MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Every second Russian (49%) fears the repetition of the economic crisis of 1998, the poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM) said on Friday.

"Every second Russian (49%) fears the repetition of the 1998 economic crisis this year. Most of those people, in their own words, have not yet overcome the consequences of the default (68%). Young people talk about this more often than the elderly (52% against 42%), and people with low income — more often than people with above average income (56% against 42%). At the same time, 40% of our compatriots thinks that the repetition of this scenario is impossible," WCIOM said in a press release published on its official website.

The majority of respondents (62%) said that the 1998 crisis negatively affected them or their families. Twenty-five percent of those polled said the consequences of the default were very hard, and they managed to return to the previous standard of living only after a long time. Around 10% of people say they have still not overcome the consequences of the economic crisis of 1998. Only two percent of respondents say they benefitted from the financial crisis. Every fourth Russian (27%) was not significantly affected by the default.

The poll was conducted on January 23-24. A total of 1,600 people in 130 cities in 46 Russian regions were polled. Statistical error does not exceed 3.5%.