Real pensions and incomes of Russians have fallen to a record low, as evidenced by the survey "Social and Economic Situation in Russia" from Rosstat, which the agency published traditionally late on Wednesday evening.
According to the results of January-May 2022, the real salary of Russians fell by 7.2%, which was a record for 7 years, the situation was worse only in 2015 after the annexation of Crimea and the sanctions that followed it. At the same time, nominal wages for the same period increased by 9.4%, which indicates a high level of inflation in the country.
“The average monthly accrued wages of employees of organizations in April 2022 amounted to 62,269 rubles and increased by 9.4% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year,” the review says.
Russians' pensions showed similar dynamics and in annual terms collapsed immediately by 8.2%, while nominal pensions showed an increase of 7.5%. The average size of state-appointed pensions amounted to 16,976 rubles. In April, according to Rosstat, inflation in annual terms accelerated to 17.83%.
The Russian authorities regularly carry out indexation of pensions and social benefits, however, as a rule, they are carried out with a time lag, that is, they only catch up with the already recorded inflation growth. In 2022, due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, indexation was carried out below the level of inflation, which did not stop Russian President Vladimir Putin from talking about the support of the population in difficult times.
Due to the deteriorating economic situation in Russia, the authorities are trying to smooth out the negative effect of economic statistics as much as possible, which is why Rosstat publishes data late in the evening in order to reduce the potential audience. The presidential administration requires controlled media outlets to focus "on the positive" and ignore the negative data.
