Almost 80% of Russians are completely or mostly satisfied with their living standards, according to a survey released on Tuesday by a major Russian insurance company.
The Western Siberian region of Tyumen topped the rankings with 81% of residents at least mostly happy with life, just beating the capital, where 80% of Muscovites professed satisfaction with their living standards.
Research conducted by the state-owned Rosgosstrakh insurance company in 138 Russian cities and towns showed that most people who are happy with their living standards reside in Russia's large cities and in cities which main industries are oil production and refining, such as Tyumen and Khanty-Mansiysk in Tyumen Region and Nizhnekamsk and Elabuga in Tatarstan.
Around the capital, 73% of Moscow Region residents are also satisfied with their lives, while in the second city of St. Petersburg the figure is 78%.
The research established that even in cities with the lowest percentage of people satisfied with living standards the number still exceeds 50% and that overall in Russia it stays at the same high level of 78%.
In January, Rosgosstrakh's research showed a direct link between Russians' satisfaction with their living standards and economic growth, leading researchers to conclude that Russians' satisfaction with their own financial situation was holding back the economic development of the country as a whole.
In January, the Russian Health and Social Development Ministry had reported that 2.1 million people in Russia out of a total of 142 million had been officially registered as unemployed. However, in reality the figure may be much higher as many Russians do not claim state benefits, which are generally extremely low.
MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti)
