Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey Research Articles

Рискогенное поведение россиян в сфере здоровья: динамика и факторы воздействия

The review analyzes health risk behaviors of Russians in the ‘pre-pandemic’ (2018–2019), ‘pandemic’ (2020–2021) and ‘post-pandemic’ (2022) periods. Risk behaviors of Russians have been studied in dynamics relying on the secondary analysis of the longitudinal database of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of the National Research University Higher School of Economics; also, factors able to induce changes in them have been established. Evidence is provided to prove a multidirectional dynamics in risk behaviors among Russians during the COVID-19 pandemic: there was a decrease in medical and physical activities along with conditionally stable alcohol and tobacco consumption Men, people younger than 35, and those who did not have children were established to be less active in their interactions with official healthcare organizations and less concerned about their health. A size of a settlement where respondents resided had certain influence on their physical activity (more than 80 % of rural residents pointed out they did not do sports regularly). Addictive behaviors depended on sex, age, and having a partner: men and those respondents who were either married or cohabitated with a partner smoked and drank alcohol much more often. Certain socio-demographic groups tended to replace health protection practices with risky behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women, elderly people and single people tended to become less active as regards healthcare (and many of them remained non-active in the post-pandemic period). In addition to that, single respondents tended to become less physically active during eh pandemic. Addictive behaviors were more typical for men and employed people. Based on the obtained empirical data, the ‘pandemic’ period is described as a stage that does not facilitate occurrence and maintenance of greater adherence to health protection behavior among Russian citizens. Given low levels of trust in the public healthcare and high anxiety, lower medical activity of population has become an entrenched risk behavior pattern as regards health during the ‘post-pandemic’ period as well. It seems highly advisable to develop effective complex programs on health protection for different population groups including those aimed at making healthcare more available, conducting relevant preventing activities, and raising people’s awareness about value of health and ways to protect it.

Risky health-related behavior of Russians: dynamics and impact factors

The review analyzes health risk behaviors of Russians in the ‘pre-pandemic’ (2018–2019), ‘pandemic’ (2020–2021) and ‘post-pandemic’ (2022) periods. Risk behaviors of Russians have been studied in dynamics relying on the secondary analysis of the longitudinal database of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of the National Research University Higher School of Economics; also, factors able to induce changes in them have been established. Evidence is provided to prove a multidirectional dynamics in risk behaviors among Russians during the COVID-19 pandemic: there was a decrease in medical and physical activities along with conditionally stable alcohol and tobacco consumption Men, people younger than 35, and those who did not have children were established to be less active in their interactions with official healthcare organizations and less concerned about their health. A size of a settlement where respondents resided had certain influence on their physical activity (more than 80 % of rural residents pointed out they did not do sports regularly). Addictive behaviors depended on sex, age, and having a partner: men and those respondents who were either married or cohabitated with a partner smoked and drank alcohol much more often. Certain socio-demographic groups tended to replace health protection practices with risky behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Women, elderly people and single people tended to become less active as regards healthcare (and many of them remained non-active in the post-pandemic period). In addition to that, single respondents tended to become less physically active during eh pandemic. Addictive behaviors were more typical for men and employed people. Based on the obtained empirical data, the ‘pandemic’ period is described as a stage that does not facilitate occurrence and maintenance of greater adherence to health protection behavior among Russian citizens. Given low levels of trust in the public healthcare and high anxiety, lower medical activity of population has become an entrenched risk behavior pattern as regards health during the ‘post-pandemic’ period as well. It seems highly advisable to develop effective complex programs on health protection for different population groups including those aimed at making healthcare more available, conducting relevant preventing activities, and raising people’s awareness about value of health and ways to protect it.

Wage premium in STEM careers

In this study, we explore wage dynamics of STEM and nonSTEM professionals during their working life. We analyze wage differences along the wage distribution and with labor market experience. The main novelty in the paper is decomposing the wage growth in separate effects of experience, cohort and time, and accounting for potential depreciation. The identification used in this procedure is based on the ideas of the human capital theory. The empirical realization employs data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. It shows that Russian STEM graduates accumulate human capital at a slower rate than nonSTEM graduates do. However, STEM skills acquired by the beginning of the career are less exposed to obsoleteness than nonSTEM. This reflects a stronger cohort effect for the latter group, and is an implication of the systemic change and the transformational recession during the 1990s

Fertility in Russia: A Re-Examination Using Microdata

This paper employs the microdata of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE) to discuss the impact of economic factors, such as household income and female wages, and subjective well-being, such as life satisfaction and health condition, on childbirth probability in Russia, which, following a continuous decline in birth rate throughout the 1990s, began to increase in the 2000s, and rose thereafter almost continuously. The following results were obtained: higher household incomes serve to encourage childbirth, while female wages are seen to act by curtailing childbirth, and when indicators such as life satisfaction and health condition are high, the likelihood of childbirth is increased significantly. Most previous research concerning the determinants of the birth rate in Russia has shown that household income has no effect at all, but the findings in this paper suggest that this may have been due to the special circumstances that existed at the beginning of the economic transformation period in the 1990s.

Live long – work long: social well-being of working pensioners

Based on the data from the "Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE)", a dynamic analysis of indicators characterising the social well-being of working pensioners has been conducted for the years 1994 to 2022. The current trend in the dynamics of these indicators is characterised as weakly positive but with a potential for decline. It is shown that the current level of social well-being among working pensioners, which includes increased self-confidence and readiness to overcome life difficulties, contributes to maintaining the stability of their adaptive potential.
 Throughout the various stages of the transformational period, working pensioners who exhibited greater autonomy and had developed social capital consistently reported higher levels of social well-being compared not only to non-working pensioners but also to pre-pensioners who experienced growing anxiety due to the inevitable changes in social status and lifestyle upon retirement. The study did not find significant differences in the level of social well-being between working pensioners who retired after the increase in the retirement age and those who retired just before the pension reform.
 Substantial differentiation in the level of social well-being among representatives of the analysed category of pensioners, who are now found in almost all sectors and spheres of activity, is largely the result of their heterogeneous socio-economic status. Despite old age being a factor that increases social risks and vulnerability, working pensioners often overcome difficulties encountered during crises with fewer adaptation difficulties and costs than younger individuals. Key elements of social well-being that continue to play a consistently significant role in strengthening the adaptive potential of working pensioners include the fulfilment of the need for public recognition and social interaction, as well as self-assessment of health status. In the current socio-economic and demographic conditions, various aspects of the social adaptation of the older generation become particularly important, directly linked to the realisation of their resource potential and increased activity in the field of employment.

Determinants of risk readiness as a resource in women’s entrepreneurship

The growth of the scale of women’s entrepreneurship highlights the interest in studying both the specifics of the phenomenon itself and the resource potential of its main subject – women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is built on risk, and the readiness for risk largely determines the success and stability of a business. The aim of the analysis in this article is to determine how the sufficiency/insufficiency of the resource of risk readiness in women’s entrepreneurship is linked to a range of individually subjectively evaluated dispositions in one or another coordinate system. The task was to assess the productivity of introducing the concept of disposition (status) in risk-related research and to determine the presence or absence of differentiation among holders and those in need of risk readiness as a resource in women’s entrepreneurship. The empirical basis of the analysis is the data from the “Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of HSE (RLMS-HSE)”. The methodology of target group analysis is applied. The results of the exploratory study revealed differentiation in several indicators of emotional status, socialpsychological attitudes, financial status, value profile, and decision-making subjectivity in risk and uncertainty situations. Such results allow for considering them with a reasonable degree of certainty as interconnected with risk readiness. The methodological approach of considering dispositions as existing statuses of individuals in specific coordinate systems proved to be productive. A promising task in this regard is a deeper methodological and conceptual elaboration of the concept in connection with risk-related issues.

Working from home and job satisfaction: evidence from Russia

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of working from home and its duration on job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis was conducted on a representative panel data set from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE) for 2016–2021 using endogenous regression models. The impact of working from home on job satisfaction before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and separately for men and women, was analysed.FindingsWorking from home was found to positively affect job satisfaction in the Russian labour market. From 2016 to 2021, men and women who worked from home were more satisfied with their jobs than their counterparts who did not work from home. The positive impact of working from home on job satisfaction was observed before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, remote workers (RWR) putting in more than eight hours per day reported lower job satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsWorking from home can be considered as a measure to combat unemployment, increase employment and improve the utilisation (distribution) of human resources. Further research is required to analyse the impact of health issues and the need to care for young children or infirm persons on job satisfaction in remote work. A more detailed analysis is required of the factors that affect the job satisfaction of women who work remotely.Practical implicationsTo ensure that labour productivity increases and not decreases, employers are advised to develop more detailed working arrangements and labour management for RWRs. Especially for such assigned workers, task control regulations must be developed. To increase the motivation of individuals to work remotely, overtime should be paid at a higher rate.Social implicationsUnclear working time regulations lead to overwork, irregular working hours and burnout. For RWRs, this leads to lower job satisfaction and a consequent drop in productivity.Originality/valueThe empirical investigation is based on a representative panel of Russian data with six waves. Wide ranges of job characteristics were incorporated as determinants. The problem of causality was investigated. For models with an endogenous regressor, instrumental variables were tested and selected.

Agricultural workers’ labour satisfaction dependence in Russia with the use of the internet in professional activities

Digitalization process in the Russian agro-industrial complex is connected with an increase in the need for highly qualified personnel with competencies in the field of information and communication technologies. One of the most important incentives for consolidation highly professional personnel in rural areas is a high degree of employee satisfaction with the results of their work. The article purpose is to determine the influence degree of the Internet use by Russian agricultural workers for professional purposes on various aspects of their labour satisfaction. Based on data from The Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE) from 2010 to 2021, a various aspects’ comparative dynamic analysis of the labour satisfaction level of Internet users and non-users for production purposes, as well as the dynamics analysis of the Internet use by agricultural workers with the dynamics of job satisfaction level various aspects was carried out. Correlation analysis determined the influence degree of professional Internet use on the level of labour satisfaction; a dependence modeling between various aspects of labour satisfaction on the using the Internet intensity for professional purposes was accomplished. It is established that the information and communication technologies’ use increases the degree of satisfaction with various aspects of labor activity, having a special impact on professional growth opportunities. However, the growth of digital competencies raises the employees’ ambition level and, accordingly, decreases the level of his or her labour satisfaction. In order to consolidate highly professional personnel in the industry, a multi-faceted approach is needed, including all possible mechanisms of social and economic support that contribute to growth the satisfaction level of an agricultural employee with the results of his or her labor activity.

Professional and Social Statuses as Predictors of Alcohol Consumption by Working Russians

The paper analyses alcohol consumption patterns among working residents of Russia, depending on their professional and social statuses, using statistical methods. The study is based on data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of the National Research University Higher School of Economics for the period of 2013–2019. Sampling included working women aged 16 to 55 and men aged 16 to 60.The introductory part of the article covers the main trends in alcohol consumption among working Russians with different professional and social statuses. The main part of the article presents the results of an empirical study of the statistical relationship between the characteristics of an employee's professional and social statuses and indicators characterizing the probability and volume of consumption of specific alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, vodka, etc.) and alcohol in general. An econometric analysis of the relationships was carried out based on a random effect panel logistic model and an individual random effect Tobin model. Statistical estimates were made separately for men and women. The regression analysis helped the authors find an increase in the probability of consuming alcohol in general, as well as wine and spirits (cognac, whiskey, liqueurs) for workers with the highest professional status (legislators; high-ranking officials; senior and mid-level executives), as well as women with mid-level qualifications compared to unskilled workers. At the same time, the authors recognized a downward trend in the probability of vodka consumption for the respondents of both gender groups with the growth of their professional status (most pronounced for women). In addition, with an increase in the professional status of an individual, there was a trend towards a decrease in the volume of alcohol consumption in general and by specific beverages except for wine. The volume of wine consumption by men from the categories of "clerks and workers in trade and services" and "mid-level professionals; officials" exceeded the value of the corresponding indicator for unskilled workers. An analysis of the statistical relationship between the social status of working Russians and their predisposition to consume alcoholic beverages revealed an increase in the probability of consumption of selected alcoholic beverages among representatives of both gender groups and the probability of alcohol consumption in general (among men) with an increase in the social status of an individual with more moderate consumption compared to workers with lower social status (for men).According to the authors, the results of this study can be relevant to the elaboration of specific alcohol policy measures aimed at reducing alcohol consumption among the employed population of our country.

Impact of Child Subsidies on Child Health, Well-Being, and Investment in Child Human Capital: Evidence from Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey 2010–2017

This study evaluates the impact of introducing the Maternity Capital (MC) program—a child subsidy of 250,000 Rub (7,150 euros or 10,000 USD, in 2007)—provided to mothers giving birth to/adopting a second or subsequent child since January 2007. Eligible Russian families could use this subsidy to improve family housing conditions, fund child’s education/childcare, or invest in the mother’s retirement fund. This study evaluates the impact of MC eligibility on various child health and developmental outcomes, household consumption patterns, and housing quality. Using data from the representative Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey 2010–2017, I tested regression discontinuity models and found that MC eligibility may have led to a small improvement in child health status, which could be explained by improved housing conditions, particularly in rural areas. However, children living in MC-eligible families were also more likely to report reduced socialisation. Heterogeneity analysis by child gender, household poverty status, and urban/rural residence suggests that MC incentives may have had a differential impact on some analysed outcomes. Results are robust to different polynomial and nonparametric RDD specifications.

The Status of a Professional in Russian Institutional Conditions: Definition Methodology Group Specifics

Gaining the technological sovereignty is one of the main goals that the Russian Government is pursuing today. Under these conditions, the importance of professionals, who are “specialists of the highest qualification level” as defined by the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, is growing. The information about dynamics, composition and specific features of the group of professionals in Russia is becoming more significant as well. However, professionals as a group are now poorly identified. Among the data on professionals available for a researcher, only two credible sources of information can be named – the employment statistics published by the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation and scientific publications devoted to them, and the date from The Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE). Only abovementioned sources provide data in which structure professionals are separately identified. Therefore, we assume that currently available information about professionals is insufficient, contradictory, and partly quite controversial. This is mainly due to methodological and methodical challenges of the definition of the term “professional”. This article analyzes how the term “professional” is defined in Russian science and statistics. The author offers ways to overcome the vagueness associated with the use of the term “professional” by analyzing features of Russian institutional environment. In this article, the main approaches to the interpretation of the concept "professional" in social sciences are determined. The specific features of the classification of the term in the ISCO-08 and All-Russian Classification of Occupations are considered in the article. The solution proposed involves correcting the basic version of ISCO-08 in RLMS-HSE databases. The advantages of an adjusted version of ISCO-08 that can be used in research on socio-professional structure in general and with the focus on professionals are demonstrated in the article. The article also discusses how the share, composition, and characteristic features of the group of professionals change when the approach offered by the author is applied. The multidirectional dynamics in the share of professionals when different versions of ISCO-08 are used is demonstrated on the RLMS-HSE data from 2001–2021, and the conclusion is made about the specifics of the institutional environment in Russia which strongly affects the situation of this professional group.

Social stratification of households in the context of the digital divide

To study issues of social deprivation and inequality, scientists explore factors, correlations and various indices and models. The deprivation indices are used in many countries to target interventions and policies to populations with the greatest needs. The aim of this research is to construct stratification scale of Russian households for the period of Covid-19 pandemic to study their social deprivation. The data source for household social deprivation is the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE). The results show that the digital divide of households in extreme poverty greatly increases their social exclusion and increases social deprivation. About 50% of extremely poor households live in rural areas. It confirms the ongoing income stratification of urban and rural residents. About 30% of households do not own a car. In the context of the restrictions of the self-isolation regime, this is a significant factor in social exclusion. Low incomes and material deprivation do not allow such households to change this situation. Even not all rich households have access to high-speed Internet. This may be due to the underdevelopment of high-speed Internet infrastructure.

Влияет ли дополнительное профессиональное обучение на зарплаты российских работников?

Additional vocational training is an important tool for sustaining and enhancing employee productivity. The Russian labour market underwent considerable transformations in response to the quarantine measures introduced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Concurrently, in 2019, Russia initiated mea­sures aimed at fostering additional vocational training. This article focuses on evaluating the role of additional vocational training as a determinant of wages, serving as a proxy for labour productivity. Empirical analyses were conducted using representative microdata from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS HSE) spanning the years 2019 to 2021. The impact of additional vocational training was assessed across va­rious demographic groups, including men and women, individuals with and without higher education, as well as those under 40 and over 40 years of age. To test the robustness of the findings, alternative econometric techniques, such as the least squares method, quantile regression, and the difference-in-differences method, were employed. Results from methods that do not account for individuals’ unobservable abilities indicated a positive influence of additional vocational training on wages. However, the difference-in-differences method revealed no statistically significant effect of additional vocational training on wages during the study period. These findings underscore the importance of addressing potential sources of bias in estimates and understanding data limitations, factors that are critical in selecting the appropriate econometric techniques for analysis.

ВЗАИМОСВЯЗЬ ИНДЕКСА МАССЫ ТЕЛА И УДОВЛЕТВОРЕННОСТИ ЖИЗНЬЮ ВЗРОСЛЫХ РОССИЯН

Significance. A positive assessment of life satisfaction is important for building a sense of general social well-being in the country. Meanwhile, the body mass index can be one of the factors determining this assessment. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between the body mass index of adult Russians and their satisfaction with life based on the empirical analysis. Material and methods. The analysis is based on data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey for 10 years (2010-2019). The object of the study was the respondents aged 18 and older, except for pregnant women. Econometric modeling was used to estimate the relationship between the body mass index and self- assessment of satisfaction with life. Results. The empirical analysis shows that life satisfaction increases until the body mass index reaches the lower threshold of morbid obesity (38 for women and 39 for men) other things being equal, and afterwards it starts to decline. Conclusions. The study results conclude that some residents of Russia with the excessive body mass index do not consider obesity as a factor decreasing their satisfaction with life. Implementation of educational activities aimed at raising public awareness about negative health consequences associated with overweight can help both to reduce the share of obese Russians, and increase self-assessment of satisfaction with life.

Analysis of Household Income Dynamics in the Russia Based on the RLMS Database

The goal of the study is to estimate the parameters of the stochastic wage process using data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey of Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE). The main method of analysis is econometric estimation, which includes two steps. In the first step, the authors estimated a Mincer-type regression. In the second step, they estimated the parameters of the stochastic wage process using the generalized method of moments. As a result, the autoregression coefficient turned out to be lower, and the variance of shocks was higher than in similar foreign studies. The results of the research allow to conclude that labor incomes in Russia are less stable over time and are marked by great uncertainty. The practical value of the work lies in the possibility of using the obtained estimates when calibrating general equilibrium models with heterogeneous agents, which is demonstrated in the framework of estimation of macroeconomic effects from hypothetical tax maneuvers based on the canonical model with heterogeneous agents.

Between Career and Motherhood: Factors Affecting Women’s Career Trajectories After Childbirth in Russia

The paper puts forward the idea that a woman’s class (occupational position) contributes to the formation of certain orientations and values, which further determine a woman’s choice in favor of particular labor and life trajectory after the childbirth. The authors follow the career trajectory of women after the childbirth in Russia to determine which women are more career-oriented and which are more family-oriented. For this, “Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey–Higher School of Economics” (RLMS-HSE) panel data from 2001–2021 are employed. Drawing on a six-year period—the year before the birth and four years after the childbirth—the authors construct the sequences of various status changes (employed, unemployed, parental leave) and identify the featured patterns of mothers’ career trajectories. The authors also analyze the number of years it took for women to return to the labor market after the childbirth. It is assumed that a later entry into the labor market suggests that women are less career-oriented, and vice versa. Additionally, the factors affecting the decision to return to the labor market earlier or later are evaluated. The results of the implemented analysis (an ordinal logistic regression and a multinomial regression) show that women from the higher class tend to return to the labor market quickly, while women from the middle and working class delay entry into the workforce or refuse to develop a career.

Significant Indicators of Precarious Employment and Their Priority

The article is devoted to the problem of identifying significant indicators of precarious employment and their priority, the solution of which was based on the authors: 1) checking indicators for multicollinearity, for which, based on the processing of data from the Federal State Statistics Service and The Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE), an array of data was generated for the period 2010-2020; 2) checking indicators based on expert assessments of Russian specialists collected in 2022 during a survey specially organized by the authors. Taking into account the integration of the verification results by two methods, the indicators of the initial list proposed by the authors were clarified and verified and the final list of indicators of precarious employment was formed. The final list includes indicators that make it possible to identify objective (taking into account the assessment of the type of registration of employment and employment conditions) and subjective (taking intoaccount the assessment of the presence of instability of the labor situation and dissatisfaction with employment and its conditions) manifestations of precarious employment in relation to Russian conditions. The prioritization of indicators of precarious employment was carried out and three groups of indicators were identified by priority level to characterize its manifestations: with a high (key indicators), medium and below medium priority level. The boundary for the indicator of the level of income from basic employment, which does not ensure the stability of the financial situation of households, has been clarified. It was revealed that precarious employment, regardless of the type of employed households, is identified by income from basic employment, which does not allow per capita income to be brought to the level of standards that form middle and higher material security (3.1 of subsistence minimum and higher).

ADAPTATION PROCESSES IN MODERN RUSSIA

The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the experience of loneliness by the elderly in the context of the problems of adaptation to the conditions of modern Russian reality. Considerable attention is paid to understanding the problems of loneliness of older Russians in a situation of increasing social isolation due to response measures to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis is based on data from the from the “Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics” (RLMS-HSE). It reveals that social isolation prevails in older people, characterized by a reduction or termination of individual contacts, while physical or complete isolation is quite rare. A significant but weak inverse correlation was found between the frequency of feelings of loneliness and the intensity of communication in old age. If employment significantly expands the possibilities of communication and at the same time reduces the severity of the experience of loneliness, then being in a family reduces the frequency of feeling loneliness while maintaining the intensity of communication with other people. Coronavirus restrictions, which have increased isolation, have had a negative impact on the social well-being of older citizens. Significantly increased the number of people experiencing depression, anxiety, depression, danger and fear. More difficult than others to adapt to a new situation are people who constantly or often experience loneliness. But although forced isolation and other pandemic restrictions have given rise to many problems that require an adequate solution, they still have not become destructive stress for the vast majority of older people. As the regime of restrictions eased and awareness of what was happening increased, the majority of older Russians were able to adapt to the new conditions to one degree or another.

Short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and income of the Russian population: which groups were affected the most?

The paper analyzes short-term factors of job loss, wage reduction and factors of household income reduction in Russia in the context of the coronavirus crisis. Panel data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey - Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE) served as empirical basis of the study. According to the study results, the highest risks of job loss are registered among females, young employees, unskilled workers, workers without professional education, and workers with low wages. However, almost the only factor of wage reduction (in case of retained employment) is employment in the most affected industries. Household income prior to the pandemic is the key determinant of household income reduction – the higher the level of material wellbeing, the higher the risk of income reduction. Increased probability of income reduction is also reported for families with children. The study has confirmed the hypothesis about negative impact of vulnerable employment on employment and wages of individuals, as well as household income.

Commuting and life satisfaction: evidence from Russia

The aim of this study is to contribute to the research on life satisfaction by investigating the link between commuting time and life satisfaction in Russia. Using data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, we find that commuting is negatively and significantly associated with life satisfaction. Moreover, we document that the effect of commuting is stronger for married couples and respondents living in rural areas. An extended analysis based on interactive regressions shows that the negative incidence of commute time on life satisfaction is potentially fueled by income and marital status and mitigated by age and gender.