POVERTY IN RUSSIA: OFFICIAL FIGURES AND RESULTS OF VCIOM PUBLIC OPINION SURVEYS

Abstract

The paper provides analysis of a vast amount of empirical data gathered via VCIOM public opinion surveys devoted to the financial situation of the citizens of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1990 and citizens of Russia in 2014—2015. The author highlights two issues: assessment of the proportion of the poor population and the dynamics of the attitudes of Russians towards poverty. The author makes a comparison between the results of the VCIOM surveys and the official statistics. Different approaches produce different assessments that vary from 15.9 % (Rosstat data; in the beginning of 2015) to 42 % (VCIOM data; financial self-assessment of Russians, March 2016). The Russian opinion is grounded upon numerous negative stereotypes; certain stereotypes have stayed the same since 1990, others have dramatically changed. More Russians find correlations between financial situation and education: 67% say that people live in poverty because those who were raised in poverty have fewer opportunities to get a good education (56% in 1990).