In Russia, the role of connections in career success is important, but connections through friends or family and business connections can contribute to careers in different ways. While business connections help those who have already earned a good professional reputation, friends and family can give one’s career a headstart, but their role often stops at this, according to a team of researchers* of the HSE's Centre for Study of Social Organisation of a Firm (CSSOF)

The family meal, a tradition which has for centuries helped strengthen family ties, is becoming a rare phenomenon, increasingly replaced by a fast food culture and various individual dietary strategies, according to Irina Sokhan, Associate Professor at the HSE's Department of Applied Political Science (St. Petersburg)

Commenting on Live Journal is often concentrated around the most popular bloggers. Who authors the posts plays a more significant role in forming discussions than the subject matter. These are the conclusions of researchers at the HSE Laboratory of Internet Studies LINIS, Olessia Koltsova, Sergey Koltsov and Sergey Nikolenko

Education and professional experience in reaching success are not as important for Russians as useful connections. It is specifically connections in the majority of people’s perception that play the main role in climbing the social ladder. Such mind-sets of the population do not allow for the national economy to grow or develop, the head of the Institute of Humanitarian Development of the Megapolis’ Center for Scientific Research and Education, Elena Avraamova, concluded during a research study presented at the HSE

The number of foreign specialists working in Russia has been declining rapidly over the last several years. These specialists often perceive Russian capitalism as something temporary that depends on oil prices. Under such conditions, expats are not likely able to make a serious contribution to the modernization of the Russian economy, but their view of local realities is nonetheless valuable for understanding the processes that hinder economic development, researchers from HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Analysis of Post-Socialist Development Vladimir Karacharovskiy, Ovsey Shkaratan and Gordey Yastrebov concluded from a research study

The number of foreign specialists working in Russia has been declining rapidly over the last several years. These specialists often perceive Russian capitalism as something temporary that depends on oil prices. Under such conditions, expats are not likely able to make a serious contribution to the modernization of the Russian economy, but their view of local realities is nonetheless valuable for understanding the processes that hinder economic development, researchers from HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Analysis of Post-Socialist Development Vladimir Karacharovskiy, Ovsey Shkaratan and Gordey Yastrebov concluded from a research study

There is a big gap between the intention to start a business and actually doing it. According to Anna Lipatova, Junior Research Fellow of the HSE's International Laboratory for Socio-Cultural Research, less than one third of those who think of becoming entrepreneurs or starting another business bring their ideas to life

Russians are increasingly using online communication for professional and business reasons in addition to personal ones. They are exploring advanced solutions and strategies to access, process, and share information on the web, according to a study by the HSE's Laboratory for Studies in Business Communications

Top-ranking LiveJournal (LJ) bloggers in Russia differ from casual contributors by how much they blog, but offer largely the same content, according to a study by Sergey and Olessia Koltsov of the HSE's Internet Research Laboratory (St. Petersburg)

Despite the wide income gap between the rich and poor in Russia, their basic values and attitudes are not dissimilar. However, there are indications of an impending rift, says Svetlana Mareeva, Associate Professor of the HSE's Sub-department of Socio-Economic Systems and Social Policy, based on her findings from a survey of poor Russians

Rural residents are not concerned if televised news or its interpretation misrepresents information. Television plays an entertaining role in rural areas, and the internet is more and more often the primary source of news, researchers from the HSE Laboratory of Media Studies revealed in a study of media consumption in rural areas. The results were presented at the HSE’s XV April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development

The younger a lawyer is the more cynical his attitude towards his profession. In legal circles a readiness to sacrifice ethical and moral standards for financial gain is not uncommon. A report by the HSE Institute for Industrial and Market Studies (IIMS) suggests that change requires active engagement from lawyers’ associations and regular research investigations of the legal community