On October 23, 2026, HSE University hosted the second Russian–Chinese academic seminar on changing life trajectories and the sequencing of key events in the transition to adulthood in Russia and China. The event was organised by the HSE Institute for Social Policy and the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, in cooperation with the Institute of Population Research at Peking University (China).

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.

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.

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).

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.’

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.

At the end of May, HSE University in Moscow received a delegation from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp, Brazil), which has held a strong, long-standing partnership with HSE. The meeting in Moscow took place as part of the International Partner Week, which was held from May 19 to 22 by HSE University–St Petersburg. The event was attended by Unicamp representatives: Rafael Dias, Director of International Affairs, and Milena Serafim, Associate Director of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

HSE University and the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (TAS) have agreed on cooperation. The agreement formalised a strategic partnership between the two leading scientific and educational institutions in the field of demographic and sociological research. The document was signed in Kazan on May 13, 2026 by Lilia Ovcharova, HSE Vice Rector and Director of the Institute for Social Policy, and Rifkat Minnikhanov, President of TAS, at the venue of the 17th International Economic Forum ‘Russia—Islamic World: KazanForum.’