Russia today he is not a communist like its predecessor, the Soviet Union, nor does it want to be. Although it draws on its iconography in certain elements, it is more of a fossil, something that has ceased to exist. Because in the most central streets of the main Russian cities, it is common to see high-end cars that roar when the driver wants to show off his status in front of his compatriots. Something totally different from what can be seen in smaller cities without opportunities, where many cars from the soviet erabetter or worse maintained, continue to roll on the roads.
Russian news agencies such as Tass recently reported on the rise in fortunes of Russia’s richest businessmen, which are estimated to have increased since the beginning of this year by nearly $13.17 billion, while forecasts predict that the average Russian will see their purchasing power decrease in the near future, to levels lower than in 2012. The list referred to by the Russian agency includes Vagit Alekpérov, the founder of the oil company Lukoilwho increased his fortune by 3,170 million dollars – it is estimated that his patrimony is 18,500 million – or Leonid Mikhelson, of the gasística Novatekwhich won 1,650 million, to reach 26,300.
In Russia, there is a huge gap between the richest and the poorest, since only 135 people – commonly known as “oligarchs” – boast close to the 35% of the national GDPwhile there is a 13% of Russians who live in poverty. It is common to see elderly people selling their personal belongings from the era of the Soviet Union, flowers or fruit although, as a legacy of the USSR times, many own a flat or a room in a komunalka -a flat shared by different families-, so they don’t pay rent. This practice of continuing to work is due to the fact that the pensions are very small for many of them, the average is 180 euros per month, and in many cases they depend on their children in order to survive.
To give an example of how the most sophisticated Russian jet set works, it is estimated that 370 of the yachts over 30 meters – 8.8% – belong to Russian billionaires. Its average price, according to specialists, ranges around three million euros. Meanwhile, the Russian minimum wage is 200 euros, and the average 700 euros all over the country However, in many regions this last variable is considerably lower, far from what is expected for a Muscovite, as is the case in republics in the south of Russia such as Chechnya, Ingushetia or Dagestan, with records of close to 300 euros per month on average
Inequality between regions
While Moscow and some regions Arctic oil producers are the richest areas of Russia, the Caucasus and Siberia are the poorest and the places where the day-to-day difficulties are most noticeable. There are even parts of rural Russia where it doesn’t there is running water, in some regions this is due to the impossibility of having pipes functional in winterwith temperatures of -40 degrees, although there are usually alternatives for water supply.
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While the big cities, especially Moscow and St. Petersburg have excellent communication with public transport, there are smaller cities – which can go around the 100.000 habitants– without any public transport infrastructure, not even the famous marshrutkes (minibuses) – with the taxi or personal vehicle being the only alternatives. This system covers what buses cannot do in many localities, even in the capital itself, although outside large cities it usually has little frequency and sometimes low reliability with respect to punctuality, in addition to being old vehicles, some from the Soviet era.
Even in times like the present, this is palpable in the concerns of people in different regions. While a Muscovite, Masha – a fictitious name to preserve her identity – points out that it worries her “not being able to travel Europe although the best option is to travel to Turkey’, in other parts of Russia, the source of efforts is rather than now ‘only you can pay for food and basic expenses”, as assured by Ruslana, whose name is also not real. In the case of men, the differences lie in the possibility of being recruited. Siberia and the Caucasus have sent proportionally more troops to Ukraine than Moscow and St. Petersburg, despite the two cities having a total 20 million inhabitantsaround the 15% of the total population of Russia.