Power Struggle Between Poor and Rich In Russia

Maria Drobysheva

Cultural Geography GEO 2420

Instructor: Whitaker, Christopher 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Outline

I. Introduction

1. Poor and Rich in Russia
1. Poorest parts in Russia
2. Poorest families in Russia
1. families with children
2. elderly

II. Disbeliefs in Russia

1. Working Class
2. Middle class
3. Garden activity

III. Debts in the poor families

1. Material Debts
1. Lack in education, sanitation, recreation and leisure

IV. Rich Russians

1. Socio-demographic composition
1. Higher educational and qualification potential
1. more money
2. more power
2. Control and wealth
3. Economy effect on poor Russians

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Power Struggle Between Poor and Rich In Russia

      People say many different things about the poor and rich in Russia. This is a country of rich, poor and very poor people. The Middle Class people slightly exist. Rich Russians recognized by were they lived, and the poor by what they eat. Every twentieth person in Russia is considered to be rich and every fifth person is considered to be poor.

      National republic of Tuva and Altai is the poorest regions in Russia. The study showed that this portion of the population that lives below the poverty line, quite noticeably behind the rest in the ability to have even the minimum required property set. Among them 43.1% did not have a vacuum cleaner, 42.5% did not have furniture, 33.9% did not have washing machine, and 18.6% did not have color TV, etc.

      The poorest families in Russia are those who have children and elderly. Since there is very little money and almost no help from family and not to mention the government, many young people choose to go for abortions instead. The norm for Russian children is 33 kilograms (73 lbs) of meat, 55 kilograms (121 lbs) of fruit and 3 pair of boots in a year. This is a pretty low standard.  In addition, about 14% of Russian people don’t reach this norm at all.  14 percent from the total population of 141 million people is about 16 –17 million people. The Russian population is steady decreasing, and it is hard to turn this process around. Elderly people get some social benefits and special federal grants on top of their pension which all together adds up to around 200 dollars a month. This is not enough to survive, especially if the elderly people live in expensive cities such as Moscow. So, they are forced to sell their own belongings on the street for

survival. The scariest feeling for the elderly has not came yet.  Their big question is, what

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will happen when they do not have anymore personal belongings to offset the cost of their small pensions coming in from the government. It is obvious that the poor Russian families are in a very underdog category of the population in terms of their access to update consumer durables. Russia's rich are different from the rest of the population above all essential features of their socio-demographic composition: the higher educational and qualification potential, younger age and lower proportion of pensioners in the composition of their families.

      It looks like not a lot of Russian people believe in Russia. When the working class people in Russia been asked if they want a million dollars, many said no. However, they would in fact like to move out from Russia and be rich in a well - developed country. Among those who wants to move and has never been outside of Russia, this number reaches 40%. And for the Russians who have traveled it is about 60%.  Russians are happy in their own way. Because of the lack of resources and opportunities in the past, many of them don’t know a better life.

      What so called “middle class” in Russia consists of 20% of population. They cannot be equal to a middle class in United States. Low middle class includes families who make about 13 thousand rubles, which is about 500 dollars a month or a little more over it. In the list of the most undervalued professions in this country have been doctors, teachers, salesmen and hairdressers. In Russia, their work is valued at a minimum, and the work itself is not considered to be valuable. Doctors as well as many other professionals are considered as low middle class people. They make between 600 – 1000 dollars a month. In United States these numbers are ridiculous, especially since a doctor

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is a very respected profession and a high paying job.  The government mistreats Russian medical services a lot. People who are sellers, nurses and teachers make even less money than the doctors, and they have really hard times surviving in Russia.

      Existing in the mass consciousness myth that needs Russia's population survives largely due to garden activities require some adjustments. Garden activity, possibly serves as an essential tool for an average standard of the population, but poor people for the most part do not have access to this resource to improve their situation.

      Accumulated small debts are present in 38.7% of poor families, in addition, a quarter of poor states that they have more debt and for rent. Acute shortages of the poor of any material resources leads to the fact that every second of them unable to use any paid services are available to other segments of the population of Russia. Obviously poor people have lack in education, sanitation, recreation and leisure. Fear of losing their health, not to mention the inability to get medical help creates a great fear among Russians, even when there is an urgent need to make a life of fear and apprehension the vast majority of the poor.

      Russia's rich are different from the rest of the population above all essential features of their socio-demographic composition: the higher educational and qualification potential. Because they have more money, and what seems to be more rights, almost every door is opened to them. They can shop and spend as much money as they like, as if there is no tomorrow.

      Russia's oligarchs amassed their control and wealth from existing enterprises, political, business and military industries. Law to many of them is nothing. If they have

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money, they can rule as much as they want. Many ordinary Russian citizens became poor after Soviets Union had fallen. They despise the rich and powerful for taking over of the Soviet economy - factories, oil fields, and gold mines. They feel like it is no longer a great world power. The Russian economy has shrunk a great deal. However, people hope and wish that the Russian Government pay more attention to the regular people. This is not only a paper it is a plea for help, not because it is happening in Russia, but because it continues to happen to other countries as well. 
 
 

      Work cited

Russian Academy Of Science . Institute Of Integrated Social Studies. Poor and Rich in Moderen Russia. 2003. http://www.fesmos.ru/Pubikat/7_Rich%20and%20poor2003/Rich_rus_1.html

Tavernise, Sabrina. Frontline/World. Rich in Russia. October 2003. http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/moscow/