ISSN online: 2221-1616

Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology (Vestnik instituta sotziologii)

Research Article

Галина Г Кошарная, Doctor of Sociology, Professor, associate of other organizaiton, , Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor, Penza State University, Penza, Russia
mailto: k-galina1@yandex.ru
Людмила Л Каримова , associate of other organizaiton, , Senior Lecturer, Penza State University, Penza, Russia
mailto: lyudmila_vyargizova@mail.ru
The living standards and lifestyle of the poor in a regional society.
Vestnik instituta sotziologii. 2016. Vol. 7. No. 3. P. 38-56


This Article is downloaded: 230 times
Topic: Status of Social Strata and Groups in the Regions of Modern Russia

For citation:
Кошарная Г. Б., Каримова Л. Ф. The living standards and lifestyle of the poor in a regional society. Vestnik instituta sotziologii. 2016. Vol. 7. No. 3. P. 38-56
DOI: https://doi.org/DOI: 10.19181/vis.2016.18.3.411


Abstract

Russia’s reforms which were conducted during the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century lead to serious changes in the structure of society, during the course of which we saw a drastic increase in the amount of poor people within modern Russian society’s social stratification structure. The transformation of modern Russian society’s social structure necessitates the evaluation of the living standards and lifestyle of poor people in regional society. This article is dedicated to analyzing the financial status of the main groups of poor people in the Penza region. Examined is social inequality, which has the greatest impact on the living standards of poor people. Addressed are such matters as levels of poverty and income. Based on publications by Russian sociologists, as well as a conducted study on the issue of social inequality, determined were the main reasons and factors that affect the risks which lead the population to poverty. Substantiated is the conclusion that currently an increase in the amount of poor people, as well as the latter’s financial status, is seriously influenced by unemployment, high rates for housing services and low salaries. It was established that a serious increase in female poverty compared to male poverty is also inherent to the contemporary stage of Russian society’s development. The results of the study show that poor people are almost completely devoid of the opportunity to use paid educational and healthcare services. Such conditions render impossible the solid socialization of children from poor families, the realization of their potential abilities, as well as their intellectual development. Thus the issue of enduring poverty takes a significant negative toll upon the reproduction of human capital among the population of Russia’s society. Careful attention is paid to analyzing the dynamics of poverty on a regional level: said analysis revealed a decrease in the living standards of poor people in cities, and an increase in rural areas. Analyzing the main approaches towards quantifying poverty levels in contemporary Russia does not allow for attaining definitive results, and therefore to achieve more accurate results a combined method of examining poverty is utilized in this article, based on combining three approaches: absolute, relative and subjective. Based upon the results of the study, this article defines the necessary socio-economic resources for overcoming conditions of poverty in the region, and also formulates the main directions for socially supporting the poor.

Keywords

poverty, poor people, borderline poor, living standards and lifestyle, social support

References

Gorshkov, N. E. Tikhonova. Moscow, Ves' mir, 2014. 304 p.

Golenkova Z. T. Social'naja differenciacija i social'noe neravenstvo naselenija [Social Differentiation and Social Inequality of the Population]. Vestnik Tiumenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, 2011, no 8, pp. 162–168.

Karimova L. F. Faktory, opredeliajuschie risk bednosti naselenija v sovremennom rossiyskom obschestve (regional'ny aspekt) [Factors that Determine the Risk of Poverty in Modern Russian Society (Regional Aspect]. Izvestija Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaja serija: Sociologija. Politologija, 2014, Vol. 14, no 4, pp. 36–40.

Khaliy I. A. Obschestvennye dvizhenija v Rossii do konca 1920-h godov: razvitie v epohu transformaciy [Social Movements in Russia until the End of the 1920s: the Development in the Era of Transformation]. Sociologichesky zhurnal, 2008, no 2, pp. 56–70.

Kozyreva P. M. Social'naja adaptacija naselenija Rossii v postsovetskiy period [Social Adaptation of the Population of Russia in the post-Soviet Period]. Sociologicheskie issledovanija, 2014, no 6, pp. 24–35.

Sociokul'turnye cennosti i zhiznennye strategii naselenija Penzenskoy oblasti v tranzitivnom rossiyskom obschestve [Social and Cultural Values and Life Strategies of the Population of the Penza Region in Transitive Russian Society: Monograph]. Penza, PSU, 2009. 152 p.

Uroven' i profil' bednosti v Rossii: ot 1990-h godov do nashih dney [The level and profile of poverty in Russia from the 1990s to the present day]. Ed. by L. N. Ovcharova. Moscow, NRU HSE, 2014. 35 p.