During the first quarter of 2022, the number of Russians living below the poverty line increased by 69%. This follows from the publication of Rosstat, reports Ekho Kavkaza.

According to Rosstat calculations, in the first quarter of 2022 the number of people with incomes below the poverty line was 20.9 million. At the same time, at the end of 2021, the agency reported 12.4 million Russians below the poverty line. Thus, in the first three months of 2022 there were 8.5 million more poor people in Russia, or 68.5%. In the first quarter of 2022, Rosstat proceeded from 12,916 rubles - the minimum income, sufficient to live in Russia, according to the department.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, the average income of Russians decreased from Br47.694 to Br36.234, a drop of 24%. At the same time, the average salary decreased from 62,828 rubles to 60,101 rubles, or 4.3%. The number of employed population decreased by 800 thousand people.

The volume of social payments in the first quarter of 2022 decreased by 19.4% compared to the previous one. At the same time, the share of income from entrepreneurial and other productive activities in the total structure of income increased by 0.7%.

Rosstat has been estimating the number of the population with monetary income below the poverty line since 1992. The methodology for calculating the poverty line was changed in 2021. Now it corresponds to the cost of the consumer basket in the fourth quarter of 2020, adjusted for inflation.

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. In April, Russia's military expenditures amounted to about 21 billion rubles per day.