The rating list of cities by poverty level was created by an initiative group of sociologists from the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. The range of the study included several dozen cities with a population of 500,000 or more. During the study, citizens were asked to assess the overall level of personal well-being on a scale from 1 to 5. Systematizing the results obtained, sociologists formed a measurement value - the poverty index, the value of which made it possible to determine the poorest cities in Russia.
The leader of a rating has appeared partly unexpected. It turned out that the poorest city in Russia is Togliatti, one of the main centers of the automotive industry. Despite the strong backbone of enterprises, the city has the highest proportion of poor men of working age. The total number of residents of Togliatti is 700 thousand people, of which about 13% are on the verge of poverty. The reason was that the large industrial potential of the city is not being fully realized, and the city-forming enterprises are not in the best condition. AvtoVAZ products on the market face high competition from Chinese firms that provide goods in the same price segment. In addition, the total production volumes at the moment do not allow the use of such a number of workers as in the heyday of AvtoVAZ.
The second place after Tolyatti is occupied by Astrakhan - a famous Russian city located in the Volga delta. Astrakhan is a major economic and cultural center of the region, but the city's infrastructure is unevenly developed - high-class hotels, excellent restaurant establishments, modern office centers have been built, but in return, many budget sectors are experiencing an acute shortage of funds. Transport infrastructure and public utilities need additional injections. The survey results show that about 11 percent of Astrakhan residents live below the poverty line, and more than half are unable to afford extra expenses.
The symbolic pedestal of leaders is completed by Penza. Many enterprises of various types successfully operate in the city, the overall unemployment rate remains quite low, but there are catastrophically few jobs with a sufficient level of pay. Penza is characterized by a high proportion of city dwellers with additional sources of income. The low level of salaries leads to the fact that the bulk of the monthly budget of the average city dweller is spent on food, utility bills and various types of loans. The policy of the city's leadership does not create a feeling of a sufficient level of social security among the residents of Penza.
The hero city is on the list in fourth place. Volgograd retains its attractiveness as a well-known tourist center, has large enterprises, but the average income level of the population remains low. A detailed study showed that the root of the problem is the financial condition of the youth of Volgograd, which makes up about 40 percent of the total number of low-income people. The city leadership is implementing draft programs to support youth and create new jobs, but their full implementation will take a long time.
The center of the Saratov region is in fifth place in the ranking. This is due to the difficult environmental situation and the insufficient number of modern medical facilities - semi-legal landfills are concentrated near the city, and a high mortality rate has been noted among residents. In addition, the city is experiencing a shortage of quality food. According to the results of the survey, every fifth resident of Saratov considers himself poor, and 64 percent classified themselves as poor.
The city of military glory and the administrative center of the Southern Federal District took sixth place in the ranking. With a sufficiently high level of general branches of the city's development, slightly more than half of the city's residents consider themselves to be low-income. A detailed check showed that the majority of poor Rostovites are elderly citizens. Here the usual picture is emerging - the level of pensions is such that incomes are sufficient only to meet basic needs.
The seventh place in the list is occupied by Lipetsk. The inclusion of this regional center in the list is caused by the insufficient level of development of the communal sector - the maintenance of the housing stock and transport infrastructure requires a much larger infusion of funds compared to those that are available. The social sphere and healthcare also lack funding. According to the final data, 16 percent of Lipetsk residents classified themselves as poor.
The administrative center of the picturesque Altai Territory was ranked eighth. The city is characterized by a high level of social differentiation - about 60 percent of residents of any age have incomes sufficient only to buy the basic necessities, and about ten percent openly admit their income is enough to buy a car.
The city, ranked ninth, has a classic picture of a large number of poor coupled with significant unemployment and a shortage of high-paying jobs. The vast majority of the poor are people of retirement age and military personnel.
Getting into the rating of relatively prosperous Voronezh is due to a number of factors. First of all, the policy of avoiding industrialization played a role, which ultimately led to an increase in the pace of social stratification. In addition, the overall increase in income was not accompanied by even a partial increase in wages. The main share of the poor residents of Voronezh are pensioners.
The study took into account large cities, but it should be remembered that a huge number of people live below the poverty line in settlements with a smaller number of inhabitants.
There is such a Financial University. He, this university, is under the government of Russia. The experts of this university produced a divine list the poorest cities in Russia.
It is difficult to say by what methods they determined poverty, but in the top three (although such leadership is not necessary for nothing), in this register, Tolyatti, Astrakhan and Penza ended up.
In this city, Tolyatti, 13% of the population is dramatically poor, who have great difficulty finding money for food. The share of the poor is 57%. The same indicator in Astrakhan is 56%, and in Penza - 53%.
If I understand correctly, then Avtovaz is the city-forming enterprise in Togliatti. VAZ cars are often found on the roads of our country and we can conclude that the company is working. So why are there so many poor people in Tolyatti?
I do not want to dispute the conclusions of this Financial University, I just want to say that if there are so many poor people in the city, which is the place where the largest and most successful Russian automobile production is located, then what can we say about other numerous cities in Russia, where there is not only AvtoVAZ, and even any production at all.
The study also provides other figures. They say: the number of the poor in the Russian Federation has decreased by 3 times in 11 years. In nature, there is nothing that comes from nowhere, and if it arrived in one place, it disappeared in another. If the number of the poor has decreased, then only at someone's expense. There are just more beggars in other places.
Beggars, in cities with a population of less than 500 thousand people. The fact is that this study was conducted for cities with more than 500 thousand people in 35 cities. Since when did cities with a population of less than 500,000 cease to be considered cities? If they had been properly investigated, then Tolyatti would not have been the poorest city in Russia, and quite different settlements.
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Eburg, Tyumen, Krasnodar are recognized as not poor, or the least poor. Well, yes, well, yes, but how.
Last year, it seems, I passed through Tolyatti. Ordinary city. In Togliatti there is the Zhigulevskaya hydroelectric power station. Near the city of Zhigulevsk. It is forbidden to shoot from the HPP, but I took a few shots. All photos are from the car, through the glass, so the quality is what it is.
Comparison USA site vs RU site, read.
What is the poorest city in Russia? The Department of Sociology of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation compiled a poverty rating. In the course of the research, it was concluded that Togliatti is the poorest city in Russia. In the article we will try to understand on what basis such conclusions are made. We also list the rest of the poorest Russian cities. But first, a little about the history of Togliatti itself.
Tolyatia: first appearance
The poorest city in Russia did not always have such an "honorary" status. At one time it was one of the five most developing in the world. It has been compared to American Orleans.
The famous ethnologist, geographer, historian Vasily Tatishchev is considered to be the founder. In 1737, Empress Anna Ioannovna granted the Kalmyk princess Anna Taishina a certificate of ownership of the Kalmyk lands. She converted to Christianity and declared her loyalty to the Russian administration. To protect these lands from the raids of the Kalmyk nomads, who did not want to follow her example, the charter indicated the need to build fortresses. So on the site of the future Tolyatti, which in the future will receive the status of "the poorest city in Russia", the first settlement was formed. The official date of foundation is June 20, 1737.
First name
The first name of Togliatti is Stavropol, i.e. "City of the Cross". This name was given to the first paramilitary settlement thanks to the decree of the Senate. Tatishchev himself suggested calling him Epiphany, which means "baptism." The settlement was to become the center of all Kalmyk Christians who decide to switch to a settled way of life.
thrice reborn
Today's poorest city in Russia throughout the history of its existence has changed not only the name, but also its location.
By the beginning of the 20th century, it was poorly developed economically and was no different from an ordinary village. In 1924, it was downgraded to a settlement. They returned the former status of the city to him only after the Great Patriotic War.
In 1950, it was decided to build the Kuibyshev reservoir. Then it was decided to move the settlement to a new location. At the bottom of the Zhiguli Sea, there were fragments of the old Stavropol.
In 1964, it received its new name - Togliatti, in honor of the leader of the Italian communists. It must be said that the city owes Italy not only its name, but also its industry: the construction of the Volga Automobile Plant is connected with this European country. The enterprise was built under the control of Italian engineers, and the first car - VAZ 2101 - was an exact copy of the Italian brand FIAT 124. Perhaps that is why the first "penny" is distinguished by durability and reliability. Subsequent brands of VAZ cars, according to motorists and auto mechanics, cannot boast of this. The plant was built in record time, and the new industrial center began to develop rapidly.
grand construction
In the 60-70s. of the last century, few would have guessed that in half a century Togliatti would bear the title of "The poorest city in Russia." Then it was considered a construction site of allied significance. In terms of its growth rate, it was comparable to the American Houston. In a record short time, it turned into a powerful industrial center of the USSR with the youngest population in the Union. Until now, Togliatti is considered the largest city of republican subordination with a population of more than 700 thousand people. Even many capitals of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation cannot boast of such a population. It was the number of inhabitants that made it possible to participate in the rating "The poorest and richest cities in Russia", since research is carried out only in those whose population exceeds half a million people. Tolyatti is one of the few in this rating that is not the capital of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
Top 10 poorest cities in Russia
The top five poorest cities look like this:
- Tolyatti.
- Astrakhan.
- Penza.
- Volgograd.
- Saratov.
Note that all of them are geographically close - these are the regions of the Volga region and the Central part of Russia.
It was believed that Lipetsk is the poorest city in Russia. At least that's what many of its inhabitants think. This is not so: Lipetsk is not the poorest, but it is in the top ten: today, the half-million city of the European part of Russia occupies an “honorable” seventh place. Also, in addition to them, the top ten includes Rostov-on-Don, Barnaul (the capital of the Altai Territory), Naberezhnye Chelny (the capital of Chuvashia), Voronezh (the administrative center of the Voronezh region). It is striking that almost all of these cities were powerful industrial centers in Soviet times.
We have compiled a list of the poorest cities in Russia. We will try to understand the criteria by which the research was conducted. Is the rating of the poorest cities in Russia objective and why are the official authorities of the "winner" unhappy with it? More on this later in the article.
Why do the authorities of Tolyatti disagree with the "high rank"?
The authorities and the media of the "winner" controlled by it are dissatisfied with the results. Naturally, who will like such a “high” status, especially if you determine the direction of its development? We will try to figure out what criteria were used to conduct the research.
The level of socio-economic status can be studied on the basis of objective data on income levels and access to various services. This method is the most objective, but it requires a significant amount of time, effort, and resources. In fact, a huge army of economists, lawyers, and social workers should be involved in the work. In each test city, it is necessary to monitor the average prices for food, essential services, determine the level of health care and education, and much more. However, there is another approach: according to it, poverty is assessed by self-assessment of the level of well-being of the residents themselves. It is the second method that was used by the Department of Sociology of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
What does it mean? In fact, the rating of the poorest cities was determined by the residents themselves. With this approach, there is no need to talk about objectivity. For example, in many cities of Chechnya and Dagestan, the level of official unemployment is fixed at around 30% of the able-bodied population, but the residents themselves do not feel poor. Also, in some cities, the average income of residents is lower than in Togliatti. The study is more psychological than economic. If we analyze the rating of the poorest cities in Russia based on the feelings of the residents of these cities themselves, we will see one pattern: they are all located in close proximity to rich and developed megacities. This explains why the cities of European Russia and the Volga region, which are located next to prosperous, in their opinion, cities: Moscow, Samara, Kazan, etc., were mainly included in the list. The city of Barnaul, the capital of the Altai Territory, whose inhabitants are located in close proximity to Novosibirsk, which is included in the list of the richest cities in Russia.
Do the inhabitants of the "poor towns" really "feel low"?
Of course, the authorities of those who entered the "black list" of the poorest cities in Russia are unhappy. They say, “our residents are feeling sorry, some have loans, others want to eat a lot,” etc. However, serious economic problems are indeed observed in the settlements from the list. This is noted not only by the creators of the rating, but also by specialists from the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Health and Social Development, and others. There are serious economic problems in Togliatti associated with the AVTOVAZ crisis. Tens of thousands of workers have been laid off lately. There are many reasons: automation of production, competition from Chinese manufacturers selling cars in the Russian Federation in the same price category as the Volga plant, financial problems, etc.
The crisis of the plant, which is a city-forming enterprise, cannot but affect the socio-economic situation of all residents, since, according to the "domino principle", it captures other areas of public life.
Why do such research?
Why conduct such studies and compile such ratings?
Experts are sure that they do not set themselves the task of helping the residents of the poorest cities in Russia, otherwise fundamental economic research would be carried out. Respondents were only interviewed by phone, on the streets. Hence the conclusion: the purpose of the study is to identify the most "explosive" in which revolutionary movements can begin. That is why they study not macroeconomic indicators, but the moods of residents, which are subjective in nature.
Protests are often driven by poor, unemployed male youth: they have nothing to lose, but more than enough strength and energy. Therefore, the level of “critically poor young men” was measured separately. In Togliatti there are 13% of them, on average in Russia - 4%. Hence the conclusion: the city in the Samara region is not only the poorest, but also with the highest risk of potential revolutionary unrest.
Methodology for assessing the poverty of cities
We have listed the poorest cities in Russia. The name will not be listed again. Also, it has already been said above about the research method, which is not distinguished by objectivity. The winner was determined on the basis of a self-assessment of the level of well-being of the residents themselves. During sociological surveys, respondents were asked a closed question: "What do you need your salary for?" Next, you had to choose one of the five answers provided.
Poverty index
The rating is based on the so-called poverty index. It was calculated on the basis of not all social groups. Only unemployed youth were included in the research, which confirms the assumption that the state is marking possible future “hot spots” of social unrest.
The poorest city with a million inhabitants
Among the thirteen millionaires of Russia, a rating is being built. Rosstat compiled it taking into account the average wage, which is also not objective without price monitoring. The poorest million-plus city in Russia is Volgograd: the average salary for large and medium-sized enterprises is 32,441 rubles (2016 data).
Not far from Volgograd is another million-plus city - Rostov-on-Don - with an average salary of 32.7 thousand rubles.
Caucasus - a future threat to Russia?
If we consider unemployed poor youth as a potential threat of future revolutions, then it is necessary to pay attention to two regions of the Caucasus: Chechnya and Ingushetia. The highest youth unemployment rate was recorded in Chechen Gudermes (25%), Ingush Malgobek (24%) and Karabulak (23%). However, the number of inhabitants does not reach half a million in them, so they are not included in the rating.
Loaf Index
The loaf index allows you to correlate wages and prices for the most basic commodity - bread. Unfortunately, Rosstat does not have data on all cities. However, the available data allow us to conclude that the highest loaf index is in oil-producing and oil-refining cities, and the city of Mirny in Yakutia, which is the center for diamond mining, is also in the lead.
It's a paradox: the inhabitants of the grain-growing regions of Siberia and the European part of Russia, as well as some cities of the North Caucasus, can buy less than the rest of the bread for the average salary.
Results
We hope that in the near future not only energy sectors, but also industry will develop in our country. And then there will not be that depressive state of the inhabitants of many settlements, which we are seeing today.
Ten: - the poorest cities in Russia and the ten richest
The risk of social unrest today is highest in Tolyatti, and the most prosperous cities are Moscow and Vladivostok
The Department of Sociology of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation has compiled a rating of Russian cities in terms of poverty. The study was conducted in 2014 in 35 cities with a population of more than half a million. In the course of it, the Russians themselves were asked to evaluate their well-being on a five-point scale, where “1” meant that there was hardly enough money for food, and “5” meant that finances even allow them to buy real estate. Based on the data obtained, sociologists calculated the “poverty index”.
As a result, Tolyatti was recognized as the most problematic Russian city.. It not only has the highest poverty index, but also the highest proportion of poor young men, which sociologists say is fraught with social unrest.
The least problematic cities are Moscow, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Tyumen, where the poverty index is less than 0.25 (for comparison, in Tolyatti it is 0.8).
On the whole, however, despite repeated crises, the situation in the country has improved compared to the early 2000s. In 2003, the share of the critically poor (who barely has enough money for food), according to the study, was 37%, the low-income (there are only enough funds for food and basic necessities) - 76%. In December 2014 - 10% and 54% respectively.
The most prosperous in social terms for the country was 2013: the poor - 10%, the low-income - 46%. And one of the local peaks of poverty occurred at the end of 2011, when the proportion of those who barely have enough to eat reached 16-18%. It was then, as the researchers note, that the "swamp" movement arose, which disappeared by mid-2012 - when the proportion of the "very poor" decreased to 9-11%.
The poorest and poorest cities in Russia
(poverty index is indicated in parentheses)
1. Tolyatti (0.8)
2. Astrakhan (0.68)
3. Penza (0.6)
4. Volgograd (0.59)
5. Saratov (0.55)
6. Rostov-on-Don (0.53)
7. Lipetsk (0.52)
8. Barnaul (0.5)
9. Naberezhnye Chelny (0.5)
10. Voronezh (0.49)
And the most prosperous cities of Russia
1. Vladivostok (0.08)
2. Moscow (0.08)
3. Yekaterinburg (0.14)
4. Kazan (0.2)
5. Tyumen (0.23)
6. Krasnodar (0.25)
7. St. Petersburg (0.26)
8. Orenburg (0.27)
9. Irkutsk (0.27)
10. Novosibirsk (0.28)