Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 8, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 8 Winnipeg free december 1981 soviet Consumers feel inflation russians Are bracing for expensive Winter As food shortages increase by Dusko Doder the Washington Post Moscow russians Are not yet eating the As some people in the West seem to but there is no doubt that this country is bracing for what Many expect to be one of the most difficult Winters in the Grain Harvest apparently has been food is in Short sup in has become More in the past everything ranging from food and clothing to cars and entertainment has become More skyrocketing prices have produced the sort of inflation that this centrally planned Economy has not known for the latest bad news to hit soviet Consumers was a proposal by the nations Deputy planning Arkady that water meters be in stalled in each soviet this would give the government the Means to induce Energy savings through higher tariffs on excessive use of hot but this also would Lead to higher russians now pay for water and heating As part of their which Are very Low we do have said a Moscow resident we Are joining the rest of the of inflation is an economic malady confined to the unhealthy capitalist even the term inflation does not have an equivalent in presumably be cause it does not exist in the soviet groan of distress but rising prices and rumours of in creases to come after new years Day have produced a collective groan of one average Moscow House wife said that to feed her family of three is More than twice As costly As it was 10 years the Cost of clothing has some Price increases of the last three months were cited by this a Small can of fish in Tomato which Cost last now costs Quality brands of Vodka that had been less than a litre now Cost a pair of Winter boots that sold for last summer now Cost the Price of gasoline has doubled to a the Cost of russian made Java cigarettes also has to a the traditional russian or Winter fur has doubled in Price to two average monthly a the Price of a Woolen sweater has increased by More than 30 per cent to As has the Price of an which costs endemic shortages experts writing in the soviet press talk in general terms of the increased purchasing Power in nearly All Seg ments of society As the reason for Price this indicates a realization that endemic shortages Are Likely to continue to plague an Economy where the Supply of desirable goods cannot keep Pace with rising the experts also Point out that the prices on some Basic Staples have not increased for two Moscow residents still enjoy subsidized subway rides for seven just As they did in potatoes still Are 15 cents a when available in the state still is a and half a liter of milk is 22 rents in state housing units remain fixed at to a month for two but a Large number of people have been moved into new and More costly and soviet much like those in the increasingly Are introducing new and improved varieties of Standard items As a Way of raising this has come to affect virtually from bread to one of the signs that rising prices Are having a profound Impact on soviet Consumers can be seen in the appear Ance of water rat meat at the flourish ing private Farmers markets it is the first time since the second world according to those with Long me that such meat has been sold for human the water rat is similar to rats living in except that it is larger and is Christmas fresh Flowers x roses carnations v Broadway Florist 239 Portage 9430731 Polo Park 7758483 Kildonan Plica 6671085 Jet a few Bay 7831 484 the place for antique and collectors dolls anti oils s moderns 266 Edmonton 9432734 Zimmy diamonds Diamond since 1965 from the Diamond Gutter to you 100se diamonds shape Pear Pear heart Pear Oval Marquise Emerald Emerald round round round round round round round round round round round round round round round round Carat weight it Price 5313 440 w 442 898 7120 5938 3590 1893 3000 593 490 405 330 w t we by special v a Sui Jert to Rier 0vrtir4h4r 205 Provencher 2330163 prices of Basic food Are controlled inthe soviet but a poor Harvest Means that Winter found in swampy areas and near lakes and i found its meat Selling at the Chere Mushk Market in Central Moscow for three rubles a kilogram much faster than nearby chickens and Rab which each Cost five rubles a kilogram or beef and which Cost eight rubles a a woman who offered me a piece of what she said was marinated and roasted rat swore that it was delicious and tasted better than this May be True if the diner has no inhibitions and wants to beat the High Cost of other another sign of difficulties in the consumer Market can be seen in the fact that growing numbers of workers Are leaving factory jobs to seek employment As shop assistants or sales this problem has been aired frequently in the a communist party activist from the Ukraine last week wrote an for denouncing the Why does a qualified worker Mak ing 250 rubles a month seek a Job of sales clerk who makes 90 rubles a month he the answer was although not fully once the worker becomes a sales clerk he gains Access to consumer goods at nominally Low and can help his friends and relatives to do in a Complex system of underground barter a sales clerk can provide a service to other people and in return gain Access to other consumer items be for this consumer goods literally Are kept under the counter or hidden away in Back creating artificial talking of inflation in the soviet Union is like stumbling about in a the absence of candid Public discus and the secretiveness about actual Price hikes make it impossible to develop anything comparable to the costo living figures that Are published in the United average wage but official figures provide some the average monthly wage today is 175 rubles or about which is up 35 per cent from the figure for the Ruble is Worth about in the the Price of Coffee has gone from to a the a soviet has risen in Price from to More than prices for virtually All nonessential commodities also have risen three to four soviet commentators continue to in Sist that prices for essential such As meat and meat will remain in Price increases for other the official news Agency Tass said Are needed in part to allow the state to subsidize such Basic these subsidies reportedly now Are about billion said the Tass commentator soviet housewives buy food at the same prices As their mothers did dec Ades muscovites scoff at this i have yet to find a housewife who agrees with now 6 stores in Winnipeg Weston Square Logan and Mcphilips to Friday to s 8 to 8 Maples Market place Jefferson m Akda sum drive to 9 to Charleswood 3670 Roblin 527 Selkirk Avenue 9 to 6 and sat 9 to 9 to fort Garry Richmond West shopping Centre to 9 to 9 Mclver Mali Henderson to 9 to 9 prices effective until december items available Only while quantities Purchase ladies by Beatrice Pines Blanket cloth save velour save fleece save just in time for gift giving choose from cosy Blanket soft n cuddly fleece or luxurious assorted colors and misses sizes women sizes 38 to be Early for Best selection i ;