PRICES IN RUSSIA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22512, 16 December 1947, Page 7

PRICES IN RUSSIA

FOOD AND GOODS HIGHER IN COUNTRY MONEY REFORM EFFECTS (10 a.m.) MOSCOW. Dec. 15. The Soviet Ministry of Trade issued a list of new uniform retail prices showing that industrial goods are generally slightly more expensive in rural than in urban areas. Three geographical zones in which the prices vary have been established for foodstuffs. Bread, for instance, is dearer in Moscow and Leningrad than in Kalingrad and Stalingrad. Although the Moscow radio described the calling in of all rouble note issues as “the last great sacrifice the population will have to bear”, the radio during Sunday related stories emphasising the Russians’ joy at the currency decree and the abolition of rationing. The radio said that crowds, after hearing the news from public loudspeakers, flocked to celebrate, after years of autserity, the prospect of more ample meals and cheaper goods. Typical interviews given over the Moscow radio were: The author, Boris Gorbatov: “Writers in the Soviet Union are among the best paid people in the country. We nearly all have large savings, but will cheerfully make the sacrifices demanded because sacrifices are needed for humane purposes.

A Red Army Colonel: “The reissue of currency will increase the rouble’s purchasing power.” An aircraft engineer: “Those who heard the decisions announced realised that our troubles are already over.”