Slobodenyuk E., Tikhonova N. The Impact of the Crisis on the Poverty Situation in the Country. In: Russian Society and the Challenges of the Time. Book Three ...

Abstract

This book chapter examines the state of poverty in Russia during the economic crisis of 2014–2015. It demonstrates that, under these conditions, the proportion of the population living in poverty expanded substantially, reaching 25% of the population, with the potential to increase further to at least 33% if those whose incomes were only marginally above the subsistence minimum were to fall into poverty. Although this expansion of poverty was not entirely unexpected—given the large share of the population experiencing «floating» or transient poverty and lacking sufficient resources to cushion the adverse effects of economic downturns—it nevertheless warrants particular attention. The increase in poverty was driven not only by groups already vulnerable to deprivation but also by individuals whose previous standard of living would not have suggested a high risk of rapid impoverishment. Accordingly, particular attention is devoted to the group of Russians who experienced a sharp deterioration in their living standards during the crisis.