Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2005
From: John Varoli <jdvaroli@yahoo.com>
Subject: Poverty in Russia
Just a few comments about…
New York Times
November 15, 2005
Awash in Petrodollars, Russia Frets About the Paradoxes of Bounty
By ANDREW KRAMER
``Russia is still a relatively poor developing country, and with obvious needs!
to fix decades of accumulated potholes and pull an estimated 25 million Russians
out of poverty, it has no dearth of things to spend money on.’’
While the first part of that statement is correct, the figure of 25 million is quite doubtful, or at least demands further explanation. I believe it’s based on the state’s official poverty line, but sadly the Russian state is not a credible source.
Independent research consistently shows that about 60% of Russians, or about 87 million people barely subsist, with just enough money to feed and cloth themselves and their family, and to pay kommunalny uslugi. I would think that is a good enough definition of poverty. These are people for whom buying a basic home appliance is a major expense, and for whom air travel to Moscow or St. Petersburg is unthinkable. And I haven’t even mentioned the abysmal housing th! ey live in, or the decrepit infrastructure in their city or village.
This is not the first time I’ve seen the figure of ``25 million in poverty’’ and I don’t want to single out Mr. Kramer, but I’d like to believe western journalists will not so easily be mislead by the Kremlin’s spin and can provide us with a much deeper and accurate analysis.
Sincerely,
John Varoli
St. Petersburg.