Russian seniors resort to searching the trash for survival
Recently, a recording from Moscow has been circulating online. It shows a group of retirees searching for expired food by rummaging through trash bins behind a market. A similar event was recorded in St. Petersburg in mid-April, where a fight broke out among seniors.
8:21 AM EDT, October 21, 2024
A recording from Moscow appeared online, showing a group of seniors gathered behind one of the markets. It turned out to be one of many such meetings involving sorting through garbage in search of even expired food. In this particular case, they were targeting dairy products.
While many products have suggested consumption dates, consuming dairy products such as eggs or milk after the expiration date can severely impact health. Nevertheless, for many retirees in Russia, this is the only way to avoid starving.
The phenomenon of sifting through trash for food has intensified since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Although the number of benefits hasn't decreased since then, the prices of many products, including basic medicines, have significantly increased, pushing seniors, among others, into a substantial cycle of poverty.
Russian seniors, to survive, rummage through trash
The inefficiency of the Russian system right after the outbreak of the war is evident not only in rural areas but also in the centers of large cities, where the cost of living is significantly higher. It is precisely there that thousands of seniors struggle with poverty and hunger, which manifests as searching for food in dumpsters behind markets.
The desperation of these people is immense, as shown by the April brawl by the dumpsters in St. Petersburg. A group of seniors went at each other's throats for some expired food. Currently, many of them admit that rummaging through dumpsters has become somewhat of a habit.
