The drop in Russians’ incomes is very sharp, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Policy Olga Golodets acknowledged while speaking at Russian Business Week. On Monday, Rosstat reported that by the end of 2015, the number of Russians living below the subsistence minimum had risen by 3.1 million to 19.2 million people, or 13.4% of the total population. This is the highest figure since 2008. In relative terms, the “speed of impoverishment” among Russians in 2015 reached a record high for the past 16 years. “We are seeing a very sharp decline in incomes. Sharp both in terms of real wages and incomes overall. All of this is reflected in the falling purchasing power of the population, and all of this is reflected in retail turnover, which is shrinking — and shrinking at a very serious pace,” Golodets said on Wednesday. http://www.vedomosti.ru/economics/news/2016/03/23/634774-golodets-priznala-obednenie
MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has awarded the First Class Stolypin Medal to Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev. The corresponding order has been published on the official legal information portal. As noted in the document, the minister received the award “for his contribution to addressing the strategic objectives of the country’s socioeconomic development and for many years of conscientious service.” http://tass.ru/ekonomika/2866049