Poverty On The Rise In Russia
The
Russian Committee on Statistics says Over 24 million
Russians are living below the poverty line.
Breakdown
According to the committees report, more than 17 per
cent of Russia's population has a monthly income of
less than 5,497 roubles or 179 US dollars.
Disagreement
This setback comes after the Russian economy shrank
by 9.5 per cent during the first quarter of 2009.
However, experts disagree over the significance of
the latest poverty figures.
Some argue it shouldn't be overstated, while others
claim the figure would be even higher if
international standards of living had been used in
the assessment.
Panos/ Qasim /Ahaziah