that prices on commodities and services practically reached the global level, which did not happen with wages.

According to Lvov's assessments, the proportion of wages in the GDP in this country was two times lower than in other European countries and in the USA. In particular, in the West the proportion of wages in GDP amounts on average to 69-72%, while in Russia -only to 31.5%.

In the opinion of the Academician, the liberal economic policy of Russia was wholly servicing the rich society strata. Thus, from 1991 till 2001 revenues of a well-to-do group of the population increased by 1.5 times while revenues of all other groups dropped from 12% to 2% in relation to the most needy part of Russians.

In conclusion Lvov stated that "presently we had two Russias." The first one, according to him, comprised 85% of the population of the Russian Federation but its share of the national wealth of the country amounted only to 7%. The second group consisted of 15% of Russians in whose hands 85% of national wealth was concentrated.

Lvov stated that "2/3 of Russia's revenues were earned from the country's natural resources given to a man by God and which had to belong to everybody." That was why, the Academician opined, it was necessary "through a market procedure to additionally assess" the property obtained by Russian oligarchs free of charge and to have them pay the difference.

In addition to that the academician drew attention of the World Russian People's Council to the demographic problem. He stated that if the rate of decline of population were maintained, then by the middle of the present century Russians would constitute only 38% of Russia's population. Lvov especially pointed out that young and middle aged population, including the so-called "new Russians, was dying out at a greater speed."