Russia’s Income Landscape Shifting as Russians Start to Earn Money Differently

Russia's poverty rate fell to 7% in the second quarter of the year, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The poverty threshold for this period was set at 17,816 rubles ($223). The decline comes amid a rise in nominal incomes, driven primarily by social benefits and wages for salaried employees. Average nominal wages reached 111,433 rubles ($1,393), marking a 10.3% year-on-year increase. Average pensions rose by 8.3% to 25,400 rubles ($318), while real disposable income grew by 1.5%. However, inflation partially offset these gains, with the consumer price index rising 5.64% during the same period.