Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia

The purpose of the study is to reveal the reasons that have prevented the sustainable demographic development of the country, and the extension of the current policy leads to a decrease in the population, and to offer an option, in case of successful implementation, to recommend for other regions. The total fertility rate for the future until 2036 does not bring to the level of simple reproduction, and the population will continue to decline. The continuation of the trend is a real threat to national security, and the shortage of labor resources hinders the development of the country's economic potential. Among the reasons are an inadequate assessment of the demographic situation, the wrong choice of priorities, and a limited set of tools for influencing the demographic behavior of the population. The object of this research is the demographic policy pursued in Russia since 2007. The subject of the analysis is the documents that determine the content of this policy, as well as the conceptual approaches underlying it. An alternative position (2005) is considered: the demographic situation of the 90s is close to disaster, and a program of decisive action is needed. The article discusses the main directions of the new demographic policy, the basis of which is the worldview position based on the laws of socio-economic development. Success will be determined by the transition from the setting of "saving" the population to its increase; recognition of the state as the main beneficiary of population growth; the consolidation by law of a provision recognizing the work of a woman in raising her children as socially useful; understanding of housing as an effective lever of demographic policy; transition to a new level of industrial development of the country, with a high level of income of the employed; changes in the spatial organization of the population's life, focused on creating conditions for population reproduction; With the understanding of migration not only as a way to overcome the shortage of labor resources, but also as a source of growth in demographic potential, the conditions for expanded reproduction. The information base of the study was publicly available statistical data from the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), as well as data from published materials in various publications.

The study is devoted to the аnalysis of regional differences in the quality of working life. Attention to this issue will improve the working and living conditions of citizens and promote balanced socio-economic development of the country, help cope with the challenges of personnel shortage and enhance the competitiveness of regional economies. Analysis of regional differences makes it possible to develop targeted effective measures to support employment. The article provides a systematic review of publications by Russian authors devoted to measuring and assessing the quality of working life in different regions of Russia. Russian authors have not developed a unified methodology for assessing the quality of working life in the regional context; there is a mixture of macro- and micro-indicators, as well as objective and subjective measures. Among the publications of foreign authors, there is a wide range of works devoted to the assessment of this aspect in different countries (mainly European) based on the following methods: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) System for Measuring and Assessing the Quality of Work, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Quality of Employment Measurement Framework, the Eurofoundation Quality of Work Indices, the Quality of Employment Index of the International Institute on Inequality, etc. The purpose of the empirical study is to analyze the differences in the main indicators of the quality of working life at the level of the federal districts of the Russian Federation. The subject of the study was the characteristics of the quality of working life: unemployment rate, the share of the poor and the share of those with precarious employment, the level of qualifications, satisfaction with various aspects of employment. The object of the study is the federal districts of Russia. The empirical base was the microdata of the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions of the Population from 2014 to 2022. Summary indices of job satisfaction and indices of working conditions were calculated for the federal districts. A comparison of federal districts was made based on objective indicators of the labor market: unemployment rate, proportion of low-income and precariously employed people, and the level of workers' qualifications. The main challenges of the labor market for regional labor markets and directions for solving the identified problems were formulated.

The relevance and novelty is due to radical changes in the mechanism of indexation of all types of state pensions for the current budget, planned and long-term periods. Practical decisions of public administration bodies require theoretical understanding and critical analysis of the final social and economic results from the perspective of solving the most long-standing problem of socio-economic development of our country - the poverty of pensioners as the most vulnerable category of citizens. The purpose of the study is to identify the causes and substantiate the conditions for reducing pensioner poverty. The subject of the study is the state pension provision in Russia. To identify the causes of pensioner poverty, the study uses actuarial and statistical analysis methods based on open information sources: Rosstat, the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation, the Federal Tax Service, etc. As a result of a multifactorial analysis of the methods of indexing insurance pensions, the main problems and factors determining the size and forms of increase in various pensions have been identified, and theoretical and practical tools for improving the forms and methods of indexing have been substantiated. It is proved that the indexation of insurance pensions should be considered as an economic mechanism for preserving the pension rights of insured persons in conditions of insured risks during the onset of insured events of old age, disability, loss of breadwinner. Indexation should ensure the purchasing power of insurance pensions throughout the life of pensioners. Different indexation methods have different effects on maintaining the adequacy of pension payments in the long term, especially in conditions of rising life expectancy and volatile inflation.

The article presents an original methodology for analyzing the effectiveness of government bodies in the regions of the Russian Federation based on citizen appeals, as well as identifying social well-being and tension, and preventing the latter's growth in Russian society. The study aimed to develop and test a methodology for analyzing the informational support of government bodies' activities in the regions of the Russian Federation based on citizen appeals. The research addressed the following tasks: developing a system of indices and ratings to analyze the informational support of government bodies' activities in the regions of the Russian Federation based on citizen appeals; testing the developed methodology; and determining the effectiveness of government bodies based on the obtained data. The results of the first stage of the project are presented, during which materials from citizen appeals and the responses of government bodies at the federal, regional, and local levels were analyzed. This allowed conclusions to be drawn about the success of government bodies in various regions of the Russian Federation. As a result of the research, a methodology for forming indices to create regional ratings of the Russian Federation based on citizen appeals was developed and tested. The final consolidated rating, which integrates the results presented in the indices and intermediate ratings, made it possible to track the dynamics of government bodies' performance in improving the effectiveness of dialogue with the population across various regions of the Russian Federation. Positive examples include Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, the Kamchatka Territory, the Kirov Region, the Perm Territory, the Republic of Ingushetia, and the Smolensk Region. Regions demonstrating negative dynamics in organizing work based on citizen appeals were also identified. The final consolidated rating made it possible to track the dynamics of government bodies' performance in various regions of the Russian Federation in improving the effectiveness of dialogue between society and the government.

The article presents the sociological understanding of family well-being as a prerequisite for the full performance of the basic functions of this paramount social institution. Based on the analysis of Russian and foreign sources on the subject of well-being, the conceptual content of the core concept of "family well-being" is formulated, since there was no definition of it that met the requirements of the authors of the study. In order to obtain a holistic view of family well-being, the authors propose the use of a sociological approach that examines the complex of economic, social and psychological segments of well-being. The authors analyse the results of a sociological study in which they assessed these segments and drew conclusions about the level of well-being of the Russian family as a whole. In particular, it is pointed out that the state of economic well-being of the family is negatively influenced by low income, housing problems and borrowing. Social well-being is negatively affected by the reproductive passivity of families, excessive workload of parents, lack of necessary control and education of children. The state of psychological well-being of the Russian family is the most favourable compared to other segments. It is characterised by a positive family atmosphere, short-lived conflicts, a stable orientation towards family preservation and joint leisure activities, and extensive friendly communication with the outside world. The authors put forward a hypothesis that the objective indicators obtained in the course of the survey cannot always directly determine the well-being of the family, while the subjective self-assessment of the family's well-being reflects its real state to a greater extent. In particular, it should be noted that lack of housing, material wealth, debt, lack of a well-paid job and other difficulties in life do not prevent a family from considering itself happy and well-off.

The article considers approaches to the analysis and measurement of the readiness of the local population from among the indigenous minorities to develop tourism activities in their places of residence and the impact of tourism on living standards. The analytical base is based on the results of our own sociological surveys of indigenous minorities in four areas of their compact residence in the Republic of Buryatia. The purpose of the study is to develop scientific tools for analyzing the development of tourism in the territories of traditional residence of indigenous peoples, to identify the attitude of the local population to the development of tourism from the standpoint of the tourist attractiveness of these territories, to improve the standard of living of indigenous peoples. The hypothesis of the study is that the indigenous population is interested in the development of tourism in terms of improving living standards. At the same time, they associate their willingness to work with tourists with the development of infrastructure, improvement of transport accessibility of the territory, targeted support for the development of tourism in places where indigenous peoples live, and environmental conservation. As a result of the study, the factors hindering the development of tourism activities (fear and uncertainty of the local population in working with tourists, poor transport accessibility, lack of infrastructure) were identified, and the benefits of tourism development were determined (obtaining additional income through the provision of services to tourists, creating new jobs, selling souvenirs from local raw materials). The scientific novelty of the study consists in the development of a methodological approach to studying the readiness of the local population to develop tourism and improve the quality of life on this basis. The elements of scientific novelty include the development of methods for assessing the readiness of the local population for the development of tourism. The results of the study can be used to develop tourism in places where indigenous peoples traditionally live and improve the quality of life of the local population.

The study of the rich scientific heritage of Mikhail V. Lomonosov devoted many scientific books and articles, which describe the contribution of the famous Russian scientist to the development of various fields of scientific knowledge - astronomy, geography, physical chemistry, metallurgy, engineering, history, grammar, poetics and others. Thanks to the discoveries of the brilliant scientist, many branches of modern science received further development. The social and demographic heritage of M. Lomonosov, a brilliant scientist’s contribution to the study of population problems, is of significant importance for the current stage of development of the Russian state. The session of the panel discussion, organized and conducted by the Department of Demography of the Higher School of Contemporary Social Sciences (Faculty) Lomonosov Moscow State University, was devoted to examining this side of creativity of the great thinker, developing his ideas in contemporary socio-demographic conditions Mikhail V. Lomonosov.