Russians' Real Incomes And Wages Have Stopped Growing
1- 6.08.2026, 21:37
In the fifth year of the war, Russians began to feel the financial impact in their own wallets.
In the fifth year of the war, Russians began to feel its impact on their own wallets. Their real, inflation-adjusted wages and disposable income (after mandatory payments) had been rising for three years in a row, but have now stopped, writes The Moscow Times.
According to estimates by the HSE Development Center, when adjusted for seasonality, real disposable income in June was 0.23% lower than at the end of last year, while real wages in May were 0.15% lower. Income fell significantly at the beginning of the year and then rose; wages, on the other hand, increased in January and February and then declined for three months—but the result is the same: at the end of the first half of the year, people are in the red.
Russians’ incomes are under pressure from slowing wage growth due to the economic slowdown, as well as a decline in business and property income, notes Finam economist Olga Belyenkaya: Economic growth in the country has practically stalled (0.3% for January–May, according to the Ministry of Economic Development), civilian sectors are mired in recession, and small businesses are under pressure from tax hikes and are closing en masse. According to Sberbank, 12,000–15,000 organizations cease operations every month for economic reasons.
For those companies that remain in business, profits are dwindling—and with them, the ability to raise wages—even despite labor shortages and the outflow of people to the front lines and the military sector. It will become increasingly difficult for companies to sustain accelerated wage growth by squeezing profits—there is “nowhere left to cut,” note experts at the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Forecasting (CMAP). On the contrary, the number of companies cutting personnel costs is growing: according to a survey by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), 40% of large businesses are doing so. Meanwhile, 11% and 8%, respectively, plan to reduce their workforce or cut wages.
Wages are the main source of cash income for Russians, accounting for about 60%. Social benefits, including pensions, make up another approximately 16%; in third place (10–11%) is income from property, which includes interest on bank deposits. These are declining along with interest rates, reducing people’s overall income, notes the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Forecasting (CMAFP).
People feel that their incomes have stopped growing, while the economic situation is deteriorating. According to a Gallup poll, 56% of Russian citizens report a decline in their standard of living—the highest proportion in 20 years of observations. Overall economic pessimism among citizens has reached its highest level since 2006: 60% say the economic situation is worsening—twice as many as in the first year of the war and three times higher than before the annexation of Crimea.
Low incomes are the main factor complicating Russians’ lives, according to a Levada Center survey. This response was chosen by 48%, followed by “poor health and difficulties accessing medical care” at 30%.
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