A 20-Year Record: More Than Half of Russians Report a Decline in Their Standard of Living
Russia has recorded its highest level of dissatisfaction with living standards in the past 20 years. According to a Gallup survey, 56% of Russians said their standard of living is deteriorating—the worst figure on record.
Another 60% of respondents believe that the country’s economic situation continues to deteriorate. For the first time in the history of the surveys, more than half of citizens view Russia’s economic prospects with pessimism.
Trust in state institutions has also fallen significantly over the past year. Trust in the military has dropped to 66%—the lowest level since 2013—and trust in the government has fallen to 53%, the lowest figure since 2021. Trust in Russian media has plummeted from 59% to 34%.
Gallup notes that after an initial surge in support for the government at the start of the full-scale war, public optimism has given way to record-high pessimism.
Source: Gallup.
Earlier, the Russian presidential administration sent special “recommendations” to state-run and pro-government media outlets regarding how exactly to report on the country’s fuel shortage.
The fuel crisis is also intensifying in Russia: gasoline is disappearing from gas stations and lines are growing.
Russia has allowed the use of lower-quality gasoline due to the fuel crisis.
