Leaflet: The Rising Standard of Living in the USSR, 1976
Published in 1976 this booklet looked at living standards in the USSR across a wide number of categories. These include wages and prices, housing. healthcare, maternity leave, childcare, education, sports and recreation, vacations, etc.
A number of interesting points in the efforts to build a more just and socialist society stand out. Among them are:
- Soviet families, on average, paid no more than 4-5% of their monthly income on housing and utilities combined.
- All citizens were guaranteed a job.
- Personal taxes were very low with the plan being their ultimate abolition.
- Pensions were financed fully by the state and co-operative enterprises. Workers did not have to contribute anything towards them. Male workers could retire at 60 and women at 55 after 25 and 20 years of work respectively.
- Children's summer camps were heavily subsidized for all parents and were entirely free for large families and single mothers.
- There were up to ten days of paid leave from work to care for a sick child in addition to regular paid sick leave.
- All types of education at all levels, including things like evening classes and correspondence courses, was entirely free.
- In 1975 one-third of all Soviet citizens were enrolled in some type of educational program totaling over 86 million people.
- For every 10,000 inhabitants there were 31.8 doctors at the time, compared to 20.2 in the USA or 15.7 in the UK.
These are just some highlights of the information provided.
(Click on scans to enlarge)
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