Most Russian Monotown Residents Say Economic Situation Unbearable

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 25, 2016)

A total of 59.8 percent of residents of Russia’s single-industry towns consider their socio-economic situation to be unbearable or hardly bearable, the RBC newspaper reported Thursday, citing a poll by the Federal Guard Service (FSO).

Only 3.9 percent of respondents said the socio-economic situation in their town was favorable and 31.3 percent told FSO the conditions in their town were normal.

In addition to socio-economic conditions, respondents were asked to assess their own financial situation.

According to the results, 5 percent of the residents of monotowns believe they are living below the poverty line and 37.7 percent consider themselves poor.

The poll also revealed that almost 36 percent of respondents think it is nearly impossible to find a decent job in their town, RBC reported.

The poll was conducted in December 2015 among 55,600 people in 201 towns.

RBC noted that the perception of the socio-economic situation by residents of single-industry towns has deteriorated since June last year, when a similar poll was conducted.

There are currently 319 monotowns in Russia with a total population of 14 million people, according to the newspaper.

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