Russian Demographic And Cultural Analysis

Russia Cultural Analysis

A- Population

As of 2007 Russian Federation ranks tenth in the world with a total population of 141,377,752 people as of July 2007.(NationMaster). The biggest city in the Federation is the capital, Moscow, at 10,415,400 people(NationMaster). The overall sex distribution in the Russian population is 0.859 males/female however in the 15-64 year old range the distribution is much closer at 0.93 males/female. Even more interesting is the distribution between men and women in the 15 to 34 range that reside in urban areas. As the following graph demonstrates there exists an almost a 1:1 ratio between men and women between the ages of 15 and 34.

Population Breakdown- Urban Dwellers 15-34 years of age

Age Males Females Ratio

15-19 6,306,053 6,104,106 1.033083796

20-24 6,119,481 5,984,647 1.022529984

25-29 5,417,375 5,421,084 0.999315819

30-34 5,044,393 5,073,333 0.994295663

Total 22,887,302 22,583,170 1.013467197

Income

Although Russia has been on a steady increase for the past seven years the average income is still fairly low. In Russia the average monthly income per person is $540 dollars with a total yearly sum of $6,480. However, unlike counterparts in the United States consumers in Russia have a significantly higher percentage of earnings available for discretionary spending. According to Newsweek Russian consumers are able to allot up to 70% of their earnings to discretionary spending as opposed to 40% by their American counterparts.

Current research suggests that Russia will continue to experience steady economic growth, especially in the disposable income. With the increase in national economic levels an annual compound growth of 13.9% is likely through 2010.

Due to subsidized pricing on health, rent and other necessities, Russians earning a decent monthly wage have a comparatively large discretionary spending budget. This budget is free to be used on clothing, entertainment, food and luxury items such as cellular phones.

Mobile Phone Users

As with most emerging countries Russia has experienced rapid and steady growth when it comes to all modern communication mediums. Cellular telephones have not been an exception. According to RussianLife.Net over 60% of the people in Russia now have a cell phone, an exponential increase to the 25% of two years ago. An interesting fact regarding cell phones in Russia indicates that although the population is only roughly around 141 million people, there are over 150 million active cell phone lines within the country. This fact indicates that although cell phone use is spreading throughout the country certain people, especially those that live in the larger cities in fact own more than one mobile telephone.

Russian cell phone plans and purchases resemble those of European nations rather than that of the United States. In large part minutes are bought on a pre-paid basis from the carrier rather than purchasing a post paid plan. Also phones are purchased outright by the consumer eliminating the contract and discount process used by cell phone carriers in the United States.

Religion

During Soviet Union years between 1920-1990, Religion was restricted by the government. After the fall of the Soviet Union restrictions were lifted and freedom of religion was on the rise.

Today the main religion of Russian Federation is "Russian Christian Orthodox", it includes approximatley 90 percent of population. The second largest religion is Islam with approximatley 15 million followers.

Prohibited topics

Some of the prohibited topics in Moscow and all of Russia are: Gay and Lesbian groups, Animal or incest sexual relations, and jokes about other family members, especially mothers.

Popular topics

Popular topics, for people between the ages of 14 to 34, in Moscow are: Russian Nationalism, Russian and foreign Pop artists, Comedy Club, KVN, automobiles, mobile phones, and Winter Olympic games Sochi 2014. With the Russian economy expanding and growing like never before, the standard of living has increased in past 10 years. The younger generation has begun to take great pride in Russia and especially the capital of Russia, Moscow. Comedy club and KVN are two of the biggest comedy programs in the Russian federation, both of which originated in Moscow. Jokes, humor, and comedy are the most profitable in the Russian media.

Currently big city culture revolves around expensive luxury items, in Moscow, expensive foreign cars and flashy cellular phones are big ticket items for those looking to stand out. Status or perceived status is of paramount importance, especially to those in the target age range. Both cars and mobile phones show your status in society, the better,