This paper assesses the nature and extent of poverty in the USSR in the post-Stalin period, primarily in the decade after 1958. The author describes Soviet anti-poverty policies and discusses their impact. He notes that the Soviet government's ability to influence economic welfare and income distribution lies in its control over wage and salary scales and the social welfare system. This paper, therefore, considers changes in these areas since 1955 as attempts to reduce the incidence of poverty. The author describes the social security system developed under Stalin and relates demographic statistics of the poor to this system. In presenting figures on poverty distribution after 1955, he demonstrates that the Soviet standard of living has risen. This is due to changing policies in wages and pensions, and a general upgrading of the social welfare system. The year 1968 marked an economic and political turning point in the Soviet Union, with changes in minimum wage and, more importantly, the raising of new policy issues. The author analyzes problems facing authorities at that time and briefly discusses advances in wages and social welfare policy in the past decade. (Author/GC)