So what should it show to me? The consumer and groceries prices are lower in Moscow. Yes, our renting prices and restaurant ones are higher than in Prague. Those things are always more expensive in megalopolises like Moscow (2561,5 km2), London (1,572 km2) or Tokyo (2,187 km2) in comparison to small cities like Prague (496 km2).
Average salary in Prague is
25,000 CZK or
$1039.91 USD a month
Average salary in Moscow is
66,562 RUB or
$1036.79 USD a month
Before the financial crisis an average salary here was 2x times more. Anyways, as you can see, the average official* salaries in Prague and in Moscow is almost the same according to the current CZK and RUB exchange rates. Now tell me what's your tax? All Russians pay a fixed tax of 13% of their salary. Personally I pay only 6%, because I'm a self-employed person. Now how much do you pay?
* When I say "official" I mean so-called "white" salary which is reflected in financial documents and taxed. However the people here are used to receive "
black salary" (aka "salary in envelope"). It's not taxed and usually it's much more than your official salary. When your employer doesn't want to pay taxes it hires you for some minimal allowed salary (in Moscow it's only 16,500 RUB or $256 USD a month) which you both will pay taxes from, but the main part of the salary (say another 60,000 rubles) will be paid to you in cash and it won't be reflected in the financial documents. That's why the actual salaries have nothing to do with the official ones here. And that's why some clerk with an official salary of $300 UDS a month can afford to own apartments in Moscow (one bedroom ugly
Khrushchyovkas start at $100,000 USD here), a good car and travel the world two times a year.
Hope you have learned something new about salaries in Russia ;)