Are you still here? I thought I had the last word - ah well, another bs statement. It's not about finding an "official" who says either it's improved or it hasn't. It's about finding a reputable source that has the data. Any jackass can say anything - you're the perfect example. But that doesn't make it true. And anyone who has spent time in Russia (more than the short visit you claim to have made which I also believe is crap) knows what life is like there. I've lived among them for several years. I walked the streets of their towns, road their metro, packed in with their nekulturny, they were a part of my life. Their lives are better now, I've seen it with my own eyes. I don't need you pulling up half cocked statistics that don't show a good source or ANY source of data in some circumstances. You believe that any article on the internet must be true? I'll remember that in other threads where your political views are so polarized. I'll make sure I present internet articles contrary, and you'd better accept them, or I'm pointing you right back to this thread!
Why does the picture of a perpetually drunk Boris Yeltsin come to mind. I am sure there must be one floating around that someone can post.