A modest bourgeoisie buds in Russia
On a recent snowy day, 45,000 people converged on a new Scandinavian furniture store here, the hordes so vast that they paralyzed area roads.
The stampede at the IKEA outlet left the latest footprints of a group slowly gaining clout as Russia lurches into its second decade of capitalism: the middle class.
Their growth is crucial to fostering economic and political stability in Russia. As Michael McFaul, a Russia expert at Stanford University, puts it: "No middle class, no democracy."
While surveys reporting the number of middle-income Russians vary wildly - from less than 10 percent to 30 percent nationally - and some experts question the strength of their moorings, one thing is clear: These Russians think differently both from the nouveaux riches, who often got rich quick by stealing wealth from the state, and from the 30 percent of the population living in poverty.
"Their distinguishing characteristic is their inner drive," says Elena Koneva, director of COMCON, a Moscow market research agency whose consumer surveys put middle-class membership at 7 percent of the country's 144 million population, with 20 percent of Muscovites classified as sredny klass. These energetic Russians have little patience for the way things were done in the Soviet past.
Take composer Alexander Bakshi, whose avant-garde works for theater are in tune with his bold approach to life: "It's not a popular thing to say, but I don't feel sorry for the Russian intelligentsia," says Mr. Bakshi of many of his colleagues who are now bitter. "They are still waiting for someone to take care of them. If the books or the music they're writing are not finding an audience, then they must figure out a way to become competitive. And maybe that means switching to another line of work." Bakshi is spending some of his recent earnings on an apartment renovation.
Concentrated in a few urban areas, particularly the capital, middle-income Russians commonly work in the finance, insurance, or legal sectors. Some are managers at large Russian or multinational firms. But, as yet, most are not entrepreneurs - a group that in the West forms the bedrock of the intermediate class.
Snapshots from several surveys show that a typical middle-class Russian is in his or her 30s or 40s, as likely to be male as female, has a college degree, and has an apartment and a car. What's missing are mortgages and car loans, since most Russians live in apartments they inherited for free from Soviet times - and since credit, the currency of choice in middle-class America, is only in its infancy in Russia.
The bourgeoisie prizes its property: Insurer AIG Russia reports a 75 percent increase in sales last year in its personal lines department - an indication that more Russians have apartments and cars worth safeguarding - and evidence of the middle-class habit of thinking long term.
Two surveys define a middle class household's monthly per capita income as between $150 and $2,000. But, because of the Russian tendency to hide earnings, actual income is assumed to be higher. So consumer spending is used as a more accurate yardstick of wealth. Researchers count washing machines, computers, cars - and even lawn mowers - to gauge middle class status.
But these Russians are distinguished by more than material possessions: They've got a go-getter mentality. In a country where for decades, the government assigned jobs and handled most everything else in a predictable, if minimal way, the middle class is embracing the open market with dogged determination.
Although she makes only $400 a month at her environmental analyst's job at the Moscow Design Research Institute, Alyona Inyakina is able to save enough to buy a new computer and a vacation in Finland. While previous generations tended to marry by 19 or 20, Ms. Inyakina wants to get on her feet professionally first. "By 30, I want to have a family and an interesting job. I want to reach my potential," she says. And she does not expect anyone to help her. "People must solve their problems themselves."
