Would you like to live in Russia?

[haele]

1. If I didn't live in St. Petersburg or Moscow, hell no.

One to one comparison, the standard of living between equivalent populations (and job types) is lower once you get out of the big cities, especially if your family doesn't have generational money to begin with.
Remember, there was no private "ownership" before 1991. And since then, the Kleptocrats have been controlling who can enter the middle class and upper levels of professional and management jobs.

Haele