m" (Powell, 1996, p. 55), with a very active black market, where "official reports fail to show a thriving underground economy" (Shama, 1996, p. 110); "the official GDP (gross domestic product) does not account for at least half of the nation's economic activity" (Epstein, 1995, p. 25). According to many observers, "the overall economy [is] twice as big as official estimates" (Shama, 1996, p. 110).
Those reservations noted, the following account will present a statistical overview of post-communist Russia.
DWELLINGS: In 1990, Russians averaged 50-69 square meters per dwelling - comparable to other former Eastern Bloc nations, but roughly two-thirds the size of the average West European dwelling of 90-109 sq. m./dwelling (Rogers, 1990, p. 22).
HEALTH CARE: In 1990, Russians had 1 doctor per 0-499 persons, comparable to Western Europe - and better than the U.S. ratio of 1 doctor/500-999 persons (Rogers, 1990, p. 29).
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: In 1985 the U.S.S.R. was listed by human rights organizations as, along with mainland China, the most systematic abuser of individual human rights, and user of torture, in the world; Russia has since been removed from the list as a systematic abuser (Rogers, 1990, p. 61).
ATTITUDES ON POST-COMMUNIST POLITICS
A multiparty system is necessary 57% 50%
There should be independent news 62% 73%
Strong/moderate support for 61% 65%
Which party is closest to your own views? 1992 1993
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