Victory over poverty by 2003 and middle class share 60% by 2020 – “Important stories” about the failed promises of “United Russia” for 20 years

“Important stories” studied all the promises of “United Russia” for 20 years (so many parties were fulfilled in early December) and calculated which of them were not fulfilled, and which were fulfilled with a delay.

Thus, United Russia promised to cope with poverty in Russia back in 2003: poverty “humiliates a person” and “offends the whole country” – wrote party in its manifesto. In 2008, the party committed itself to tackling “poverty as a social phenomenon” in the next 10 years. However, in 2021, only according to official data, 12% of Russians live below the “poverty line”, note “Important stories”.

In 2008, the party promised to “eradicate the practice of a working person receiving wages below the subsistence level.” By Labor Code, the salary cannot be lower than the minimum wage (minimum wage), however, in Russia there are still people who receive salaries below this limit: in 2019 so lived 776 thousand Russians.

United Russia has promised the Russians three times that the minimum wage in the country will reach the subsistence level: in the electoral programs of 2003, 2007 and 2017. However, the minimum wage equated to the cost of living only in 2018.

For many years, “United Russia” was going to provide a decent life for state employees. However, according to data Rosstat for 2020, this promise has not yet been fulfilled in most regions. The salaries of teachers of preschool organizations in no region have reached the average for the economy, teachers’ salaries have increased to average in only three regions.

In 2003 United Russia promised voters that buying a home will be “available to an ordinary working person with an average salary”, and in 2009 promised to ensure that 60% of Russian families can solve their housing problem on their own. However, more than half of families in Russia are still can not afford to buy a home.