Page 21 - RUSRptApr17

The recovery in retail sales has gained strength . The seasonally adjusted three-month moving average month over month change, shows visible gains in both the food (+0.7%) and non-food segments (+1.4%) of the consumer basket. Non-food items’ consumption has emerged from contraction, with +0.6% y/y in March, while food sales have remained in red, with -1.5%, but are likely to follow suit in April or May. Rosstat has yet to publish a detailed item-level breakdown of retail sales, but early data from AEB on new car sales suggests that non-food durables, one of the most cyclical categories in the consumer’s basket, is contributing to the recovery of consumption.
The majority of adults in Russia – 68% – believe that the difference between rich and poor has increased in the past five years, according to a poll by Gallup, the results of which were published on the pollster's web site on April 25. That put Russia behind all other former Soviet countries, except for Armenia, where 79% said the gap between rich and poor has widened, Ukraine (77%), Moldova (77%) and Lithuania (75%). Interestingly, it is not just young Russians, who have been recently active in street protest rallies , who think this way. Among people aged 55 and older, 77% say they feel the same. The percentage of Russians who believe their living standards are declining has more than doubled over the last few years, with 36% of Russians saying their living standards got worse in 2016, up from 17% in 2014. Meanwhile, corruption was also important factor that had an impact on attitudes. 74% of respondents who see corruption as widespread in the Russian government also say the difference between rich and poor has increased.
Russians are demanding more from the government as discontent with state corruption grows , a report by independent pollster the Levada Center found. Some 31% of respondents said that citizens should demand more from the state, up from 25% in March 2016, Another 31% said that the state had given them "so little" that they "didn't owe it anything," The Levada Center also found growing discontent on government bribe-taking, with 65% of Russians describing the level of corruption as "absolutely intolerable." Another 32% said that corruption had infected Russia's government "from top to bottom"— up from 25% last year.
More than half of Russians (53%) believe that the country should go ahead with the air operation in Syria, while 34% opposed the idea, according to the state owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM). About the US missile strike against a military base in Syria most respondents (82%) said it was a US provocation aimed at destabilizing the situation. A tiny 6% think that the strike was a natural response to the suspected use of chemical weapons by the Syrian authorities. At the same time more than one-third (35%) of the polled failed to offer an answer to the question about Russia’s proper response to the incident. Part of the respondents (14%) believe that Russia should stay neutral, and one in ten came out in support of Syria and its President Bashar Assad (11%) or for an independent investigation (11%).
The share of Russians that believe Vladimir Lenin had a positive contribution in the history of Russia has increased from 40% in 2006 to 56%, according to Levada Center. The opposite opinion is held by 22% of respondents (in 2006 - 36%). Another 23% could not give an opinion. Commending the role of the person of Lenin in the history of the country, 26% of Russians were of the opinion that the memory of the leader will remain, but
21 RUSSIA Country Report April 2017 www.intellinews.com