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Here are some approximate prices for goods in the Russian Empire in 1860: sunflower oil (16 kg): 4 rubles, eggs (10): 0.06 rubles, vodka (liter): 0.06 rubles, one piglet: 0.3 rubles, soap (1 kg): 0.25 rubles. The annual salary of a skilled worker was 150-300 rubles, a peasant - 50-100 rubles.

A peasant's hut in the central part of the country - 50-150 rubles, a private house in a town - 500-2,000 rubles, an apartment building (5-10 apartments) - 10,000-50,000 rubles, a noble's estate (with a park, 10-20 rooms) - 20,000-100,000+ rubles.

In 1947, 500 rubles was approximately equal to the average monthly salary in the USSR. The economic situation was difficult due to the consequences of World War II, the drought and famine of 1946-1947. The rationing system introduced during the war continued to operate until December 1947, and the prices of goods on ration cards differed from commercial prices (collective farm markets).

Some examples: bread (on ration cards): about 1-2 rubles per kg (rye bread), at collective farm markets - up to 10-15 rubles per kg; meat - 12-15 rubles per kg (beef) and up to 60-70 rubles; sugar - about 5-6 rubles per kg and up to 20-30 rubles; salt - about 1-2 rubles per kg and up to 10 rubles; milk - about 2-3 rubles per liter and up to 10-15 rubles, eggs - about 8-10 rubles per ten and up to 20-30 rubles, laundry soap - about 5-10 rubles per bar and up to 50-100 rubles, cigarettes - about 5-7 rubles per pack and up to 50-60 rubles, shoes (men's boots) - about 100-150 rubles per pair and up to 500-700 rubles at the market.

So the amount of 500 rubles was a relatively high additional income for this officer, considering that he probably took such bribes from several people every month.

It is also interesting that at the end of 1947, a confiscatory monetary reform was carried out in the USSR, when the rationing system was abolished, new banknotes were exchanged for old ones at a par value of 1:10 (only bank deposits of up to 3,000 rubles were exchanged at par), and prices dropped by 10-15 percent or remained approximately the same. So it is very likely that this officer, having many thousands of rubles in cash, received through bribes, essentially lost most of this money. Thanks for this interesting question and story!

Foreigners holding a Chinese visa or residents of China cannot visit Blagoveshchensk, Russia, from Heihe, China, without a Russian visa. A specific visa-free agreement exists between Russia and China, allowing Russian citizens to visit Heihe without a Chinese visa for up to 30 days, primarily for tourism or trade, using only a passport. However, this arrangement is not reciprocal for non-Russian foreigners, and no equivalent visa-free policy applies for entering Russia from Heihe.

To enter Blagoveshchensk, foreign nationals (excluding Russian citizens under the Heihe agreement) require a valid Russian visa, regardless of possessing a Chinese visa/residence permit. The Russian e-visa, available for citizens of certain countries for short visits (up to 16 days) for tourism, business, or humanitarian purposes, could be an option, but it must be obtained in advance. Additionally, crossing the border, typically via ferry or the new Heihe-Blagoveshchensk bridge (open for tourists in 2025), involves strict customs and immigration checks.

In 2014, the Orphanage #5 in Birobidzhan was reorganized by merging with the Orphanage #1. In turn, this orphanage was closed in 2024. I think you can try to contact the Orphanage #2 in Birobidzhan, which is still functioning. Maybe they have some info about the archives of these closed orphanages.

As of January 2025, this is a good income, more than the average monthly income for a full-time job in most regions of Russia. To get an idea of what you can buy for this amount, check the following page with info about Cost of Living in Kazan, a large city, but not as expensive as Moscow and St. Petersburg (you can choose any other city you want).

As of November 2024, you can buy 1 gram of 99,90-99,99% silver for about 120+ Rubles (1.2 USD), here is an example. If we are talking about people in Russia handing over silver items for scrap, they will be accepted for a price approximately 2 times lower.

The name of this city is Stalingrad (today's Volgograd).

In November 2024, as a student, you can earn in the wide range of about 20,000-60,000 Rubles per month in Stary Oskol depending on the amount of time you spend working. For example, there are a lot of courier vacancies with a flexible work schedule. Check the following list with some vacancies.

As of October 31, 2024, 1 USD is about 97 Russian Rubles. You can buy 1 liter of milk or 2 loaves of white bread or 1 kilo of rice or 1 kilo of apples or 2 kilos of potatoes or 10 eggs for this amount.

Here is some data about annual inflation in Russia by different categories:
All goods and services: 11.9% - 2022, 7.4% - 2023, 9.1% - as of August 2024,

Food products: 10.3% - 2022, 8.2% - 2023, 9.7% - as of August 2024,

Non-food products: 12.7% - 2022, 6% - 2023, 6.1% - as of August 2024,

Services: 13.2% - 2022, 8.3% - 2023, 11.7% - as of August 2024.
You can check the current prices in different cities in Russia via the following site (in Moscow, for example). Also noteworthy is the significant increase in average wages, by 15% in 2023 and approximately 16% in 2024.