Fact of the Day - Russian Poverty

We a lot about the Russian oligarchs and their billions but less about ordinary Russian folk.

An average of 19.2 million Russians – or 13.4% of the population – were living last year on less than 9,452 roubles ($139) a month, the minimum subsistence level determined by the Russian government in the fourth quarter. This figure represents a 20% increase year-on-year, with an average 16.1 million people living below the poverty threshold in 2014.

Last September, the World Bank warned against a “troubling” increase in poverty in Russia resulting from a sharp drop in the income of the most vulnerable social groups including pensioners.