New and Old - Russian society

I had hoped to find out more about what life is like there by talking to people, but my halting Russian made it a painful experience; and besides, I'm not very adept at talking to strangers even in English or French. So I can't say much about Russian society besides what I could see.

The demographics and social groups of Russia reflect their recent history. The economic structure of the 70's/80's USSR provided good academic, artistic, and technical education, but because the country was generally poor and egalitarian rather than rich and competitive, there was little social or material incentive to work hard. For veterans, disabled, and the elderly, there were generous state pensions. In the 90's, Boris Yeltsin and his clique liquidated the USSR and transferred most of the wealth of the country to their family and friends. They also removed almost all restrictions on commerce.
These reforms created a new class called New Russians; those who were smart, lucky, or well-connected became millionaires overnight. However, since the new government couldn't afford to support public industries and services, many Russians lost their jobs and survived by their former possessions and their vegetable patch. Many Russians moved abroad. In the 00's, the economy slowly recovered, and recently high fossil fuel prices have increased government revenue.

I noticed the following social groups:
*The elderly suffered the most from Yeltsin's reforms. State pensions became too small to live on, so they took jobs as sidewalk sweeps, museum attendants, or market vendors. We often saw old women in nice clothes sitting on the sidewalk selling a few handfuls of homegrown vegetables. I suppose the lucky ones had family who could support them.
*Those who were adults in the USSR have education, expertise, and fine possessions from their Soviet days, but since then, they've been struggling to get ahead. Their houses and property are often in disrepair.
*Young people are too young to remember the USSR. They are much more international and aggressive than their parents. They have learned skills suitable for the modern economy like computer programming (the Google search algorithm was co-created by a Russian).
*Children seem to be the same as here. At one cathedral, I saw children playing alone in the enclosed garden, but usually they are with their parents.

It is not always clear who is rich when looking at clothing. Most people dressed finely or fashionably in public. My father believes that, since they live in shabby neighbourhoods, it is doubly important for their self-esteem and social mobility to maintain the illusion of prosperity.

Western newspapers say there is still widespread organized crime, but the only crime we saw was 3 lowlifes on the train to Tomsk, and another passenger assured us that they were relics of the 90's.