In 2003, the Russian weekly Magazine Summary published an article entitled "From Wages to Wages", which described the salaries of leaders in the Soviet Union at different times. From this, we can get some general idea of the salaries and main incomes of the leaders of the Soviet Union.
Lenin was the lower salary of the soviet leaders. At that time, the Soviet government stipulated that the salary of ministerial personnel could not exceed 500 rubles, but because the Soviet Union was in the midst of a civil war at that time, the ruble was sharply depreciated, so Lenin's salary changed greatly from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. On average, Lenin's monthly wage in 1918 was about 800 rubles, compared with 420 rubles for ordinary Soviet workers at that time. Lenin's wages were about twice that of ordinary workers. This is basically in line with the principles of the Paris Commune. In addition to his salary, Lenin also received 15,000 rubles of writing by writing articles, which naturally belonged to Lenin's labor income.
After Stalin's succession, the salary level of the Soviet leadership changed greatly. Stalin imposed a system of high salaries on high-ranking government officials. He also specially counted a roster, and the officials on the roster not only had high salaries, but also red envelopes, and there were all kinds of privileges that ordinary people did not have, and Stalin himself was no exception. In 1936, for example, Stalin's monthly wage was 1200 rubles, which was equivalent to 4-5 times the wages of ordinary workers. What is even more puzzling is that under Stalin's wage system, all the food and clothing of high-ranking officials was provided by the state, and the wages they received had nowhere to be used, but he was still happy to pay high salaries to officials. Molotov once confessed that he had no idea what his salary was and how much he needed to pay. It seems that under Stalin's leadership, a section of the Soviet Union had already entered communism.
After Khrushchev came to power, he rectified Stalin's chaotic wage system, drastically reduced the salaries of government leaders, and abolished the red envelope system. In addition, he clearly defined the salaries of leaders at all levels, and his own salary was 800 rubles per month, which was also much higher than that of ordinary Soviet workers. Since then, the salaries of successive Soviet leaders have basically not changed.
By Brezhnev's time, his salary remained at 800 rubles, but Brezhnev had the same source of extra money as Lenin. Brezhnev published three books, "Small Land," "Reclaimed Land," and "Revival," which brought him nearly 500,000 rubles, equivalent to 500 years' salary for grassroots teachers in the Soviet Union. In addition, Brezhnev once again revived Stalin's red envelope system.
It was only after Gorbachev became president of the Soviet Union in 1990 that the salaries of the first leader of the Soviet Union changed. The last leader of the Soviet Union earned 2,000 rubles a month, equivalent to 5-20 times the wages of ordinary workers. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev also earned a lot of money by publishing autobiographies, participating in advertisements, and holding lectures.
Judging from the salary alone, Lenin, a leader from a rich background, may be the most pro-people.