Russians optimistic about living standards – survey
A new survey by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) has found that a significant number of Russians expect the standard and quality of life in the country to improve in the near future.
The study, conducted by the FOM in late September and early October, polled a total of 1,500 people from across the country, asking them how they expect their personal life and life in the country as a whole to change within the next year and within the next three to five years.
According to the results published on the FOM website on Tuesday, 29% of respondents expected an overall improvement in the short term, while 32% did not expect any changes in the next year.
In the long-term, however, nearly half, or 46%, said they believed the quality of life in the country would improve, with only 11% expecting it to deteriorate and 18% saying it would not change.
The most optimistic expectations were noted among respondents aged 18-30, with 56% of them foreseeing positive changes. Those between the ages of 46-60 proved to be the most pessimistic, with 14% of them expecting a deterioration in standards of living.
As for expectations of improvements to the quality of their personal lives and the lives of their families in the next three to five years, 49% of respondents said they were confident that it would get better, with that opinion being shared by 70% of those between the ages of 18-30.
Only 6% of respondents said they expected the quality of their personal life to deteriorate over the same time period while 19% said they did not expect it to change. Meanwhile, 26% said they found it difficult to say.
