<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin&rsquo;s approval ratings have plummeted since last month, when officials announced a proposal to gradually push the state pension age to 63 for women and 65 for men. ;</p>
<p>The policy marks the first change to retirement norms since they were established during the 30&rsquo;s. Retirement ages are currently set at 55 and 60. ;</p>
<p>The change, which ;will occur gradually over the next 15 years, ;is expected to increase Moscow&rsquo;s value-added tax from 18% to 20%. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who announced the proposal on June 14th, described the tax increase as &ldquo;unavoidable and long overdue.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Last Thursday, Russian lawmakers voted 328-104 in a preliminary vote on the proposal. ;</p>
<p>According to statistics, nearly 60% of Russian men die before age 65. And while the average Russian woman lives to age 73, employment opportunities in old age are sparse. If the proposal is approved, a large portion of Russians will work until the day they die. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked my whole life and paid taxes, and now the government wants to chase me out of my pension,&rdquo; complains Stanislav Orlov, 47. ;</p>
<p>Meanwhile, roughly 15% of the Russian population lives in poverty with monthly incomes of less than $157. ;The average pension is about $230 per month. ;</p>
<p>According to polls, more than 90% of Russians oppose the increase in retirement age. Over 2.5 million Russians have signed a petition calling on Putin to abandon the plan.</p>
<p>&ldquo;For the first time, Putin&rsquo;s ratings aren&rsquo;t coinciding with the ratings of Mother Russia,&rdquo; says political commentator Andrei Kolesnikov. &ldquo;Mother Russia is rising, but the father of the nation is falling and dragging down with him all government institutions.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Opposition to the policy change has pushed Putin&rsquo;s approval ratings down from 77% to 63% &#8211; the lowest they have been since the controversial annexation of Crimea in 2014. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Medvedev and Putin raising the pension age is a genuine crime,&rdquo; insists Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a simple robbery of tens of millions of people masquerading as a necessary reform.&rdquo;</p>
<p><em>Putin, who in 2005 promised he would never increase the state pension age, ;claims the policy change is necessary in order to boost economic growth. ;</em></p>