Russia faces shrinking middle class, rising inequality, study finds

Pedestrians walk across Nevsky Avenue in central Saint Petersburg, Russia May 28, 2022. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's middle class will shrink as social inequality grows over coming years, an economic study conducted by Russian experts suggested, as sanctions against Moscow and limited growth potential scupper development prospects.

The study, published this week, presents four possible scenarios for how Russians' living standards will change between now and 2030 from experts from the Social Policy Institute at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, one of Russia's leading educational establishments.