#1 - JRL 7283
Almost half of Russians not planning their future - poll

MOSCOW. Aug 10 (Interfax) - Forty-four percent of Russian citizens surveyed in a recent opinion poll, are not making plans for their future. In the over-50 age group, people who are not planning for their future account for 68% of those polled.

Almost all of those who are making plans (54%) say they are making efforts to achieve their goals. Seventy percent of those who are making plans for their life (39% of the respondents) are confident that their plans will be realized. The rest do not believe their plans are feasible, or were undecided.

The poll was held by the Public Opinion Foundation on August 2 and involved 1,500 respondents.

Eighteen percent of those surveyed recalled circumstances that changed heir life for the better in recent years. But 59% said there have been many events that have had a negative impact on their lives.

The worst circumstances that were quoted by respondents (39%) were unemployment, the loss of savings during perestroika, the devaluation of the ruble, the 1998 financial crisis, privatization, the transition to a market economy, high taxes, and increased prices.

Sixteen percent of the respondents blame political developments for their problems, including the breakup of the former Soviet Union's, the coup in August, 1991, a sense of uncertainty during Yeltsin's rule, changes in the social system, the attack on the parliament building, and "the wrong people in power."

The state social policy has had a negative impact on the lives of 4% of those polled (the introduction of paid medical services, the absence of any social support for disabled individuals, the privatization of housing).

Three percent of the respondents quoted local conflicts and wars, two percent said their life was negatively affected by terrorism, crime and drug addiction.

And one percent said they were scared by the fast pace of change and unpredictable circumstances.

Some of the respondents quoted the same events but said they influenced their lives differently.