Page 19 - RusRPTDec19

decline of 219,200 and nearly equals the decline seen in all of 2018. Russia's overall population has declined by 52,500 people since January 1 and totalled 146.7mn as of September 1, according to the Audit Chamber's report. President Vladimir Putin has prioritized Russia's migration policy, signing a 2019-2025 plan of action that the Kremlin hopes will attract more Russian-speaking migrants and offset falling birth rates. The Audit Chamber said that migration has compensated for 76% of Russia's natural population decline so far this year.
Almost three-quarters of Russians (72%) believe the interests of society and the authorities do not align, a record high since November 2007. ​This number notably surpasses that recorded in October 2011 (68%), just before the anti-regime Bolotnaya protests broke out. The majority of respondents (53%) say the reason for the divergence is that the authorities live at the expense of the population and do not care how ordinary Russians live. Respondents also explained that there is little exchange between the population and those who make political decisions (19%), and that the interests of society and the authorities fundamentally do not align (16%).
About 50% of Russians said that they are satisfied with their life, ​while 22% of respondents said they were dissatisfied, according to a poll published on the website of the Russian National Public Opinion Research Center on Monday. "One in two Russians is satisfied with the life they lead (50%), which is the highest indicator for the last year. One-fourth of respondents, 25%, say they are partially satisfied with their life, and 22% of Russians are dissatisfied with it," the poll says. More than half of those surveyed (57%) positively evaluate the domestic situation, while 35% say the opposite. One-fourth of Russians are optimistic about the future, 25% are confident that their life will improve in a year, another 41% believe that nothing while change, while 23% think that things will just get worse.
Most Russians (84%) feel happy ​and say that being part of a family, being healthy and having a good job are reasons to be cheerful, the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center said in a statement. "The level of happiness among Russians is still high, as 84% of those surveyed said they were content. The number is high in every social and demographic group but a thing to note is that people who consider their financial situation to be solid (94%) tend to be more optimistic than those complaining about a dire financial situation (66%)," the statement reads.
A survey by the independent Russian pollster Levada Center, released on November 26, found that more than half of Russians between the ages of 18 and 24 want to leave for other countries​, while 21 percent of respondents from all age groups said they would like to emigrate. The next age group that was most interested in emigrating was 25 to 39 at 30 percent, the poll showed. Russia's sluggish economic growth, which has prompted President Vladimir Putin to order his government to find ways to jump-start the economy, and a summer of pro-democracy protests have posed some of the biggest challenges the president has faced during his two decades in power.
The day after Levada Center’s poll was published, state-owned pollster VTsIOM unexpectedly ​released​ (Rus) a similar survey.​ This said only 5% of young people want to move abroad permanently, while 41% want to see the world by studying or working abroad before returning to Russia. Why such a big difference? It’s not entirely clear, although it’s possible the questions were asked in different ways (VTsIOM did not say how it formulated its question).
19​ RUSSIA Country Report​ December 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com