He was in debt to a number of friends, as his salary and meager lecture earnings could not cover his expenses.

He was paid well for his services, and had a lifestyle far above what his official salary could cover.

"Even a divisional director's salary doesn't cover your expenditures," Rafe said.

"But they only wanted two people signing the lease and there were no two of us whose salaries covered 40 times the rent."

She quit, she says, because even with help from her child's father, her salary did not cover rent and child care.

But his salary of less than 2,000 rubles a month, or $20, no longer covers his family's expenses.

But next year their salaries should cover most of the bill.

And her salary barely covers her expenses, which include $200 a week for baby sitters.

The church provides a nice little house for my family to live in, rent-free, and my salary covers most of the bills.

She eventually had to quit, she said, because her salary simply did not cover monthly expenses like child care and rent.