Specialists of the Department of Sociology at the Financial University of the Russian Federation annually conduct a large-scale study on the assessment by citizens of cities of the country of their material well-being. According to experts, the poorest city in Russia is Togliatti. Cities with a population exceeding 500 thousand people took part in the studies. Residents of the country had to independently evaluate their level of well-being on a 5-point scale. Under the number one, the situation is hidden when citizens of the state hardly earn their own food. The number five indicates the possibility of buying real estate. Based on these indicators, it was possible to calculate the poverty index for each locality.
10 most low-income cities in Russia
According to estimates by the Department of Sociology, the list of the poorest cities in Russia includes the following settlements:
- Togliatti with a poverty index of 0.8.
- Astrakhan with an indicator of 0.68.
- Penza with an indicator of 0.6.
- Volgograd with an indicator of 0.59.
- Saratov with an indicator of 0.55.
- Rostov-on-Don with an indicator of 0.53.
- Lipetsk with an indicator of 0.52.
- Barnaul with an indicator of 0.5.
- Naberezhnye Chelny with an indicator of 0.5.
- Voronezh - an indicator of 0.49.
In contrast to the poorest settlements of the country, the smallest poverty index was recorded in Vladivostok and Moscow, in Yekaterinburg, Tyumen and Kazan. The assessment of the situation was not based on official statistics, it was built solely on the opinion of the inhabitants of each individual locality.
General characteristics of poverty by city
The share of critically poor young men recorded in Saratov was 5%. This figure for cities averages 4%. To assess the situation, young people from 18 to 30 years old were considered. In the same locality, the largest number of low-income men is about 36%, with the national average of 35%. The settlement was also marked by the poorest youth, which accounted for at least 5% with a national indicator of 4%. Low-income youth is 42%, while the national average does not exceed 38%. The share of critically impoverished residents is 14% with an average of 11%, and the poor - 53% with an average of 51%. The total poverty index of this settlement is 0.55, and it occupies 5th place in the ranking. Despite record levels, the poorest city in Russia is Togliatti. The study provided information that the peak of poverty, which swept both the northern cities of Russia and the south, fell at the end of 2011. It was during that period that more than 18% of the country's inhabitants did not have funds for food. By mid-2012, the population, which classified itself as poor, was reduced to 9-11%.
The reverse side of the coin or the most affluent cities
Russia's millionaire cities are the other side of poverty. According to the Department of Sociology and with a focus on the poverty index, the richest people in the country live in the following settlements:
- In Vladivostok - with a poverty index of 0.08.
- In Moscow - 0.08.
- In Yekaterinburg - 0.14.
- In Kazan - 0.2.
- In Tyumen - 0.23.
- In Krasnodar - 0.25.
- In St. Petersburg - 0.26.
- In Orenburg - 0.27.
- In Irkutsk - 0.27.
- In Novosibirsk - 0.28.
The research involved 35 cities. The respondents in the most prosperous cities of the country practically did not consider the situation of a lack of funds for food and basic necessities. Most of the respondents confidently referred themselves to either the fourth or fifth wealth category, where there is the opportunity to purchase personal transport and real estate.
General summary of information
Tolyatti is the poorest city in Russia. About 57% of the population of the settlement are low-income. The second place went to Saratov, in which 56% of low-income people live. The three leaders in this category are closed by Penza, whose population is 53% poor. On the back of the scale are Vladivostok, Moscow and Yekaterinburg. According to the survey, only 2% of critically poor men and critically poor youth live in the Northern capital. Poor people account for only 10%. The category of low-income men here is 32%, and low-income youth - only 33%. In total, the share of low-income residents is not more than 48%. Here we can add that over the past 10 years, starting from the period of 2003 and until 2014, the number of critically poor people in the country decreased from 37% to 10%. At the same time, there is a tendency for the growth of the low-income population over the past few years - from 46% to 54%.
A bit about Togliatti
Top of the poorest cities in Russia is headed by Tolyatti - a settlement on the territory of which about 700 thousand people live. According to preliminary data, 13% of residents who have certain difficulties with the purchase of food are recorded here. The share of the poor in the village reaches 57%. It is worth mentioning about 45% of young people who fall into this category. The cities of Astrakhan and Penza with a population of 530 and 520 thousand people became twin cities for the misfortune of Togliatti. The share of the poor is 56% and 53%. Statistics surprised experts, as it is customary to call Togliatti "the capital of the domestic automobile industry." The city-forming enterprise that now adorns the poorest city in Russia is the flagship automobile industry, AvtoVAZ OJSC. Information about whether the layoffs of 2014 had an impact on the situation and statistics does not appear and does not apply anywhere. Only the risk of social unrest, which can cover the cities of southern Russia and the north, is recorded.
What does the government say?
On December 16, 2014, O. Golodets, who holds the post of vice president, said that 15.7 million poor people were registered in Russia. Under inflation, their number will systematically increase. In the future, the names of Russian cities that will fall into the category of the poor will increasingly appear in the media. According to Olga Golodets, the purchasing power of citizens of the country will be significantly reduced in the near future. This trend will cover the cities of both the north and the south of Russia. Rosstat provided very interesting information that in just the first 12 days of January 2015, the country's inflation rate reached 0.8%. If we talk about this value at the end of last year, then it corresponded to only 0.3%. According to forecasts, by the end of spring, the level of growth should reach a value of 15-17%. As for inflation, by the end of 2015, its value is expected at 13.7%.
Methodology for assessing poverty in Russia
The list of the poorest cities in Russia was compiled not just like that, but based on a large-scale study. The indicator was not studied on the basis of statistical data or even on the availability of access to benefits. The poorest city in Russia was determined on the basis of a self-assessment of the level of well-being made by the population itself. In the process of sociological research, the Russians were asked to answer the question about their own income, namely, what category it fits into. There were five points to choose from:
- There is hardly enough money for food.
- Means are enough only for food and for basic necessities.
- There is enough money to buy large household appliances, such as a refrigerator, a washing machine.
- It is possible to purchase a new car.
- There are enough funds for all needs, including for the purchase of real estate.
Grouping categories
To conclude that Togliatti is the poorest city in Russia, allowed the following approach. According to the presented classification, the first group of people is a critically poor population. The first and second groups together form a layer of the low-income population of Russia. The issue of poverty is highly relevant and plays a large social and political role. This is due to the emergence of social unrest with a significant decrease in the standard of living of Russians. Similar trends do not cover the millionaire cities of Russia.
