For Russians, growing worries over ‘eternal poverty’
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.
Despite icy pavements making crossing the northern city difficult, the Dobrodomik – or “good little house” – is full.
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 told AFP.
She receives a monthly pension of 10,000 rubles ( US$ 150 or 135 euros). After paying her local taxes and buying medicine, Antsiferova is left with only US$ 45 to live on.
“And recently, the price of transport went up,” she said.
Businesswoman Alexandra Syniak and her husband Yevgeny Gershevich opened 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 (VAT) and hiked the retirement age for the first time since the 1930s – a hugely unpopular move.
“It’s never been as hard for people as it is now,” said Igor Nikolayev, director of the FBK Strategic Analysis Institute in Moscow.
And this anxiety is starting to show in opinion polls.
According to a January survey by the independent Levada centre, 61 per cent of Russians “feel shame for the eternal poverty and insecurity” of their country, compared to 56 per cent in 2015.
Putin’s personal approval rating has taken a hit, too.
In January, Levada found his approval rating at 64 per cent – the lowest since 2014. — AFP