The Russian newspapers agree today: It does not look good in the country in terms of living conditions. They respond to a representative survey by the statistics office Rosstat.
Which has just published that more than three quarters of
Population in Russia is struggling to buy the bare essentials: of the families, about a third can not afford a second pair of shoes, half of the families do not even have a week off from home.
Kremlin is surprised
The Russian leadership does not like the numbers of the statistics office. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was puzzled over what to do with the shoes, and where the numbers came from, and demanded an explanation.
As a result, the agency explained that the study has been one of the most representative and profound in Russia for years. Employees interviewed 60,000 households last September, each family member for at least an hour and a half. The Authority pointed out that the responses were „subjective and reflected the respondent’s beliefs about a decent standard of living“.
„One third of the population lives in total misery“
However, it can not be denied that the number of families who can buy only two pairs of shoes every year, compared to 2016 grew from around 50 to more than 60 percent, say the statistician – but the economic expert Mikhail Chasin reiterated in a broadcast of the Kremlin-critical radio Echo Moskvy the results of the current survey.
„This is the result of the government’s economic policy over the past six years,“ says Chasin. „Income has been declining for almost as long, and now it is developing into one-third of the population living in total misery.“
Putin’s announcements were not followed by any deeds
After presidential elections a year ago, the Russians expect the country’s leadership – after its involvement in Syria and in conflict with Ukraine – to finally take care of its own people. In his speech to the nation at the beginning of the year, President Vladimir Putin also made announcements.
However, these are not fundamental enough to really solve the social problems of the population. On the contrary, leadership has recently increased retirement ages and taxes – including VAT from 18 to 20 percent.
