Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, left, and Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref, right
Photo: Grigoriy Sobchenko
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Economy Is of Greater Concern to Muscovites
Same as a year ago, the growth in prices, crimes, economic situation and housing conditions are the gravest problems of Russia, its residents say via the poll of All-Russia's Public Opinion Center.
It appears that the gravest problems of Russia – the surge in prices and crimes – have become less acute in the country. At least the number of respondents particularly concerned about them slid from 35 percent in May of 2006 to 30 percent this May. The urgency of housing problems surged from 18 percent to 25 percent, while unemployment shed from 24 percent to 21 percent.
The issues of public health and pensions trouble 14 percent and 13 percent of respondents respectively, while such problems as terrorism, education, taxes, defense, foreign policy, environmental protection or migration don’t make the Russians particularly agitated.
Economic situation is the most vital issue for relatively educated and well-paid residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg. There, 42 percent of respondents singled out this problem vs. 27 percent in Russia on average. The problem of foreign policy is also acute only for these two big cities of Russia – 13 percent vs. 4 percent in the country on average.
At the same time, residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg are less troubled by inflation (18 percent vs. 30 percent in Russia) and unemployment (7 percent vs. 21 percent), which isn’t surprising actually. Big cities don’t suffer from unemployment and the growth in revenues there outpaces inflation.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 25, 2007
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