Liza Surnacheva

Liza Surnachev is a student of the Moscow University Journalism Department and writes for the Russian e-zine http://www.polit.ru/

Russia: lessons from the poverty line

I've managed to live for a month off the minimum sum which the Ministry of Statistics says you can live on. It wasn't all about surviving

By Liza Surnacheva

/ 12 Jun 2008

Russia: life on the poverty line

From now on, I'm becoming a lonely pensioner. For the next month, I'm going to live off what the Russian State Department of Statistics, Rosstat, calls

By Liza Surnacheva

/ 28 May 2008

Russia: report 2 from the poverty line

Day ten. Balance remaining: 920 rubles 50 kopecks. I'm utterly fed up with what they call the ‘soup selection', and the so-called ‘stewing selection'. But I&

By Liza Surnacheva

/ 28 May 2008

Russia: report 3 from the poverty line

Day twenty. Remaining balance: 583 rubles, 70 kopecks. I've been chatting to some elderly shoppers. Although they manage on a slightly larger monthly sum, its comparable, and even

By Liza Surnacheva

/ 28 May 2008