With Moscow’s higher salaries and cost of living, the middle class here is not quite the same as in the rest of Russia. A monthly salary of 30,000 rubles ($1,000), for example, which is considered significantly higher than average in a provincial city, is a Muscovite’s living wage. And the criteria by which Muscovites are adjudged to be middle class differ from those in the West, experts say.

“A mortgaged apartment or house, permanent intellectual (management or highly skilled) work, vacations abroad, savings and a vehicle for each adult family member are the main attributes of a middle-class family in most Western countries,” said Anna Levitova, managing partner at Evans Property. In Russia these attributes are a bit different, Levitova said, but a stable above-average income and property are essential things associated with the middle class.

Real estate

Buying your own apartment is a bone of contention for many Russians, but in Moscow it sometimes becomes an end in itself. Apartment prices as well as mortgage interest are very high and saving money while paying rent is a challenge. In a recent survey by investment bank Troika Dialog, more than 50 percent of respondents could buy everything they needed apart from an apartment and a car. Alla Vishnevskaya, of real estate company Miel, said that 30-40 percent of their customers buy their apartments thanks to mortgages.

“They have adapted to modern market conditions, and can calculatethe benefits of long-term borrowing against paying a large amount of money from their own funds,” she told The Moscow News. One factor that helped many residents was the 1990s privatization of Soviet-era state-owned apartments. While the standard of these apartments sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, it means that many Russians simply had to register their ownership or inheritance of apartments, Levitova said.

General spending

The biggest expenditures for many middle-class Muscovites remain food and clothes, but some stereotypes – such as food being more expensive here than in comparable Western cities – are only partly true. Many city residents prefer to shop in big supermarkets such as Auchan or Perekrestok, according to Troika Dialog’s survey. The prices for various household goods vary widely. While a carton of Russian favorite kefir is much more expensive in the West than in Moscow, a bottle of Budweiser, one of the cheapest beers in America, sells as a high-quality brand in the Russian capital.

But while supermarket prices can often be more expensive, thrifty shoppers can find other alternatives in Moscow. Farm produce is available more cheaply at fruit and vegetable markets around the city. For example, a pound of tomatoes at a farmers’ market in New York would typically cost about $4, while in Moscow a kilo bought from a market is $2-$3.

Many Moscow residents say that while you lose on some goods, you gain on others – it’s just about knowing where to find bargains. “You end up spending enormous amounts of money on good quality food here, but then that’s compensated for by cheap household bills and gypsy cabs,” said Anna Fedorova, who works as a journalist in Moscow for the English-language RT television channel. “Yet the situation with clothes has massively improved within the past few years.”

Over the past 10 years, the situation for middle-class clothes shoppers has changed dramatically in Moscow, as many new brands have come to the city, and shop assistants no longer look down their noses if you ask them about discounts. However, some popular massmarket brands still cost more in Russia. Clothes at British chain Top Shop are about twice as expensive in Moscow as in its British stores, while American student brand Abercrombie & Fitch sells in a few stores in Moscow for non-student prices.

Leisure

About 20 percent of middle-class Muscovites’ income goes on restaurants, some luxury items and holidays. A bill at mid-range restaurant chains like TGI Friday’s or Hard Rock Café are about the same in Moscow as in Western Europe. Travelers say, however, that dining in Moscow is slightly cheaper. “I got a feeling that cafes in Europe were a little more expensive,” said programmer Elena Fedina. “And I’d rather spend money on traveling and good food than buying expensive clothes.” Less than one-third of respondents in the Troika survey said they had never traveled abroad.

Russians’ most popular holiday destinations are Europe, Turkey and Egypt. And the higher the income, the more money people are likely to spend on holidays. Unsurprisingly, people with higher incomes go to the theater and cinema more, and generally go out more often, the survey found.

Middle-class cost of living

A week’s food shopping for two people – 2,500 rubles ($180)

Cup of coffee – $5

Three-course meal (without alcohol) – $50

Beer – $10

Haircut – $50

Jeans – $100 (Benetton)

Rent – $2,500 per month (2-bedroom apartment in the city centre)

One night’s hotel accommodation – from $420 (Marriott Moscow)

Theater ticket – from 800 rubles ($30)

Vacation – 25,000 rubles ($900) per person for a one-week package tour to a 4- or 5-star hotel in Turkey or Egypt

Source: The Moscow News