Russia's biggest Opinion Pollster VTsIOM has interviewed Russian people about their current life situation and projections for the future. Over half of Russians, almost 56 percent, describe their current living standards as difficult.

      According to the poll, most of the respondents complaining about their living are from big cities (63%), from small towns (60 percent), among the elderly (66%) and middle-income respondents (64%).

      30% of responders consider their lifes as favourable, most of them are those living in two Russia's largest cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, or in other big cities (36%), young people (53%), well-to-do Russians (40%).

      Curiously, at the same time, Muscovites and residents of St. Petersburg are people, who describe their living conditions as unbearable (17%), as well as elderly people (18%) and people with below the average income (16-18%).

      It is good to know that Russians increasingly less their waiting of difficulties in the future. The respective index has lowered from 47% to 29% by comparison with spring polls. There are more respondents who are sure that hard times are definitely over (30%), than those who think that hard times are only in its beginning (27%). In the spring polls the situation was opposite.

      The survey questioned 1,600 people in 46 Russian regions, with an estimated marginal error of no more than 3.4 percent. 

Sources: VTsIOM official site RIA Novosti