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Opinion poll suggests $354 a month is enough for plain living in Russia

Citizens of the two biggest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, set the bar higher in giving a figure of $387

MOSCOW, August 12. /TASS/. How little money can a person live on in Russia? An opinion poll by the VTsIOM Russian Public Opinion Research Center suggests that an average $354 a month is enough to provide for essential needs in this country.

People polled last month in the two biggest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, set the bar higher in giving a figure of $387. Locals responding in rural areas said they could confine themselves to $268.

Questioners asked 1,600 people in 130 settlements of 46 regions to state the sum they considered enough to meet their needs and the amount that would make them beg for help.

As for the poverty line, residents of big cities put the threshold at $200, while those living in small towns and settlements said $160, according to the poll.

The official minimum subsistence income level across Russia this year is a monthly $148 and $220 in Moscow.