The survey on which this report is based gauges the difference in perceptions between several generations of Russian people. "The economic reform has been the harshest on those who, by the time it got started, were above 40-50, and had a lower potential for adaptation to the new environment than younger people, experts say.
The percentage of people pleased with their standards of living is 23.2 in the 16-to-25 age group; 17.4 in the 26-35 age group; 12.3 in the 46-55 age group; and a little less than 10 percent in the 55-65 age group. Russians aged between 16 and 25 are more than others satisfied with the food they consume (48.9 percent); people ages 26 to 35 are a little less so (38.3 percent); those above 56 are the least satisfied group (19.1 percent).
Over 40 percent of Russians older than 16 like the clothes they wear, the housing conditions they live in, and the entertainment they can buy. In the 36-to-45 age group, only 27 percent feel satisfied, on the average. And among people aged 56 and above, a mere 11 percent are pleased with their clothing; a little over 20 percent, with their recreation opportunities; and about 28 percent, with their housing conditions.
The question as to whether, on the whole, they felt satisfied with their current living standards was answered positively by 49 percent of the respondents from the 16-to-25 age group; by almost 40 percent of those aged between 26 and 35, by nearly 35 percent of the pollees under 45; by close on 28 percent of the 46-plus ones; and a mere 24 percent of those surveyed in the 56-65 age group.
As compared with 2001, negative assessment of one's own living standards has decreased by a factor of 1.5 while the share of positive assessments has doubled.
Analysts of the Systemic Sociological Research Institute say that the positive dynamics is down primarily to the rise of per capita incomes in Russia, which averaged 135 dollars per month, as of the summer of 2004 (this figure varied across the regions).
In recent years, the highest rate of per capita income growth has been registered among white-collar workers, the experts say. Russians employed in the corporate sector say they have seen their monthly incomes rise to 300-500 dollars. Since 1998, academics have had their salaries rise from 130 to 200 dollars per month; people involved with engineering and design have had theirs increase to $180, up from $120; while the average wage of highly-qualified workers has come to $140, as against $90. Per capita earnings have been rising in other sectors, as well, but not as rapidly. The least economically advantaged categories include the retirees, the unemployed, and the rural dwellers, whose incomes have remained unchanged since Russia's 1998 financial crisis. But given inflation, these underprivileged groups now have even less purchasing power than they did six years ago, analysts note.
