Page 19 - RusRPTAug19

quarter of this year, but overall Russia’s consumers remain very gloomy. Russia’s consumer confidence index ticked up by 1 percentage point in the second quarter to minus 15%, Rosstat reported on July 7.
The share of people who think that the recent economic changes are positive rose to 12% in April–June from 11% in January–March, while those that think they are negative fell to 42% from 45%. The share people that believe there has been no change rose to 46% from 43%.
The number of people who expect economic improvements in the next 12 months fell to 15% from 16%, while the share of people that see negative dynamics in the Russian economy decreased to 29% from 33%.
The Russian consumer is depressed after six years of real income stagnation, which is feeding through into depressed retail turnover figures. What consumption growth there is has been driven by growing retail borrowing that is expanding by 25% a year, causing the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) to fret about a growing consumer credit bubble.
2.12 Putin & government’s popularity
Almost two out of five Russians would not like to see President Vladimir Putin stay in office after his current term ends in 2024, according to a new
19 RUSSIA Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com