Page 18 - RPTRusFeb17

The share of spending on food is rising with 41% of the population saying they spend about half of all their income on food, up from about a third for most of the boom years. However, over the last two decades the category “spend all our income on food” has dramatically declined to the benefit of the “less than half” category.
Russia’s attitude to small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) reached a nine-year high of 93% in February, up from 41% four years ago, Vedomosti reported on February 27, citing a survey by state-owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM). The negative attitude to SMEs fell from 9% to 5% over the same period. Recent polls suggest that while Russians are not expecting any dramatic changes (most believe the crisis will continue for at least another year), the population is increasingly confident it can work. The share of those who want to start their own business was up to 27% in February against 19% in 2009: the highest share of those would-be entrepreneurs is concentrated in the young 18-24 year olds (52%) and decreases thereafter with age, VTsIOM found. The general director of VTsIOM Valery Fedorov told Vedomosti that the main motivation was that people understand the state is strapped for cash and there will be less social support for those out of work. After four years of declining real and disposable income to 2010 levels, young Russians are increasingly deciding to take matters into their own hands. The
18 RUSSIA Country Report February 2017 www.intellinews.com