Manifestations of Economic Inequality of Citizens in Russia: Analysis of the Results of a Sociological Survey

Abstract

The subject of the study is the economic inequality of citizens in Russia. The inequality of citizens in Russia has been at a consistently high level for 30 years, but it is not permanent or static. Inequality is being transformed: new forms are emerging, such as digital inequality, inequality in the balance of life and work, inequality in the field of health, inequality of the coronacrisis. The differences between the richest and the poorest in the consumption of products are decreasing in volume, and the quality of products is increasing. This indicates the need to study the current characteristics of inequality of citizens in Russia. The purpose of the study is to assess the manifestations of economic inequality of citizens in Russia based on the results of a sociological survey to determine the directions of smoothing inequality. The hypothesis of the study is that inequality in Russia is being transformed, and existing approaches to its assessment do not allow to objectively determine its current state, which, among other things, leads to the ineffectiveness of measures taken by the state to smooth out inequality. The scientific novelty consists in interpreting the results of a sociological survey in terms of identifying the key manifestations of modern inequality and outlining the portrait of the least and most affluent citizens: poverty of young people under 25, poverty of rural residents, poverty of students, poverty of unemployed pensioners and the unemployed, income inequality of citizens in the regional context. Despite the fact that 71% of respondents estimate their incomes as sufficient for current expenses, inequality in the subjective assessment of income sufficiency is significantly weaker than inequality in actual income. The potential of state financial instruments for smoothing inequality has not been realized