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Every
5th Russian citizen - elderly person
RIAN
via Pravda.ru
October 1, 2003
Russia
has almost 30 million elderly people, that is,
virtually one fifth of the country's population. 12.5 mln people out of
them are over 70 and 5.3 million are disabled. About 20,000 are
long-livers who are already over 100. These figures were cited in an
interview with the governmental Rossiyskaya Gazeta by Deputy Prime
Minister Galina Karelova on the occasion of the International Day of the
Elderly Persons.
In recent years, the country has witnessed a drastic increase in the
number of social services institutions, she said. At present they comprise
over 1,200 in-patient institutions and almost 2,000 centers for temporary
stay.
Now large institutions for 100-200 people are being replaced by small
ones, where 10-15 veterans can live. As a rule, this applies to the
countryside. Such social centers "have their own plot of land, a
small garden, a kitchen-garden, and this creates a different, more relaxed
and genial atmosphere," Karelova explained.
In connection with the forthcoming 60th anniversary of the former
USSR
's victory in the war against the fascist
Germany
, the government has adopted a three-year plan
of improving the social and economic position of disabled and veterans of
the war, she announced.
They have the right to receive both retirement and disability pensions,
Karelova recalled. Consequently, war invalids receive 3,402 roubles
monthly, war veterans 3,321 roubles, she pointed out ($1 equals
approximately 30 roubles). Moreover, the state provides individual
subsidies to these groups of veterans. This year such subsidies have been
paid to participants of two large battles of World War II, the
Stalingrad
and
Kursk
battles, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister
said.
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