Growing worries over ‘eternal poverty’ in Russia

SAINT PETERSBURG:

At a Saint Petersburg cafe, a singer performs Soviet-era tunes for 50 pensioners enjoying a mid-day meal.

In the basement of a central apartment block, the cafe offers free food for the elderly – a group particularly hard hit by the economic strains causing growing anger in Russia.

Inside, pensioners are served hearty stews and given the chance to have a chat, or even a dance. They are overwhelmingly women.

“Prices are rising every day. So this cafe is a very, very good idea,” 72-year-old Rimma Antsiferova said.

Businesswoman Alexandra Syniak and her husband Yevgeny Gershevich opened the Dobrodomik this winter to “thank the elderly”.

In the evening, it turns into a regular restaurant but between noon and mid-afternoon, pensioners from all corners of Saint Petersburg come to eat a warm meal.

Following an oil boom in the 2000s, Russians have seen their purchasing power steadily decline over the last five years.

The trend is showing no sign of slowing, despite Russia recovering from a 2015 recession brought on by a fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

When he was re-elected for a fourth presidential term last year, President Vladimir Putin promised to halve Russia’s poverty rate.

But soon afterwards, his government raised value-added tax and hiked the retirement age for the first time since the 1930s – a hugely unpopular move.

And this anxiety is starting to show in opinion polls.

According to a January survey by the independent Levada centre, 61% of Russians “feel shame for the eternal poverty and insecurity” of their country, compared to 56% in 2015.

Putin’s personal approval rating has taken a hit, too. In January, Levada found his approval rating at 64% – the lowest since 2014.

“Discontent has spread from urban centres to smaller, industrial towns where the working population is most affected by falling incomes,” Levada’s director Lev Gudkov said.

“This is linked to the refusal of the state to provide social guarantees, and funds being used for geopolitical projects rather than going on the people,” he added. — AFP

— AFP Making do: An elderly man eating a snack as he sits on a street in central Moscow. The elderly people are particularly hard hit by the economic strains in Russia.