.jpg "Cultural Heritage as a Driver of Development: HSE Experts Take Part in Smolensk Colloquium on Shrinking Cities")
Cultural Heritage as a Driver of Development: HSE Experts Take Part in Smolensk Colloquium on Shrinking Cities
On 19–20 October, Smolensk hosted the All-Russian research colloquium “Shrinking Cities: Degradation, Decline and Revitalization.” The event was organized by the Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INION RAS) and Smolensk State University, and formed part of the XXXVIII “Social Transformations” colloquium. Participants discussed mechanisms for revitalizing depressed areas.
HSE Researchers Present Studies on Civic Participation and Gendered Time Poverty at NU GSPP 2026
On 16–17 October 2026, researchers from HSE University’s Institute for Social Policy took part in the 10th anniversary international conference “Reimagining Governance: Power, Policy, and the Public Good in a Fractured World” at Nazarbayev University’s Graduate School of Public Policy (NU GSPP) in Astana, Kazakhstan. Vasily Anikin and Sergey Ter-Akopov, staff members of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Human Potential, presented papers; Anikin also moderated a session and spoke at the closing ceremony.
How Housing Affordability Affects Family Behaviour and Fertility in Russia and South Korea
On October 19, 2026, the second international research seminar in the series ‘Family Policy and Fertility Support Policies in Northeast Asian Countries’ took place. Held as part of the university project ‘Developing Interdisciplinary Research into Human Potential,’ the event focused on the relationship between housing affordability, family behaviour, and fertility in Russia and South Korea. It was organised by the HSE Institute for Social Policy, the HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, and the Seoul National University Population Policy Research Centre (Republic of Korea).
HSE Experts Provide Insights into Platform Employment in Russia
At least 7.4 million Russians use digital platforms to find jobs or part-time work. Through websites and applications, they work as couriers, tutors, and drivers providing passenger and freight transportation services. While young people remain the most active participants in platform employment, this form of work is also becoming increasingly common among other age groups. These findings were presented by HSE experts at the seminar ‘Platform Employment in Russia: Dynamics, Internal Heterogeneity, and Prospects for Social Guarantees.’
Sociologists: Conservative Consumers Dominate Russian Middle Class
The Russian middle class cannot be regarded as a homogeneous and uniformly stable social group. Similar income levels often mask significant differences in financial strategies, lifestyles, and levels of economic security. This is the conclusion reached by sociologists at HSE University. The study has been published in Voprosy Ekonomiki.