The Ministry of Economy said that by the end of 2008, 18.6 million people in Russia, or 13.2 percent of the population, lived below the poverty line, and poverty reduction had almost stopped. Experts warn that due to the crisis, inflation, and problems with jobs, income, and credit, the number of poor may rise again in 2009, and the middle class may erode. The article also says current support measures, including higher pensions and targeted aid, are not effective enough and need review.

The pillar of social stability, the pride of Russian capitalism, the much-discussed middle class, which had finally found firm ground beneath its feet, is beginning to erode. 2009 will be the first year in recent years when the number of poor people in Russia begins to rise. Officially, a citizen whose income does not exceed 4,600 rubles a month is considered poor in Russia.
On Friday, the Ministry of Economic Development published a monitoring report on Russia’s social and economic development for 2008. According to the ministry’s data, the number of Russians living below the poverty line amounted to 13.2% of the total population, or 18.6 million people. Thus, the number of officially recognized poor people has practically not decreased: a year earlier there were 18.7 million, or 13.3%. In previous years, the number of poor people had been declining much faster: in 2002, 24.6% of the population was considered poor, in 2004 — 17.6%, in 2006 — 15.2%.
The pace of poverty reduction is affected by the low rate of income growth among the population. This is due to the higher level of inflation in 2008 and the unfavorable economic situation, which led to a decline in the incomes of both wage earners and entrepreneurs.
Vyacheslav Bobkov, director of the All-Russian Center for Living Standards, believes that the number of poor people will increase due to those who, in the conditions of the crisis, have encountered problems with jobs, income, loans, etc. The middle class will erode: some of it will move into the middle-income group. From there, some will move into the low-income group. Those who were in the low-income group will become poor. The increase in the number of poor people in 2009 may reach 2%.
Experts are convinced of the need to radically change state policy for supporting the poor. Raising pensions is a necessary measure, but its importance is exaggerated. After all, not only pensioners fall below the poverty line. According to calculations by the Institute of Socioeconomic Problems of Population, only 18% of the truly poor depend on pensions. Targeted assistance is not very effective either, since only 15-18% of these funds actually reach the poor.