Annually about 3000 pensioners go from Russia for wintering or constant residence. Not less than 160 000 Russians of retirement age already regularly spend cold season or live for long time abroad, analysts of real estate agency “Sfera Grup” which specializes on housing sales abroad are sure. According to forecasts of realtors, in 2014-2015 emigration of pensioners can increase by 30-40%: about a third of the Russian pensioners — owners of apartments in large cities - have financial opportunities for purchase of real estate in Bulgaria, Turkey or Spain. Realtors confirm that such tendency exists: it’s possible to live on the Russian pension in these countries in case you have housing there.
It is plain truth! There’s simply "other Russia" - Russia of officials and millionaires where salaries have exceeded the European level long ago, they are even higher and pensions are calculated from these salaries. They, of course, have very good housing given by the state and then dexterously privatized. They have good country houses and usually good children, who thanks to parents work in good places in state administration or business. These people are quite able to afford housing in Spain, if not in Spain, then in Montenegro or Bulgaria for certain. Leasing their multiroom apartments in Moscow, Petersburg or even Yekaterinburg in winter, they can quite afford to go for winter season to warm countries and thus not to spend pension at all.
The question is different - if this "other Russia" is accessible to Russia number one, to its so to say outdated variant?
What should pensioners receiving grant in 6 thousand from the state half of which they spend on rent do? They can’t rent out their apartments in "five-storey apartment house" on the suburb for more than 15 thousands?
I’ll answer: these pensioners also "go” to their cold tiny plywood country houses where they freeze all winter, trying to gain something from leasing of their town apartments. Owing to this fact they quickly "go" to the other world, freeing vital space for "other Russia"...
А.B.