The current situation of Russian women is a result of their situation in the past. For these reasons, feminism is only now beginning to develop in Russia. This study examines the connection that has developed between recent electoral results observed in the regions of Russia and the economic status of the inhabitants of those regions. The economic environment within which electoral behavior occurs is determined by the average income of the region's inhabitants, their cost of living, and the extent to which they have enjoyed the benefits from the government's reform program. By calculating the degree to which each of these factors correlate with the percentage of the vote received by pro-reform parties in each of the administrative regions of the Russian Federation, it is possible to determine how great a role economic factors paly in shaping voters' attitudes.
Personal income is the most significant factor in explaining why voters vote as they do.
In regions where the average wage is high, a greater number of votes are cast for pro-reform parties. Conversely, parties that speak out against reform do best in regions with low average wages. Support for the third grouping of politcal parties, the nationalists, is not connected to economic factors, indicating different influences affecting this electorate. This study also shows that the relationship between wages and voting behavior has strengthened since 1991, when Boris Yeltsin became the first freely elected President of the Russian Federation. This suggests that the country is becoming increaslingly polarized between areas and groups with high wages and those that have not witnessed economic progress from the reforms.