BERNARD SHAW, CNN ANCHOR: Soaring oil prices sparked Russia's economy, which grew by 7.9 percent in the first quarter. But as CNN's Matthew Chance reports, a growing number of Russians are actually living below the poverty line.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The lyrics speak of a powerful and prosperous Russia long since past. It is a sign of the times here that a man who once piloted helicopters into combat is now literally singing for his supper. These few coins, he says, will feed his family at least one more meal. Outside, it's not just the pouring rain dampening spirits. Here, some of the Russian capital's destitutes have gathered for what may be their only hot meal of the day. Some have worked their whole lives, but have fallen to this. And there is disbelief.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't understand what has happened to my country. In Soviet times, we were promised a bright future, and we believed it. I never imagined the Russian people would have to suffer so much.</s>CHANCE: But the facts are written across these faces; a decade since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the suffering only gets worse. (on camera): It is a scene of poverty and hardship repeated across this vast country. But these poorest of the poor are only the most visible sign of a wider and growing Russian problem. According to the latest official statistics, more than 40 percent of all Russians now live well beneath the poverty line. (voice-over): In this school building on the outskirts of Moscow, Tatyana (ph) teaches. Her classroom is also where she lives. It is vacation time now, but she and her two sons have nowhere else to go. She says the school's principal lets her stay here against the rules. With wages of less than a dollar a day, she couldn't stay anywhere else. "What happens to us," she says, "if we ever have to leave?" For so many Russians: professionals, teachers, even office workers, the future appears increasingly insecure, a growing number now forced to depend on the charity of others. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
Russia Faces Growth in Poverty