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This 85-year-old pensioner relies on her gas stove to stay warm in an apartment that typically hovers around 40-45° F. Estimates are that one third or more of Russians live in poverty, but the elderly and those in rural areas suffer the most. Even in relatively prosperous cities like Moscow, many pensioners have monthly incomes substantially below the poverty line. In rural areas, incomes may be 40 percent lower. Some of the elderly hold starvation at bay by growing kitchen gardens, while others resort to foraging in garbage cans and begging. The Putin administration has proposed pension reforms that would shift younger employees to individual retirement accounts. But limited social spending in recent budgets suggests conditions are unlikely to improve for the elderly and others under the current system.
Photo: Yuri Mashkov/Itar-Tass
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