Since the beginning of 2014, wage arrears has been growing. In nominal terms, in 2016, according to Rosstat, it was 1.5 times higher than that in 2014. However, in absolute terms, the debt stays rather low and not comparable to the situation of the 1990s

If real wages continue to follow the ongoing trend, it would take three years for compensation of employees in the Russian economy to return to what it was prior to crisis. An analysis shows that wages have been hit hardest in state-financed sectors and in construction. In 2010–2014, wages...