Poverty in russia Is Worsening

In 2025, police identified in russia more than 57,000 homeless and neglected children – a 2.1% increase from the previous year. This marks the first rise in this figure over the past five years.

Experts attribute these trends first of all to the country’s socio-economic problems. Despite the russian authorities’ official statements about an alleged reduction in poverty, a significant portion of the population continues to live on very low incomes. According to russian statistics, 9.8 million people, or 6.7% of the population, lived below the poverty line in 2025.

The poverty line in russia is calculated based on the subsistence minimum for the fourth quarter of 2020 (11,329 rubles) with subsequent indexation for inflation. By the end of 2025, this figure had risen to 17,146 rubles, which is by more than 51% higher than in the base period. At the same time, even official data acknowledge that millions of russians remain below this threshold.

Moreover, it is the russian government itself that is deepening the poverty of its own population by spending enormous resources on the war against Ukraine. Billions are being funneled into the military machine, while the standard of living for russians is falling and social problems are only intensifying. As a result, ordinary russians are paying the price – including children, who are increasingly left without proper care due to their families’ poverty.