Families’ Ways of Coping with Poverty in Small-town Russia

Abstract

This article analyses how poor families cope with poverty in provincial Russia. It draws on both survey data and interviews. On the basis of the survey, a factor analysis was carried out. This gives evidence to four common types of reactions to poverty. The article shows that being able to use rights, resources and relations is not enough to overcome poverty. Working more, while trying to reduce expenses just to cope, means that poor families are particularly vulnerable to changes that could start a downward process. The small percentage of those who succeed highlights the need for supporting structures. The paper argues that the supporting role of public authorities is especially important when considering the possibilities for poor people themselves to take actions.

keywords:

• coping with poverty
• family strategies
• transformation
• Russia

Acknowledgements

Field research in Russia has been organized and made together with Nina Ivashinenko, Rebecca Kay and Margarita Lobanova. We want to express our gratitude to them and also to several other persons who participated in research work in different important roles. We would like to express special thanks to Leo Granberg for his valuable comments.

Notes

1. Families with many children are even more vulnerable (Social and demographic development of Russia. М, UNFPA, 2010. http://akparov.ru/node/238).

2. The survey was based on a questionnaire with 500 households within different income groups, chosen to represent the ordinary population of a small town in Russia.

3. The interviews for this article were conducted in a small town, where industrial plants were closed during crises. The interview data consist of 35 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with local residents and families experiencing poverty, professionals from local social service structures, leaders of charitable and other non-governmental organizations, as well as representatives of the local administration.

4. Federal law No 122, August 22, 2004. A key task was to divide administrative and financial responsibility for providing benefits (l’goty) between the central level and the regions, which means that regions support two-thirds of the recipients. See Wengle and Rasell (2008), 743–44.

5. http://programma-molodaja-semja.ru/programmy.

6. The most obvious division concerns the fact that we connect strategic behaviour with a more long-term perspective, while coping draws our attention to survival and the handling of hardships in the short-run.

7. Earlier research shows, the daily calorie intake decreases with the number of children in a family (Wegren 2013).