After two and a half years in a deep economic recession, the Russian economy has taken a turn for the better. Moscow has tightened its belt, and its efforts are paying off, even though oil prices have not recovered and the economic sanctions against the country remain in place. In fact, Russia stands to pull out of recession this year. The country's economy is expected to start growing again this year -- by 1.5 percent according to World Bank projections -- thanks to a budget based on more realistic oil prices and a slimmer spending plan. Foreign investment has also started trickling back in as the rest of the world grows accustomed to navigating Russia's sanctions. Western credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor have even raised the country's outlook from negative to stable.
But despite the overall economic upturn, Russia's people [LINK] are still in dire straits. One-quarter of...
