Russia : consultations with the poor

This study is part of a global research effort entitled Consultations with the Poor, designed to inform the World Development Report 2000/1 on Poverty and Development. The research has used participatory methods to involve and give a voice to poor people in twenty-three countries around the world. This report is from Russia, from sites selected to give a rural/urban balance. The study focuses on four main topics, each with a set of key themes, as follows: Exploring well-being; How do people define their quality of life, their ill-being or well-being? How have these changed over time? How do people perceive security, risk, vulnerability, opportunities, social exclusion and crime and conflict, and how have these perceptions changed over time?  How do households and individuals cope with a decline in well being and how do these strategies affect their lives? Priorities of the poor; Listing of problems faced by different groups within the community and identifying problems faced by the poor.  Prioritisation of problems, in terms of the most pressing needs of the different groups.  Have these problems changed over time? What are people's hopes and fears for the future? Institutional analysis  Which institutions are important in people's lives?  How do people rate these institutions?  Do people feel that they have any control or influence over these institutions?  Which institutions support people in coping with crisis? Gender relations  What are the existing gender relations within the household? What is women's relative position today as compared with the past, and to men?  What are the existing gender relations within the community?  Are there differences in gender relations among different groups within the community?