Where is it good to live in Rus' author. The cities “where it’s good to live in Rus'” have been identified. Without work and people are dying

Where is it good to live in Rus'? The answer to this question is given by rating of Russian cities by quality of life 2017. The list was compiled by the Center for Strategic Research of the Rosgosstrakh company, which conducted a study of large cities Russian Federation from the point of view of the benefit of the ordinary citizen.

At the same time, several criteria were taken into account, from the state of housing and communal services and the quality of medical care to the work of traffic police officers and the alleged level of corruption of city authorities.

Read the updated year on living standards.

Table of urban environment quality indicators 2017

The share of surveyed respondents who agree that their city is convenient for living.

#	City	Housing and communal services	Cult.	Medical	Image.	Transport	Power	Corrupt
1		89%	93%	47%	91%	83%	78%	19%
2		97%	80%	58%	92%	94%	79%	12%
3		88%	55%	42%	67%	70%	64%	21%
4		79%	92%	63%	82%	98%	96%	19%
5	Orenburg	90%	80%	44%	74%	36%	40%	29%
5		86%	81%	34%	96%	48%	48%	19%
6	Penza	96%	89%	37%	74%	50%	51%	22%
6		92%	90%	43%	87%	68%	46%	24%
7	Voronezh	92%	83%	25%	80%	52%	57%	41%
7		90%	82%	31%	71%	77%	70%	20%
8	Barnaul	93%	80%	42%	86%	31%	39%	26%
8		98%	88%	44%	79%	71%	51%	37%
8	Yaroslavl	88%	80%	31%	85%	17%	27%	17%
9		97%	91%	37%	93%	59%	50%	11%
9	Ryazan	95%	73%	34%	85%	36%	39%	29%
9	Ufa	74%	83%	37%	79%	44%	51%	32%
10		89%	93%	28%	88%	45%	52%	14%
10	Irkutsk	88%	78%	32%	76%	39%	43%	11%
10	Sevastopol	83%	78%	18%	69%	27%	30%	10%
11	Moscow	83%	83%	42%	79%	73%	61%	24%
11	Nizhny Novgorod	82%	76%	38%	90%	33%	35%	25%
12	Izhevsk	89%	79%	32%	81%	51%	47%	15%
12	Samara	81%	72%	30%	80%	38%	52%	39%
12	Khabarovsk	83%	81%	34%	80%	49%	53%	13%
13	Lipetsk	97%	60%	31%	65%	47%	44%	20%
13	Permian	85%	73%	31%	85%	41%	33%	14%
13	Rostov-on-Don	88%	82%	37%	77%	45%	36%	48%
14	Ulyanovsk	93%	70%	40%	83%	40%	47%	19%
15	Vladivostok	64%	76%	26%	87%	26%	34%	27%
16	Novokuznetsk	83%	73%	36%	68%	50%	57%	18%
17	Krasnoyarsk	95%	85%	39%	88%	45%	42%	33%
18	Astrakhan	76%	75%	28%	74%	30%	32%	35%
19	Makhachkala	96%	69%	27%	59%	28%	20%	66%
20	Saratov	88%	82%	34%	88%	23%	23%	29%
21	Chelyabinsk	92%	78%	33%	86%	40%	22%	30%
22	Tolyatti	85%	50%	35%	52%	57%	24%	35%
23	Omsk	85%	78%	36%	81%	38%	24%	25%
24	Volgograd	78%	52%	27%	76%	31%	36%	39%

10. Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk

The list of the best cities to live in Russia opens with two Siberian capitals - Yekaterinburg and Irkutsk, 85% of whose population are satisfied with their place of residence. Ekaterinburg residents believe that their city is more than sufficiently provided with cultural institutions - the city is a leader in this rating indicator.

But residents of Irkutsk are confident that the authorities of their city are the least corrupt of all. Only 11% believe in the corruption of municipal structures.

9. Novosibirsk, Ufa

In ninth position are the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the city of Novosibirsk. 86% of residents believe that these cities are generally comfortable to live in. Although Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia, Novosibirsk residents believe that it is sufficiently provided with housing (97%), but Ufa residents already estimate the pace of urban construction much lower (74%).

8. Yaroslavl, Barnaul, Krasnodar

Eighth place was shared by the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl, the administrative center Altai Territory Barnaul and southern Krasnodar. Despite the difference in climate, 87% of Russians consider these cities comfortable to live in. Krasnodar leads the ranking in terms of housing construction volume - the number of residents who believe that the city has enough housing for everyone reaches 98%. But residents of Yaroslavl are not at all happy with the condition of their homes and the level of work of housing and communal services - only 47% and 31%, respectively, rate them well. This is one of the most low indicators in the ranking.

7. Voronezh, Kemerovo

Residents of Voronezh and Kemerovo are equally satisfied with life in their cities - 89% of respondents think that living in them is not bad at all. However, in terms of the level of amenities, Kemerovo is clearly ahead of its neighbor - 90% of Kemerovo residents rate it highly, while only 70% of Voronezh residents consider their city convenient for living. But as for

quality of medical care, then city residents, along with Sevastopol and Vladivostok residents, are least satisfied with it.

6. St. Petersburg, Penza

In sixth place are two such different cities as the “northern capital” and the regional center of Penza, whose residents equally assess their standard of living in them – 90% are generally satisfied with them. Both the condition of their houses and the level of improvement of the city among Penza residents received approximately the same assessment - 73% and 72% believe that everything is not bad. But St. Petersburg residents believe that the housing stock needs to be improved (65% are satisfied with it); the level of improvement of the city, in their opinion, is quite high (82%), but the work of public utilities lags behind - only 51% of those surveyed are satisfied with them. At the same time, the Northern capital is one of the “second” cities in the world that deserve attention.

5. Orenburg, Tomsk

Fifth place in the ranking is shared by two cities - Orenburg and Tomsk, 91% of the local population is satisfied with their place of residence. Tomsk residents believe that in their city you can get better education– 96% of residents are proud of the work of their universities; this is the highest figure among other cities. At the same time, only 9% of residents believe that the city has a sufficient number educational institutions. Residents suffer most from the lack of sports schools and sections, as well as preschool institutions. More than a third of those surveyed (34%) are not happy about their absence.

92% of the population are satisfied with their life in the capital of the Chechen Republic. Grozny residents rate the condition of their homes higher than residents of other cities (79%), are proud of the level of amenities in Grozny (97%) and the condition of roads (98%). But the work of traffic police officers, according to the city population, is generally beyond praise - 95% believe that they perform their duties perfectly. But Grozny residents especially stand out based on the indicator, which is very low among the cities participating in the rating - as many as 65% of residents believe that they can influence the city government. For comparison: only 42% of residents of Tyumen, a city that follows Grozny in this indicator, believe in such a possibility.

The only region of the Russian Federation from which two cities were included in the top 10 ranking of Russian cities in terms of living standards in 2017 is the Republic of Tatarstan. Naberezhnye Chelny received a place in the ranking largely due to residents’ high assessment of the work of housing and communal services - 72% of those surveyed are satisfied with it. This is the highest figure among the cities participating in the ranking. Chelny residents are also satisfied with the condition of their homes (76%), as well as the level of improvement of the city (90%), and the overall level of satisfaction is 95%.

Tyumen residents consider their city to be extremely favorable for life - Tyumen now ranks second in the 2017 ranking of the best cities in Russia to live in, with a population satisfaction rate of 96%. Tyumen residents rate the condition of the roads in the city especially highly (94% believe that they are good), financial investments local authorities for the improvement of the city (79% of residents are satisfied with them), and the level of improvement of the city is considered very high by 93% of respondents.

And in 2017, Kazan becomes the winner in the ranking of Russian cities in terms of quality of life, displacing permanent leader countries for several years - Tyumen. Residents of the capital of Tatarstan are extremely satisfied with the amenities of their ancient city, and compared to 2015, this figure even increased by 2% and reached 97%. Residents are pleased with the level of amenities of the city (92%), the number and level of work of cultural institutions (according to this indicator, Kazan is second only to Yekaterinburg) and the level of education (91%). The republic does not lag behind its capital and also entered the.

There are more places where living in Russia is bad than places where it is good. The capital regions (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow region) remain the best in terms of quality of life in the country; the situation is worse in Siberia and the Far East.

The quality of life index is calculated based on Rosstat data on several indicators: quality of housing conditions, amount and distribution of income, migration attractiveness of the region, survival rate of children under one year of age, personal safety, development of service markets, life expectancy, availability of jobs. The index takes values from 0 to 100 and has been calculated annually since 2003.

Regionally, the best results in terms of quality of life in 2009 were shown by Moscow (the index here was 79.08), St. Petersburg (74.6) and the Moscow region (71.06). It is difficult to surprise anyone with these results. In general, the top ten regions where it is best to live have changed “over the course of recent years insignificant: by their nature, quality of life indicators are not subject to sudden changes,” the researchers note.

After the capital regions, the top 10 best included the Belgorod region (70.61), Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (70.49), Krasnodar region(69.41) and Tyumen region (68.78), Tatarstan (68.73), Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (68.55) and Lipetsk region (67.14).

But the worst regions for life in the country were the republics of Tyva (47.55), Altai (53.83), Kalmykia (55.52), Buryatia (55.63), Jewish Autonomous Region (56.67), and Amur region (57.22), Transbaikal Territory (57.25), Ingushetia (57.37), Irkutsk (57.42) and Kurgan (57.7) regions.

Besides current results In assessing regional development, dynamics are also important. So, the regions where the quality of life is growing fastest are: Sakhalin region, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kaliningrad region, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Republics of Tyva, Khakassia, Tyumen region, Kabardino-Balkaria and Kurgan region.

The worst dynamics were shown by the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Sakha (Yakutia), Samara Region, Republic of Kalmykia, North Ossetia, Kemerovo Region, Khabarovsk region, Magadan, Nizhny Novgorod and Novgorod regions

“However, the greatest interest is the combination of the dynamic and static picture of the development of Russian territories,” the researchers are confident. Therefore, they defined four types of regions. The first includes subjects of the Russian Federation, where the dynamics and level of quality of life are lower than all-Russian (the so-called “risk group”). The second type is regions where the level of quality of life is lower, but the dynamics are better than the all-Russian one. The third group includes regions where the level of quality of life is higher, but the dynamics are worse than all-Russian. And finally, the “success group” includes those territories where both the dynamics and the level of quality of life are above the national average.

As many as 23 regions of Russia were in the problem risk group, which even included the Leningrad region. It included (regions are arranged depending on indicators from worst to best): Kalmykia, Amur, Irkutsk regions, Mari El, Perm region, Sakha (Yakutia), Astrakhan region, Komi Republic, Krasnoyarsk region, Smolensk, Magadan regions, Udmurtia, Novgorod region, Karelia, Kemerovo region, Khabarovsk region, Nizhny Novgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir regions, Chuvashia, Volgograd, Ulyanovsk, Leningrad regions.

The researchers included 17 constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the success group, and Moscow was not included in it. Including (from best to worst): St. Petersburg, Moscow and Belgorod region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Krasnodar Territory, Tyumen Region, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Tula Region, Stavropol Territory, Kaliningrad Region, Adygea, Voronezh, Tambov, Sverdlovsk, Kaluga and Ryazan Regions.

In the second group of “catch-up development”, where the level of quality of life is lower, the dynamics are better than the all-Russian one, there were 36 regions. The third group includes 6 regions.

I live in Saratov now, but I don’t like it here. I am faced with a choice about where it is better to move. Moscow and St. Petersburg disappear immediately, for one simple reason. With the money that I get from selling an apartment in these cities, it will be problematic to buy normal housing.

It is logical to choose from the “success group”. Although I have been to a couple of cities in Tatarstan and been to the city of Oktyabrsky (Bashkortostan), and to be honest, they made a very pleasant impression, but I do not consider them as a permanent place of residence. Perhaps these are subjective reasons, but I’m not drawn to it.

Climatic conditions. He lived most of his life in Central Asia, I’m used to the warmth and sun, so that it won’t wait for me in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug :-). For the same reason, we cross out the Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions.

That leaves Belgorod, the Krasnodar Territory (we'll include Adygea here), Tula, Kaliningrad, Voronezh, Tambov, Kaluga and Ryazan. I have not been to any of these regions (except while passing through). I will also exclude Stavropol from the potential list; according to reviews, it is a large village, and the Caucasus is nearby (after all, it is not a stable region).

According to my subjective criteria, the list of attractiveness for me looks like this:

1. Kaliningrad - it seems like Europe and the climate is mild, and my sister and niece live in Germany, it seems like it’s not far to travel to each other.

2. Krasnodar - the climate is good and the sea is close.

3. Belgorod – good feedback, the governor seems smart there. A friend moved there, so I can still make inquiries with him.

4. Tula, Voronezh, Tambov, Kaluga and Ryazan. Plus Yaroslavl, although it is not on the list of the “success group”, it decided to include it in its list of candidates (I don’t even know why).

The topic of the program is called where it’s good to live in Rus', but it’s more about the mobility of Russians, why, unlike Americans, they are so difficult to climb. It’s very interesting to listen, especially to Natalya Zubarevich, professor at Moscow State University. She is the only one there who adequately and sensibly speaks and explains her position.

The question of trust in certain studies, their results and organizers is perhaps a choice for each of us. Everyone will decide for themselves who to trust, what to trust and how much. But a situation in which researchers, demonstrating results, rely on several different approaches at once and ultimately produce an average version is perhaps one of those that inspires confidence. If not all, then certainly many. Latest research Department of Sociology Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation- a vivid example of this.

The study assessed the level and quality of life Russian population. 38 cities, surveys, Rosstat data, and the final result. For some the result is surprising, for others it is implausible. Some may see malicious intent and even PR methods for certain cities. But there is a result, and this is what we see in the end:

Photo: www.fa.ru. The final quality of life index in the cities where the study was conducted

As far as we can see, the top 5 cities in Russia include Tyumen, Moscow, Kazan, Krasnodar and Grozny (displacing St. Petersburg).

So, three main criteria are taken as a basis:

1) General level of well-being, efficiency of the medical sector, access to education;

2) Those aspects of life that are preferable for the citizens themselves (the quality of the housing stock, the work of public utilities and the condition of the roads and road infrastructure of the city);

3) Migration indicators (migration/permanent residents balance, degree of readiness of city residents to leave their current place of residence, overall life satisfaction).

We will not go into the details of the study. But it is necessary to note the fact that people need much more light, heat and water, and only then salaries and other material values:

“...in Russia, the “natural services” provided by the state are becoming increasingly in demand. And citizens, as a matter of course, are ready to work and earn money.”, said the head of the study, Professor Alexey Zubets. The text of the commentary to the research results also states that the degree of satisfaction with the quality of work of housing and communal services is currently one of the key values in determining the standard of living of citizens.

What is definitely worth noting is the fact that research, in practice, conducted by different organizations is never conducted using the same methodologies. And as a result of opinion polls small groups of the population (many researchers simply do not have enough resources to implement large-scale projects) can get very different results (starting from the factor of the customer of the research - a custom-made project, the result in most cases has an obviously predictable layout, ending with the state of affairs of the population at one time or another of the year).

And that is why, perhaps, it is worth taking the research of the Financial University with the greatest seriousness. The complexity of the approach gives us a greater opportunity to eliminate errors. And the opinion of the population taken as a basis, and not the subjective position of this or that researcher, also serves as a reason for trust.

However, let’s be a little more specific: thus, the “outsider” in the race of cities in terms of quality of life according to many indicators, as well as in the “overall standings”, became hero city Volgograd. There are many reasons for this. The city seemed to have frozen in development; the townspeople, according to sociological experts, had the impression of “a city without a future.”

Only 10% of the population are satisfied with the income of Volgograd residents, the condition of the road surface - 8%, the activities of housing and communal services companies - 21%, landscaping - 17%, the work of local self-government bodies - 16%. Indicators of natural increase, average wages, commissioning of new housing - all this is at a critically low level.

“The authorities need to take note of the research results and look at them as an incentive to work better, - Sergei Vovchenko, associate professor of the Department of Sociology at VolSU, commented on the results of the work of the Financial University. - The spirit of a city without a future has been in the air in Volgograd for 6-8 years now. Decadent moods among the population are formed by objective reasons - economic stagnation, problems at large enterprises, loss of work, rising costs of living. The mood of the townspeople is also affected by the constant change of government. Social depression reigns in Volgograd. This is not to say that everyone has this attitude, but many do. It’s bad that young people are trying to leave, not seeing a future here. Something must be done to reverse the psychological trend. Maybe the World Cup will give some impetus.”

Thus, Volgograd is listed in the top 28 of the fastest dying cities in the world, the top 5 worst cities in the Russian Federation in terms of energy consumption, and ranks 91st in the top 100 best cities in the country. Only education in Volgograd is at a truly decent level.

In general, the city is almost in critical condition. What is needed, perhaps, is a complete change of the administrative apparatus, the elimination of corruption at all levels, major work, without all this - changes for the better will be temporary, and even then, so to speak, “cosmetic”. Is the last place in this ranking deserved? Quite. We need to work, gentlemen.

Tyumen – best city Russia in terms of living standards. And for the second time in a row. This time, the capital of the 72nd region was recognized as the best in precisely those indicators that the researchers gave highest value– the state of the housing stock, the work of housing and communal services, landscaping and roads. Of course, there is still a long way to go to take a leading position in all indicators. But work is underway.

Data have been published more than once that it is the residents of the Ural Federal District who are the happiest in the country; Tyumen residents even occupy leading positions in the so-called happiness index. Perhaps the results of the surveys depended on this. And perhaps in this case, researchers from the Financial University were right more than ever: it was the degree of satisfaction everyday issues currently plays a key role in creating a favorable standard of living.

Photo: city-rossiya.rf

In any case, Tyumen today is a city that is truly developing at a rapid pace; it is a space of interaction, new ideas, technologies, etc. Does the city really rank first in the ranking? Of course, and let this be a powerful incentive for those lagging behind in Moscow, Kazan, and Yekaterinburg. And for others too. There is always something to strive for.

Grozny. Why a city that does not fall under the criterion of cities with a population of over 500 thousand people is on this list, I think, is not difficult to guess. Perhaps the capital of the Chechen Republic stands apart on this list. And not at all because he somehow doesn’t deserve to be there. No, on the contrary, the city can easily serve as a shining example of how a relatively small city can demonstrate high performance.

Yes, a lot of effort and money have been invested in the republic, but in response to all the efforts on the part of the Federal authorities, Chechnya responds with gratitude, painstaking work and devotion to its state, despite any previous disagreements. Grozny is the richest city in Russia - the smallest percentage of the poor population is registered here, and indicators of population activity (rallies, elections, etc.) are among the highest in the country. Yes, of course, the role of the head of the republic here is very large, but the work on the ground is obviously being carried out at the highest level.

Photo: www.rg.ru/

Summing up, it is once again necessary to emphasize the fact that the placement of cities in this order according to general indicators of the level of quality of life of Russians has quite strong arguments behind it. Each position has its own explanation. For some, a line in the ranking is a reason for pride and joy for their hometown, for some it is an incentive to strive for new heights, for others it is an alarming signal that something is being done wrong and the situation needs to be corrected. But everyone should be united by the idea that work cannot be suspended for a second. After all, a lot depends on the actions of everyone - the fate of the city, region, country as a whole, the well-being of each of us.

What makes life in cities attractive and comfortable? There are many factors. Safety, quality of education, kindergartens, medicine, public transport, roads, cinema, theaters, parks, public gardens. It is very important - is it possible to find Good work with a decent salary. Finally, the friendliness and friendliness of the residents, mutual assistance.

A lot, of course, depends on the state of the economy. About ten years ago, the Ural cities were in the lead. There was an industrial boom there. Then the south took the initiative. The Olympics in Sochi are a big investment. Rapid development of agriculture. Tyumen is in first place in this ranking. Why? Yes, because local authorities are active. They want to do something good for people. Over the past three years, 23 new enterprises have been opened in the Tyumen region. This means there is work, there is a normal salary, there are taxes to local budgets. This means there is an opportunity to improve cities, develop medicine and culture.

In Tyumen, 86% of citizens are satisfied with life in their city. But, for example, in Omsk - only 30%. As they say, feel the difference.

City ratings vary. You can compare objective figures - indicators of housing and communal services, housing affordability, medicine and education. Or you can ask residents how they rate their city. People's opinions, of course, are more important than dry numbers. At the request of the Russian Reporter magazine, the Internet portal Superjob conducted a survey of residents of large Russian cities. And the result showed that the people most satisfied with their cities live in Tyumen, Kazan, Krasnodar, Vladivostok and Yaroslavl.

“The good thing about these ratings is that you can also see how you look compared to others. We have cities that traditionally have such competitive relationships with each other. There Perm - Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk - Novosibirsk, Samara - Saratov. And so on. And if they see that for some reason our competitor has surpassed us in some rating, then this is, in general, some kind of incentive to really understand what we are doing wrong, and they are doing it right,” - explains Roman Popov, an expert at the Institute of Urban Economics Foundation.

The most contented Russians live not in the warm south, but in the very heart of Siberia. Tyumen takes first place.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Tyumen tops this rating. Because it really feels like I'm surrounded happy people, happy with their city,” says Daria Ryabova.

Tyumen is a rich industrial city that lives off the production of petroleum products and various equipment. Large enterprises are willing to invest in local businesses, which is why Tyumen today is a city of young entrepreneurs.

Daria founded the first local street fast food chain in Tyumen. She received funding for her project at the Tyumen Investment Fair. The girl says that she has never encountered bureaucracy; it was only difficult to coordinate the sign of a cafe on a historical building.

The historical center of Tyumen is famous for its carved platbands. But in general, Tyumen is a young city, and its golden age falls precisely on our days.

Second place, according to the survey, goes to Kazan, a city that is highly rated by other authoritative ratings.

“This is a city that is very ambitious, which wants to truly correspond to the unofficial status of the third capital of Russia, and does a lot for this,” notes Roman Popov, an expert at the Institute of Urban Economics Foundation.

The capital of Tatarstan is known for its Innopolis - it is a city within a city where innovative projects are developed. New technologies help not only earn money, but also save money, and also make it convenient daily life townspeople

“240 services are published on the portal. These 240 services today cover 85% of the life situations of every resident of the republic. It’s very convenient, you don’t come and stand separately at the registration desk, sign up, and don’t sit in line,” explains Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan, Minister of Information and Communications Roman Shaikhutdinov.

Residents of Kazan, whom we randomly interviewed on the street, said that all city services were within their reach. mobile phones. You can also make an appointment with the clinic through the app. At the reception, patients are given a temporary bracelet with a barcode. Documentation that used to take time is now done automatically.

In third place, according to the survey, was Krasnodar. There are almost as many satisfied citizens here as in Kazan. The capital of southern Russia is distinguished by record low unemployment, a warm climate and happy residents.

Living in Krasnodar is a holiday in itself for them. Locals love to work and relax equally.

Five years ago Valeria moved to Krasnodar from Sakhalin Island. She thought here only to get an education, but she fell in love with the city and realized that she would stay for the rest of her life.

The city is not only parks and squares, but also entrances, what is hidden from the eyes of tourists.

Dentist Dmitry Zainulov lives in a similar entrance and in a very similar house. But seven thousand kilometers from Krasnodar. And Dmitry is also a patriot of his city. Vladivostok ranks fourth, according to surveys of citizens.

Bridges connect parts of the city. The Far Eastern University, famous throughout Russia, and the port, which brings the main profit to the city.

It is interesting that residents of Vladivostok confess their love for their city, but do not consider it convenient. And in this they are similar to people from Yaroslavl, who also answered that they like living in their city, although it is not ideal. Fifth place in the national ranking - Yaroslavl.

Postman Tatyana Gladkova walks 15 kilometers in Yaroslavl every day. She knows the city and its people like no one else. People are also the city’s wealth and cultural capital, this also affects the rating. The Russian Reporter magazine compared the survey of citizens with objective statistical data.

It turned out that in the consolidated ranking the top five are slightly different: Tyumen is still in first place, followed by Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Kazan. The results show that the quality of life in a city and the happiness of people do not always depend on geography and climate, but are directly related to the successful work of local authorities and the activity of the residents themselves.

The question of trust in certain studies, their results and organizers is perhaps a choice for each of us. Everyone will decide for themselves who to trust, what to trust and how much. But a situation in which researchers, demonstrating results, rely on several different approaches at once and ultimately produce an average version is perhaps one of those that inspires confidence. If not all, then certainly many. Latest study ( fa.ru/chair/priklsoc/Docume…) Department of Sociology, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation- a vivid example of this.

The study assessed the level and quality of life of the Russian population. 38 cities, surveys, Rosstat data, and the final result. For some the result is surprising, for others it is implausible. Some may see malicious intent and even PR methods for certain cities. But there is a result, and this is what we see in the end:

As far as we can see, the top 5 cities in Russia include Tyumen, Moscow, Kazan, Krasnodar and Grozny (displacing St. Petersburg).

So, three main criteria are taken as a basis:

1) General level of well-being, efficiency of the medical sector, access to education;

3) Migration indicators (migration/permanent residents balance, degree of readiness of city residents to leave their current place of residence, overall life satisfaction).

We will not go into the details of the study. But it is necessary to note the fact that people need much more light, heat and water, and only then salaries and other material values:

“...in Russia, the “natural services” provided by the state are becoming increasingly in demand. And citizens, as a matter of course, are ready to work and earn money,” said the head of the study, Professor Alexey Zubets. The text of the commentary to the research results also states that the degree of satisfaction with the quality of work of housing and communal services is currently one of the key values in determining the standard of living of citizens.

What is definitely worth noting is the fact that research is never practically carried out various organizations, are not conducted using the same methodologies. And as a result of conducting sociological surveys of small groups of the population (many researchers simply do not have enough resources to implement large-scale projects), they can get very different results (starting from the factor of the customer of the research - a custom-made project in most cases has an obvious outcome predictable layout, ending with the state of affairs of the population at one time or another).

“The authorities need to take note of the results of the study, look at them as an incentive to work better,” Sergei Vovchenko, associate professor of the Department of Sociology at VolSU, commented on the results of the work of the Financial University. - The spirit of a city without a future has been in the air in Volgograd for 6-8 years now. Decadent moods among the population are formed by objective reasons - economic stagnation, problems at large enterprises, loss of work, rising costs of living. The mood of the townspeople is also affected by the constant change of government. Social depression reigns in Volgograd. This is not to say that everyone has this attitude, but many do. It’s bad that young people are trying to leave, not seeing a future here. Something must be done to reverse the psychological trend. Maybe the World Cup will give some impetus.”

Tyumen– the best city in Russia in terms of living standards. And for the second time in a row. This time, the capital of the 72nd region was recognized as the best in precisely those indicators to which the researchers attached the greatest importance - the state of the housing stock, the work of housing and communal services, landscaping and roads. Of course, there is still a long way to go to take a leading position in all indicators. But work is underway.

Data have been published more than once that it is the residents of the Ural Federal District who are the happiest in the country; Tyumen residents even occupy leading places in the so-called happiness index. Perhaps the results of the surveys depended on this. And, perhaps, in this case, researchers from the Financial University were right more than ever: it is the degree of satisfaction with everyday issues that currently plays a key role in the formation of a favorable standard of living.

Grozny. Why a city that does not fall under the criterion of cities with a population of over 500 thousand people is on this list, I think, is not difficult to guess. Perhaps the capital of the Chechen Republic stands apart on this list. And not at all because he somehow doesn’t deserve to be there. No, on the contrary, the city can easily serve as a shining example of how a relatively small city can demonstrate high performance.

Summing up, it is once again necessary to emphasize the fact that the placement of cities in this order according to general indicators of the level of quality of life of Russians has quite strong arguments behind it. Each position has its own explanation. For some, a line in the ranking is a reason for pride and joy for their hometown, for others it is an incentive to strive for new heights, for others it is an alarming signal that something is being done wrong and the situation needs to be corrected. But everyone should be united by the idea that work cannot be suspended for a second. After all, a lot depends on the actions of everyone - the fate of the city, region, country as a whole, the well-being of each of us.

Klim Pavlenko