Moscow Takes into Account Interests of the Young and the Elderly More than Those of the Middle Aged, VTsIOM Survey Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 10 – Just over a third of Russians (36 percent) believe their government takes an equal interest in all age groups, but 27 percent say it focuses on the young and 16 percent say it is concerned primarily with the elderly, according to a new VTsIOM poll. Far fewer say if devotes primary attention to adults in between.

            An overwhelming majority – 82 percent – say the authorities should support youth initiatives, but 51 percent of the sample says that these projects must be led not by young people but by those of middle age. Only 24 percent say young people should be in charge of them (wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/obshchestvennaja-aktivnost-molodezhi).

            On the one hand, it is perhaps not surprising that Russians view the government as focusing on the young who must be educated and the elderly whose pensions must be paid and medical needs met. But it is intriguing to speculate about the feelings of Russian adults in between concerning the regime’s lack of interest in them.

            Those in-between may feel that they are neglected and may even be angry about it, especially as the economic crisis deepens and they are among the first to be hit as employees and as people still taking care of children or concerned about the welfare of their parents or grandparents.