Unemployment in Moscow

Due to the financial crisis, unemployment figures are expected to rise. There's a lot of hidden unemployment in Moscow too, where people continue to work at their job even though they aren't being paid. If you're lucky, you get paid at a later date, or you're told that they get a month off without pay.

Putin has proposed to raise the unemployment allowance to 4900 rubles (about $175 US) per month. If you're flat is paid for (as it is for the older generation of Soviet times), then that might be enough to scrape by on.