One in ten Russians does not have enough money to buy basic groceries, a new report has revealed.
A new survey by state-backed pollster VTsIOM found that ten percent of Russians struggled to cover the costs of food, while 29 percent said that they could not afford to replace worn-out clothes.
Pensioners in particular said that they faced financial hardship, with over half of Russians above the age of 65 unable to afford clothing or enough groceries.
The number of those in need has stayed stable since last year, after rising sharply between 2015 and 2016. Some 39 percent of Russians said that they struggled to buy basic necessities last year, compared to 31 percent two years ago.
Some 80 percent of Russians consider those who cannot afford food and clothing to be poor, previous VTsIOM research has revealed.
Eighty-two percent also believe that Russia has "a lot of poor people," compared to the 3 percent that feel the country has "only a few" people living in poverty.
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