Some 78 percent of Russians are completely or mostly satisfied with their lives and expect their incomes to grow in the coming years, a survey published on Monday said.
The share of those who consider their living conditions "intolerably bad" dropped from 20 percent last fall to 14 percent this year. Most are elderly people with low incomes.
The poll also showed that Russians expect their incomes to grow 14 percent on average within the next year, up from 10 percent last spring. However, the expected income growth in the long-term (five to seven years) has dropped by 7 percentage points year on year.
"[The short-term increase is] due to the post-crisis resumption of economic growth," said state-owned insurance company Rosgosstrakh, which conducted the poll.
In January, Rosgosstrakh's research showed a direct correlation between the level of Russians' satisfaction with their lives and economic growth in the country, leading researchers to conclude that high satisfaction levels were holding back the economic development of the country as a whole.
"Calculations show that such level of satisfaction may result in an annual economic growth of 2-3 percent, and maximum of 4 percent in Russia. This is the average GDP growth that Russia should expect in the coming years," the head of Rosgosstrakh's strategic research center, Alexei Zubets, said.
The poll surveyed 5,656 Russians in 66 Russian towns and cities.
MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti)
