Social Policy In Russia Research Articles

Поиск российской национальной идеи как фактор современной государственной молодёжной политики

This article is devoted to the analysis of one of the key problems of the strategy of modern Russian state youth policy. This is the problem of sustainable dominance in youth policy of the motives of state charity (systematic investments of budget funds in solving current problems of youth, in general, or of individual groups) over the motives of national-state interest (ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country, solving the problems of its economic development) throughout the post-Soviet era and up to the present day. The long and intensive search for the Russian national idea during this period did not significantly affect the structure of motives for cooperation between the state and its young citizens in issues of upbringing, education, professional guidance and value choice. The author sees the reason that youth policy ideologically developed on its own and the search for a national idea did not fill it with any fundamentally new meanings in specific technology of such searches as political technology. The specificity reveals itself in the fact that the search was aimed at maximizing the improvement of the theoretical doctrine, designed to become a new Russian national idea, at giving it original form and content. At the same time, issues of applying such a theoretical doctrine to solve practical problems of internal Russian social policy and, in particular, state youth policy were excluded from the discussion. Today there is a turn in Russian politics: institutions and practices common to liberal democracies are increasingly filled with a conservative-patriotic meaning. The resumption, in this regard, of the search for the Russian national idea may repeat the fate of previous experiments in this direction. In this case, the motives of youth policy do not form a significant connection with national-state interests and the prospect of bringing it through the efforts of its subjects to some qualitatively new level will once again be postponed indefinitely.

SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN RUSSIA IN THE 1990S: PROBLEMS AND PERIODIZATION OF THE FORMATION OF SOCIAL POLICY

The article analyzes the problems and periodization of the formation of social policy in Russia in the 1990s. After the collapse of the USSR, the abandonment of the socialist path of development and a sharp turn towards the capitalist path, expressed in radical market reforms, the Russian state, which began to copy and transfer the experience of developed Western countries to Russian realities, faced a dual task - to form an economic policy based on market principles and, again based on the experience of Western countries, a new social policy. Western states are not unanimous on social issues, but social policies are formed and implemented by all. There are three basic models of it, in which the participation of the state in the implementation of social tasks is outlined in different ways. However, the Russian authorities are faced not so much with the problem of choosing an appropriate model, but with the problem of adapting the state’s social obligations to the consequences of market transformations. The term “transformational model of social policy” even appeared in the scientific literature, indicating a state of transition, but it was not possible to unambiguously describe this term, since approaches to social transformation in different countries did not repeat each other. Moreover, the practice of transition to a market in Russia and other countries with a socialist background has shown different reactions to universal market laws and mechanisms. The Russian scenario turned out to be painful for the economy and social sphere. It was established that the social sphere was transformed in three stages, but none of them had a systematic and complete form. On this basis, we concluded that in Russia in the 1990s, social transformation laid some of the foundations for social policy. But it did not lead to the formation of social policy itself, which is incorrect to interpret as a certain sum of social measures, because any policy, including social policy, is usually understood as a mechanism developed by the state for regulating social relations, aimed at their harmonization.

Социальная трансформация в России в 1990-е годы: особенности формирования законодательной базы

The article reveals the problem of the formation of social policy in Russia in the 1990s, the features of the formation of the legislative framework.. In the 1990s, Russia faced a dual task – to formulate an economic policy based on market principles and, again based on the experience of Western countries, a new social policy. Western states are not unanimous on social issues, but social policies are formed and implemented by all. There are three basic models of it, in which the participation of the state in the implementation of social tasks is outlined in different ways. Russia faces the problem of adapting the state's social obligations to the consequences of market transformations. The Russian scenario turned out to be painful for the economy and social sphere. In Russia in the 1990s, social transformation laid some of the foundations for social policy. But it did not lead to the formation of social policy itself, which is incorrect to interpret as a certain sum of social measures, because any policy, including social policy, is usually understood as a mechanism developed by the state for regulating social relations, aimed at their harmonization. The authors made an attempt to establish socio-economic changes in society, highlighting individual periods that influenced the features of the formation of the legislative framework of the 1990s.

REFLECTING THE LIFE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE STUDENT YOUTH ON THE PAGES OF THE REPUBLICAN NEWSPAPER «SOVETSKAYA CHUVASHIA» (2000–2023)

Studying the activities of youth organizations is an important problem in the historiography of Russian social policy. Such associations, created on the basis of young people’s interests, affect a wide variety of fields of their activities. As a result, addressing youth policy and students, which is a priority task of the state in modern conditions, becomes the most relevant area of research. An attentive attitude of the authorities to this aspect of the political and socio-economic life of the Russian Federation is characteristic of both the Center and the country’s regions, since its manifestation is associated with the functioning of various youth platforms and associations throughout the territory of the Russian state. The purpose of the article is to study the main activities of student youth based on publications in the republican newspaper «Sovetskaya Chuvashia» in 2000–2023. Materials and methods. The periodical «Sovetskaya Chuvashia» is taken as a historical source to study student youth’s activities. This choice was not made not by coincidence, since this newspaper is one of the important periodicals of the Chuvash Republic, the regional mass media, in which news information is regularly provided. When preparing the article, the author adhered to the basic approaches and methods of scientific analysis of historical material. Problem-chronological, comparative-historical methods and a systematic approach were important in clarifying the topic. Results. The newspaper «Sovetskaya Chuvashia» dates back to 1917. For many years, it has been acting as an indispensable source of information, the pages of which covered political, scientific, socio-economic, and sports life of the Chuvash Republic. The newspaper’s coverage of student youth activities is conditionally divided into four groups: student organizations and public policy; sports and leisure; youth science; creative, socially significant events and the educational system. The coverage of publications under study includes a relatively recent period of time – from 2000 to 2023. Conclusions. The information provided gives the opportunity to assess the historical sources, the value of which lies in the fact that they reflect the spirit of the times, make it possible to record individual facts and events, and convey the emotional background of the historical period. The main carrier of such pristine source information is the media. In this regard, in our opinion, «Sovetskaya Chuvashia» can certainly be considered as an informative source for revealing regional history. For more than 100 years of its existence, it includes a unique collection of articles, memoirs, interviews, excerpts from the regulatory framework, and photographic documents, which are valuable for research work. The activities of the student youth in Chuvashia and Russia as a whole should also be considered in this way.

Analysis of the Social Policy Organization in Post-Soviet Russia in the Context of International Experience

Relevance. The organization of social policy was significantly modified in Russia during the post-Soviet period, due to the transformation of the economic system. Many foreign countries at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries also changed their approaches in the field of social policy, introducing market elements following the example of the United States, as well as responding to demographic changes and economic difficulties. Studying the features and dynamics of domestic and foreign social policy is valuable for consideration of the best practices and problems, for the development of political science and for making decisions.Purpose: show how the preservation of the goals of social policy in Russia after the collapse of the USSR was ensured when its instruments were changed, compare the domestic system with foreign ones.Objectives: to show what challenges did the social policy system face in Russia and abroad, how approaches to solving problems in the social sphere have changed, show the formation and functioning of pensions, the healthcare system, unemployment protection and other social policy measures in Russia and foreign countries.Methodology. The article relies on comparative historical approach, analysis of legal documents, institutions, organizational features and statistical data. The article is based on reports from government departments and analytical companies.Results. Economic and demographic problems at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries create similar challenges for Russia and other countries, but in Russia the impact of these problems was stronger, and Russia also faced administrative challenges. In the post-Soviet period, Russia attempted to reorganize social support along the lines of insurance, but a universalist approach, which involves financing from taxes. The system of social policy in modern Russia does not fall behind foreign analogues in its architecture, scale and efficiency. Its weaknesses are a lot of duplicating benefits, outpacing rates of indexation of social payments and low financing of the healthcare system.Conclusions. Russia managed to preserve the most important achievements of the Soviet period in the field of social security, namely pensions, free education and health care.

The global "epidemic" of loneliness: measures of state support for single people

The modern development of digital technologies has led to the fact that absolutely all spheres of human activity have been transferred to the virtual space. Many state and political institutions are also moving to an online format (elections, judicial proceedings, municipal polls). The lack of "live communication" and the dominance of communications in the virtual environment have led to the problem of loneliness. The authors pay special attention to the world practice of combating this problem. The subject of the research: scientific works of Russian and foreign scientists devoted to the problems of social isolation and loneliness, normative and policy documents on the implementation of social policy in Russia and foreign countries, information and analytical materials of authorities and organizations containing statistical and other information on the research topic. The methodological basis of the research consists of general (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison) and private scientific (specifically sociological, statistical), as well as special legal (comparative law) methods of scientific cognition. The scientific novelty of the work consists in the strengths and weaknesses of existing methods of combating loneliness at the state level identified on the basis of an analysis of the practice of applying state support measures for lonely people in the UK, South Korea, Japan and Germany. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the study of the Russian practice of implementing measures of state support for single people in conjunction with the assessment of demographic indicators of the level of population growth in Russia, registered marriages and divorces, as well as formulated proposals for improving public administration in the social sphere. The authors conclude that people have forgotten how to build long–term strong relationships and, as a result, modern society is infected with an "epidemic" of loneliness, the consequences of which pose a threat to the development of the country and the well-being of the population.

Activity and strategies for caring for the health of the elderly: urban and rural context

Modern Russia, like most European countries, is a state where the population is actively aging. At the same time, the issues of organizing care for the elderly, as well as the issues of organizing care for the elderly, are becoming increasingly important for modern Russian social policy. The article presents the results of a qualitative study conducted in the villages of the Republic of Karelia and in the city of St. Petersburg. A total of 40 semi-structured interviews were collected (n=40). In the framework of this study, we consider caring for the subjective health of older people as one of the important criteria for the development of active longevity policy in Russia. The main task of the study, in this regard, is to find out how the elderly themselves take care of their subjective health within various territories. The main research question is the question of how care for their subjective health is formed in older people. The results of the study confirm the presence of the specifics of caring for their subjective health, depending on the different locations where the elderly live. The main problem for elderly people living in rural areas is the exclusion of medical and social services, which actualizes the search for alternative treatment options for diseases. For the elderly in a large city, it is important to turn to institutional treatment providers as the only and non-alternative sources of care and a guideline for turning to such providers in the treatment of various diseases.

Features of social policy in the aspect of socio-economic security of the state

The aim of the work is to study the features of social policy in the aspect of the socio-economic security of the state. The author considered the main approaches to the definition of social policy, depending on the scale of its analysis. At the same time, social policy is considered both at the state level and at the level of enterprises due to the relationship between objects and the importance of each of them. The author singled out the goals and objectives of social policy in general terms to highlight specific elements that reflect the direction of this policy. In the course of the study, it was found that for the economic and production potential, a properly developed social policy in the activities of the enterprise is necessary, since it is it that is an important element in this process. The paper studied the existing aspects of the implementation of social policy in Russia. The author considered the transformation of social policy depending on the impact of external conditions and current problems, as well as an analysis of the levels of regulation of social policy, taking into account their relationship. In the work, an analysis of the consolidated budget of Russia was carried out, during which it was revealed that social policy occupies a major place in the structure of expenditures. At the same time, the emergence of problems in social policy directly affects both the efficiency of state activity, and, consequently, social and economic security, and the activities of enterprises, especially if the latter do not pursue such an internal policy. Thus, in conclusion, the author found that in order to identify possible threats to economic security and develop measures to prevent them, it is necessary to carry out regular activities in the social sphere of the state, develop programs and regulations that will regulate this process.

Creative views on solving the problems of social policy in Russia and Belarus in rural areas

The article raises the issues of the ultimate effectiveness of regulatory measures of a social nature carried out by the state in rural areas of Russia and Belarus. For this purpose, the results of individual government directives are compared with the dynamics of demographic indicators, employment, real incomes, housing provision in rural areas, the structure of household expenditures. The problem areas of social policy in rural areas of Russia and Belarus are considered. As creative views on the solution of social problems in rural areas, options for the introduction and development of innovative agro-industrial ecosystems, which are defined by the authors as a set of economic, social, energy, information, marketing, financial and other entrepreneurial business structures that cover all the problem areas of development, are proposed.

Комплексные прогнозно-аналитические методы исследования государственной социальной политики в России

The article deals with complex forecasting and analytical methods for studying the state social policy in Russia, which can be divided into non-formalized and formalized ones. Expert method, scenario method, comparison method, as well as the factor analysis method and the decision tree construction method, respectively, are analyzed as examples of such methods. The author comes to the conclusion that use of various research methods should be present at each stage of political cycle, which will preserve the relevance of the imple-mented social policy and increase its effectiveness.

The trend towards sustainable development as a factor in reducing gender inequality

COVID-19 was called a "pandemic of inequality", which led to aggravation of all types of inequality, including gender. The pandemic actualized the issue of finding new ways and opportunities to improve the situation with gender equality in Russia. The article presents result of the analysis of Russian reports for the period 2016-2020 on the implementation of The 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development in terms of the country's progress towards achieving gender equality. The article analyzed not the whole national reports, but only the 5th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) aimed at ensuring gender equality. The novelty of the author's approach to the analysis of the reports was that the indicators used in them to achieve the 5th SDG by 2030 wwere considered as factors of progress towards gender equality in the country. The article consists of two sections, an introduction and a conclusion. The first section provides a historical background that shows the stages in formation of the concept of sustainable development, starting from the ideas of Gro Harlem Brundtland, who headed the International Commission on Environment and Development (ICEDD) in 1987, to the system of indicators developed by Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, who headed the Commission on Basic Indicators of Economic Activity and Social Progress in 2008-2009. When developing the Sustainable Development Goals, the experience accumulated over thirty years was used as the basis for them. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes the SDGs, was signed by 193 countries in 2015, including Russia. In 2020 Russia submitted to the UN two reports on the achievement of the SDGs — one prepared by the government and the other by civil society organizations. These reports reflected the progress in implementation of the SDGs for 2016-2020. The results of a brief comparative analysis of both reports are presented in the second section of the article. The analysis showed striking differences between these two reports: the outright bureaucratic formalism of the first and the creative constructive nature of the second. This indicates that it is the civil society, not the government, that is aware of the severity and urgency of the problems of gender inequality in Russia and is ready to solve them. The content of the report and the recommendations addressed by the civil society to the state show that implementation of the gender equality targets set in the SDGs can serve as an important factor in the country's progress towards gender equality. From the analysis of the form and content of the government report, it becomes obvious that the gender agenda is not among the priority areas of the Russian social policy.

Some aspects of system of inclusive and special education and parents in this system

Abstract. We analyze certain aspects of the current system of education of children with special educational needs as one of the most important directions of Russian social policy. The Government of the Russian Federation takes a course for the further development of inclusive and special education, which provides an opportunity to implement an evolutionary approach in updating the special and inclusive education system. The spectrum expansion of childhood diseases is associated not only with the environmental situation in the world, but also with the socio-cultural component of the family: unhealthy family environment, child abuse, unfavorable living conditions, etc. Along with the measures taken by state and administrative bodies in special education, it is necessary to form an active position of parents in the process of inclusive practice, their understanding of its essence and purpose of the educational process as one of the main conditions for the effective development and socialization of children with disabilities. We present the experience of interaction between specialists of the Chechen State Pedagogical University with parents on the example of the Network Consulting Center for Comprehensive Support of families raising children, including with developmental anomalies “Parent University”. This experience can be used by other educational organizations of different levels – from early aid institutions to higher educational institutions. Educating parents on the basics of pedagogy, family education has a beneficial effect not only on the abnormal child and their family, but it is also a starting point in the formation of a tolerant position of society.

Correlation of changes in the modern labor market and the development of the social sphere in the context of the new technological realit

The article presents the fundamental trends typical for the current stage of socio-economic development. The role of the integration of innovative technologies and digitalization of the economy is emphasized, and some tasks and problems associated with these processes are outlined. It is noted that in the conditions of the new technological order, social and labor relations and the position of the Russian labor market are changing. The changes under consideration determine the transformation of the nature of work and the requirements for modern specialists. The article highlights some of the contradictions that exist today between the educational services market and the labor market. The correlation of changes in the modern labor market and the prospects for the development of the social sphere in the new conditions is shown. The role of social policy in these processes is emphasized, and some issues characteristic of the current stage of the development of Russian social policy are noted.

GROUPS OF INTEREST IN THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL POLICY: THE EXAMPLE OF ALL-RUSSIAN SOCIETIES OF DISABLED, BLIND, DEAF

There is a research gap in the study of interest groups in the social sphere, arguing the possibility of examination the activities of all-Russian public organizations of the disabled, blind, and deaf in interaction with the state authorities in the Russian system of social protection of disabled people. The context of reforming the social sphere in Russia is important because it is suggesting the opposite to conservative principles the transition to market relations and effective management of institutions of social protection. The researchers consider public organizations created in the USSR as of “the power transmission belts” of the state, however these actors may represent interest groups preserving the conservative practices in the social sphere. The aim of the article is to verify whether all-Russian public associations of people with disabilities are interest groups in Russian social policy. The investigation compares the actions of conservative nongovernmental organizations with the theoretical characteristics of interest groups. To argue that the selected actors promote certain interests in the social protection system, a review of the research literature of characteristics of interest groups was conducted. Then, the characteristics were traced in the statutory activities of the investigated organizations. The analysis of the legislation and statutory activities of All-Russian organizations of people with disabilities revealed the possibilities of the organizations to influence political decision-making in relation to persons with disabilities, as well as to contribute to the persistence of the conservative course of social policy, despite the introduced innovations in Russian legislation.

Гендерные аспекты социальной политики в сфере трудовых отношений в условиях современного общества (на примере женщин-матерей)

The article focuses on two approaches to gender aspects of social policy in labour relations in a modern society (a case study of mothers). One of them deals with introducing gender into existing theories of social policy. The other is based on the assumption that fundamental theories are incomplete in their fundamental prerequisites and therefore new models of social policy regarding labour relations of mothers should be worded. The approaches are founded on the relationship implying "state – market – family" link. The article gives a brief description of the current social policy in Russia in regards to labour relations of mothers. It discloses general issues in management of labour relations of mothers including women's unemployment, occupational segregation, above regarding management of labour activity of mothers are integral parts of the general social problem of labour relations in modern conditions. Additionally, we highlight the relationship between mothers' working life and family obligations. The article analyzes the economic activity dynamics and women's employment rate in the period 2008–2017. The data gathered is based on age, gender, marital status, level of women's occupation in their main post. Finally, we identify some measures to be taken to improve the existing social policy in labour relations of mothers. These measures consist in the establishment of legally fixed "free time", the construction of a socially fair system of material benefits and privileges, the construction of a developed infrastructure in the form of various services.

International knowledge transfer and Russian social policy: The case of gender mainstreaming

In the course of their transition to a market economy, the importance of international knowledge transfer from developed capitalist countries to the post-Soviet states has increased. However, the question of what particular knowledge has been transferred and why in some cases knowledge transfer has been successful, while in others it has failed, remains under-researched. Using gender mainstreaming as an example, the mechanisms of international knowledge transfer in Russian social policy are discussed in detail. The authors argue that specific knowledge transfer could facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge, but its sustainable application in social policy decision-making might be problematic, requiring commitment of political actors as well as supportive institutional conditions.

Social aspects of environmental issues in the context of the national project “Ecology”

The article is studying the prospects of the environmental issues impact on social policy in Russia. Environmental issues are coming to the fore in the context of public discourse around the world - a new surge in public discourse on this topic is expected following the resolution of the pandemic crisis. Much attention was paid to the consideration of the national project "Ecology", which is a response to a public request related to changes in the field of domestic ecology and the approach to it. The authors come to the conclusion that public attention to environmental problems will only increase, while it is advised to the state to keep it in the system field. Otherwise, it is precisely the “environmental agenda” that may become one of the main factors of destabilization of the domestic political field in Russia. Further systematic expert development of this topic should designate state structures and public organizations as a sufficient set of “roadmaps” for a consistent reduction in the level of conflict in the context of a “green” issue.

‘They should cook borsch, chop wood … ’: contemporary images of social work in the context of welfare policy reforms in Russia’s print media

ABSTRACT This article traces the main features of social work in contemporary Russian printed media in the context of social policy reforms and social work services transformation from 1994 to 2018. This article analyses the mass media portrayal of social work within a broader picture of the Russian social policy, taking into account the interplay of the macro-context of the welfare reforms, on the one hand, and the mezzo-context of the profession, on the other. The analysis of social work images reveals changing professional status and societal beliefs concerning this occupation against the background of welfare policy reforms. This analysis gives an important perspective on the transformation of social work in Russia and poses the broader questions of how social policy affects the professional status of social work and how the profession itself through the media images is becoming a political issue; a care-and-control tool. In addition, this study contributes to research on the rise of non-governmental participation in social work in the Russian regions, where there has been a long history of the state monopolising social service provision.

DYNAMICS OF DEVELOPMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR IN THE THREE SIBERIAN REGIONS (BASED ON EXPERT EVALUATIONS)

Contemporary Russian social policy is marked by intensive development of state-public partnership as an important instrument for identifying and responding to social issues, improving quality of social services, protecting rights and freedoms of the Russian citizens. Shouldering some of the state functions on the provision of social services, organization of socially significant events and activities, NPOs are often more efficient and effective, they react faster on social needs and provide population with opportunities to participate in resolution of their problems and change their lives for the better way. The analysis of dynamic characteristics of civil society, fulfilled by the authors on the base of expert evaluations in the three border regions of the Siberian federal district (the Altai region, the Novosibirsk oblast, the Republic of Altai, n = 180), allowed to reveal their structure and relationships with peculiarities of the functioning and interaction with other NPOs and governmental bodies at different levels. Our findings suggest that processes in civil society are strongly interconnected, and that the assessment of their actual state and dynamics is very subjective, affected by professional experience and peculiarities of expert organization.

On Foreign and Russian Social Policy: Approaches and Solutions

On Foreign and Russian Social Policy: Approaches and Solutions