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Inflation, Social Concerns Mounting
Rapid price growth, the huge gap between rich and poor and the inaccessibility of medical care have worried Russians much more in the last year than they did three years ago, according to the findings of a Levada Center poll published yesterday. At the same time, positive economic growth and the resulting growth in personal incomes caused respondents in 2008 to express less concern over unemployment, rising crime and the general poverty of the public. Falling industrial and agricultural production is a problem that has worried 31 percent of respondents steadily for three years.
Inflation has become unpredictable, as was seen last year, and is a tradition worry for Russians. This year, that disquiet has reached a record 81 percent among respondents. The Public Opinion Foundation published a survey on rising food prices yesterday that showed food is becoming an increasing financial burden for Russians. Sixty-three percent of respondents perceived food prices as rising faster this year than last December. The pollsters observed that that tendency was most noticeable to the elderly (43%) and low-income (39%). Only 6 percent of respondents believe that the government is doing all it can to contain prices. The majority consider the government inactive (39%) or insufficiently active (38%) in this regard.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 08, 2008
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