Physical Quality-of-Life Indicators in Post-Stalinist Russia

<jats:p> Repeated economic reform efforts since 1985 have not improved the material well-being of the average Russian; the decline in GDP since 1991 has been greater than that in the United States during the Great Depression. Since the beginning of the Gorbachev era, per capita consumption has fallen for all food products, with the exception of bread and potatoes. Poor nutrition has contributed to poor health and a rising death rate. A decline in the birthrate also is attributed, in part, to declining living standards. </jats:p>