Fixed capital investment in 1999 will be less than one-fifth of the 1991 level in real terms. The annual average exchange rate in 1999 is expected to be about 30 rubles to the dollar, which suggests a rate of 40 rubles to the dollar by the end of the year. However, no widespread social unrest is foreseen. No Stenka Razin will lead the peasantry in a march on Moscow. Revolutions start in major cities, and despite the setback of August 1998, living standards in Moscow and St. Petersburg are still well above the national average.
Most families have alternative sources of earnings and foodstuffs.
And whereas Yevgeni Primakov has done little to restructure the economy, he has brought a considerable measure of social stabilization.