Being poor in America is not the same as being poor in Russia.

In the US, the official poverty rate in 2015 was 13.5 percent. In 2016, some annual poverty thresholds were:

• $12,486 for a single individual under age 65
• $14,507 a household of two people with a householder 65 years or older with no children
• $24,339 for a family of four with two children under age 18

According to the official figures in Russia, 13,5 % of the population live in poverty. In Russia, an individual is defined as poor if he or she lives with less than $ 174 a month. According to to the polls, the Russians see poverty very differently than the official figures state. If the official poverty line is $ 174 a month, the polls show that Russians see that the real poverty threshold is in average $ 262.