Low wages, economy, health care worry Russians most

Saint Basil's Cathedral is seen in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, June 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Shi Hao)

MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Low wages, the state of the national economy and health care are Russians' biggest headaches, according to a survey by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), TASS reported Thursday.

The results of the survey indicate that low wages rank first on the list of concerns. In May, the share of Russians who believed this was one of the most important problems in the country was 23 percent, which is higher than in January 2017 (18 percent) and in May 2016 (15 percent). 

Meanwhile,  Russians' concern about the economy of their country has grown to 21 percent in May, up from 16 percent in January. Healthcare has been among the top three most topical issues since the end of 2016. Twenty percent of Russians expressed their concern about it in May compared to 12 percent one year ago.

VCIOM conducted the poll on May 25-29, 2017 in 130 settlements in 46 regions, territories and republics of eight federal districts of Russia. A sample of 1,600 people was involved.

VCIOM regularly conducts research in the domain of politics, the social sphere and business.