This study investigates the factors that drive African students to Russia. The number of African students studying in Russia from the 2010/11 to 2022/2023 academic year increased more than fivefold: from 6.7 thousand to 34.4 thousand. The paper was based on an online survey provided to African students between February and November 2023. A sample of 275 African students from 28 countries was used. Findings revealed that the major factors that draw African students to Russia are the quality of education and the quality of life. We compared the quality of education between both genders along with the quality of life. The findings also revealed that females are more interested in the quality of life than males, while males are more interested in the quality of education than females. The findings suggested that policymakers should consider age and previous education as major variables in student migration.

Russian discourses on migration ignore the interests of the employer. The authors of this article seek to close this gap. They focus on the following topics: employers' motivations for recruiting foreign workers; the main types of economic activity and occupations of labor migrants; channels for finding a job and a worker; selection criteria for labor migrants; preferences for hiring and paying Russian and foreign workers; employers' attitudes towards planned innovations in migration law. It is shown that the main reason for recruiting of foreigners is a shortage of workers. Manual workers and specialists are the most sought-after categories of foreigners. It was revealed that the main requirement for a skilled worker is his skilled work experience and qualification, while for unskilled workers - knowledge of Russian language and work permit. Few employers are interested in the nationality, age and gender of the worker. The advantage of foreign workers is their willingness to work overtime and for less money, as well as labor discipline. The advantages of Russian workers are in their qualifications, ability to retrain, and ability to work as a team. The majority of employers indicated equal pay for Russians and foreigners. The survey showed employers' negative attitudes toward the restrictive procedure for hiring foreigners and the authorities' access to their personal data, including their geolocation. The anticipated strengthening of control over migrants and employers will only encourage them to go into the shadow sphere. The study is based on two employer surveys conducted in 2017 and 2022.

Актуальным направлением медико-социальных исследований является проведение проспективных исследований когорты пациентов старшего возраста с хроническими неинфекционными заболеваниями, направленных на изучение уровня летальности с учетом наличия/отсутствия синдрома старческой астении. Проведено проспективное клинико-эпидемиологическое обследование 1 261 пациента 80 лет и старше, получающих медицинскую помощь в амбулаторных условиях. Были сформированы три группы пациентов: без синдрома старческой астении (7,6 %), в состоянии преастении (23,5 %), со старческой астенией (68,9 %). Через один календарный год был проведен анализ причин смерти респондентов всех трех групп. Высокая статистически значимая частота распространенности хронических заболеваний у пациентов с синдромом старческой астении по сравнению с не имеющими признаков данного синдрома отмечена при артериальной гипертензии, ХСН, остеоартрозе, возрастной макулярной дегенерации, ХБП, деменции, онкологических заболеваниях, анемии, неосложненного сахарного диабета. В структуре причин смерти пациентов 80 лет и старше преобладали болезни системы кровообращения, нервной системы, новообразования, заболевания печени, сахарный диабет. Отношение шансов риска умереть в течение 1 года у пациентов, не имеющих синдрома старческой астении, составляет 0,32 (по сравнению с пациентами со старческой астенией, у которых риск принят за 1). An important area of medical and social research is prospective studies of a cohort of older patients with chronic non-communicable diseases aimed at studying the level of mortality, taking into account the presence/absence of senile asthenia syndrome. A prospective clinical and epidemiological study was conducted on 1 261 people aged 80 years and older receiving medical care on an outpatient basis. Three groups of patients were formed: without senile asthenia syndrome (7,6%), in a state of pre-asthenia (23,5%), with senile asthenia (68,9%). After a calendar year, an analysis was made of the causes of death of respondents in all three groups. A high statistically signifi cant incidence of chronic diseases in patients with senile asthenia syndrome compared with those without signs of this syndrome was noted in arterial hypertension, chronic heart failure, osteoarthritis, age-related macular degeneration, chronic kidney disease, dementia, cancer, anemia, uncomplicated diabetes mellitus. In the structure of causes of death in patients aged 80 years and older, diseases of the circulatory system, nervous system, neoplasms, liver diseases, and diabetes mellitus predominated. The odds ratio of the risk of dying within a year in patients without frailty syndrome is 0,32 (compared to patients with frailty, in which the risk is taken as 1).

The increasing role of migration in the world makes the integration of migrants into host societies a crucial social process. In the long run, integration is closely related to the topic of the second generation of migrants and their relative well-being in society. In Russia, which attracts a large number of migrants, the integration of the second generation is also very important but the understanding of it is fragmented due to the small number of relevant studies. The task of obtaining relevant data on migrants' descendants and their participation in social and economic life requires taking into account the wealth of foreign experience in studying this topic. This paper provides an overview of approaches to the study of the second generation of migrants in the United States, Canada and Western European countries. The review is based on analytical and methodological publications of national statistical agencies and international organizations (UN, OECD, Eurostat), metadata from special sample surveys and a number of academic articles. The authors discusses the main data sources used to estimate the number of second-generation migrants and to provide information on their socio-economic characteristics, such as censuses and microcensuses, regular labour force surveys and ad hoc sample surveys. The article describes nuances in the definition and evolution of the concept of «second generation» in the national statistical systems. The results of studies on the social mobility of descendants of immigrants are summarised. In conclusion, we offer practical recommendations for modernizing the system of statistical recording of migration in Russia based on the long-term foreign experience of studying the second generation of migrants.

The study of the living conditions of the elderly living alone or together with other family relatives is relevant to the organization of medical and social care and the strengthening of coordination between medical and social services. We analysed information of 1 261 people aged 80 years and older in ambulatory care settings, of whom 40% lived alone and 60% lived in the family. The proportion of single residents increases with age. It was determined several socio-demographic characteristics of patients, including age, gender, and household composition, calculated the prevalence of senile asthenia syndrome and the main chronic non-infectious diseases for single and family patients, and identified gender differences. Single men in the «Age is not a hindrance» screening more often revealed senile asthenia and had more severe pain syndrome compared to men living in a family. In contrast to men, senile asthenia and pain summation were more frequently registered for women living in a family than for women living alone. For the organization of medical and social care, it is important to consider the relationship between gender and marital status, as well as how this relationship changes over time.

This article analyzes sociodemographic processes in rural districts of Russia's Near North, primarily Kostroma oblast, which is representative of the region. Attention is focused on analyzing the mechanisms and assessing the scale of depopulation processes, in which high mortality among the working-age population, migration of the young and middle-aged to cities, and an imbalance in the age and sex composition—a predominantly elderly population and a small proportion of children—all prove to be contributing factors. The authors identify significant differences in demographic indicators across administrative units in Kostroma oblast and emphasize the importance of sociodemographic studies at the primary (municipal and more local) level.

This work is an analysis of the level and dynamics of economic inactivity in Russia in the 2000s, describing the main sociodemographic characteristics of economically inactive people and the reasons for their nonparticipation, making a cross-country comparison of Russia and the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The empirical basis consists of population surveys on employment issues. The reserves for increasing the labor supply from those ages twenty-five to forty-nine are found to be almost exhausted for women and significantly limited for men. Reduction of economic inactivity of the population is possible mainly by drawing on younger and older people. This requires institutional and socioeconomic changes (increasing the retirement age, increasing the diversity of forms of employment, creating opportunities for combining study and work, improving health, etc.).

Traditionally, research interest focuses on those employed and unemployed in the labor market while relatively little attention is paid to people classified as economically inactive. However, changes in inactivity rates are a key of labor supply due to large number of potential workers among this group. The article identifies trends in economic inactivity in Russia, characteristics of inactive people, and reasons for inactivity comparing inactivity rates in Russia and OECD countries. The text is based on the Russian Labor Force Survey data for 2013. Sickness and family responsibilities are the main difference in economic inactivity rates between men and women. Sickness and disability is a major reason for economic inactivity among men in working age while majority of women of the same age are inactive as a result of family/home responsibilities. Inactivity rates vary considerably by level of educational attainment. Employment potential of the Russian economically inactive people is low. Its increase suggests institutional and economic reformations aimed at increasing the employment rates of older workers and youth.

The authors discuss social and demographic processes in the rural regions of the Russian Near North and, first of all, in the Kostroma region one of the socially problematic regions in the Russian Federation. In the article, the attention is focused on the analysis of mechanisms and assessment of scales of the depopulation: high mortality, migration of youth and middle aged people to the cities, deformations in age and gender structure with prevalence of the elderly population and a small share of children. The authors state essential distinctions of demographic indicators between municipalities in the Kostroma region and emphasize importance of social and demographic research on a basic municipal level. Indicators of the low life expectancy, high mortality caused by external reasons (alcoholism, murders, suicides, etc.), and high migration of youth are seen as the objective indicators of social problems in the local communities. It demands special attention on the part of the government authorities that plan social programs and take administrative decisions.

Analyzed is mobility of foreign workers in the transition from the last job in the country of origin to the first work in the RF. In in case of change of work in Russia it is shown that on the Russian labour market not very very popular are people with professional skills, education and qualification of migrants, primarily of high level; demand for labour migrants is shifting in direction of more simple, unskilled work.

Komisja Europejska (Tematyczny program wspolpracy z krajami trzecimi w obszarze migracji i azylu) oraz Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyzszego

The main demographic phenomenon in developed and many developing countries is population aging. It is underlain by two longstanding trends — sustained life expectancy growth for older ages and birth rate decline, when generations of children do not replace those of parents in terms of numbers. Demographic projections indicate that in the long view the aging process will not just intensify but will also be accompanied by population decline (depopulation). As for Russia, according to the calculations made by the Central Statistical Administration of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) (renamed as Russian Federation by the special law in December 1991)1 as early as the 1980s, the process of depopulation was projected to start in 2001. However, as in a number of Eastern European countries, the severe socioeconomic crisis of the 1990s accelerated the onset of depopulation. Numerical and age—gender population changes present a challenge for public institutions that have formed under the dominant presence of younger generations: how to ensure economic growth given a declining and aging population? As of yet, a satisfactory answer to this question has not been found.