I will again argue for a better sharing in the wealth of countries, or at least a better investment of the wealth that countries generate. Russia is no exception to the rule, and unfortunately things just got worse as sanctions bite. Sadly enough, I see more and more people having difficulties to make both ends meet in Russia. The situation may be better – or worse ? – in Moscow where incomes are much higher than in the rest of the country, but where prices are also higher than anywhere else.
More than 3 million Russians fell below the official poverty line in the first three months of this year as Russia’s economy stumbled into a recession, state statistics service Rosstat said Thursday.The number of people living below the poverty line rose from 19.8 million to 22.9 million in the same period of this year — a rise of 3.1 million, according to data from Rosstat.
The percentage of Russians living below the poverty line thereby rose to 15.9 percent of the total population in the first quarter, which is 2.1 percentage points more than in the same period last year, according to the statistics. Earlier this month the Russian government set the minimum subsistence level for the first quarter, an indicator of poverty in Russia, at 9,662 rubles ($174) per month. This was an increase of 17.3 percent from the previous quarter.
My thought goes to the “Happy Planet Index”, thinking about how people used to be happy when I first arrived in Russia in 2000. Am not sure the Russian population is better off today, the only thing I know is that people worry more than before for their future. This may be linked to the rise in their living standards and the fear of losing, or the increasing value of materialism in the Russian society.
For sure, things show once again that you must fix the roof while the sun is shining, and that it would have been worse acting when oil was at 100USD a barrel fueling growth and income, and when Russia was invited in the G8 by its peers…
fabgotgreen 