High rates of mortality, early death and poor health are the main problems affecting elderly Russians—who nevertheless continue to work and help their children and grandchildren. The state's policy for older citizens should focus on providing better access to quality health care and creating opportunities for Russians aged 50 and over to contribute as volunteers and continue their education, according to participants of the HSE seminar 'Active Aging in the Context of Social Policy: How to Measure It'.

Consumerist culture, the marital market, mass media and the entertainment industry all impose stringent standards on the female body—it has to be sexy, healthy and thin. Young women’s obsession with the slim body ideal supported by social networks can indicate serious neurotic disorders. Some online pro-anorexia groups of high school and college students romanticise excessive weight loss and take pride in using their willpower to suppress their appetite, found researchers Darya Litvina and Polina Ostroukhova of the HSE branch in St. Petersburg.

Whether a potential employee's values match those of the company plays a significant role in hiring for major international companies, even though recruiters in Russia may not be consciously aware of this factor, since these values are not given much attention in the Russian corporate culture. Physical appearance is another important factor in job applicant selection, found Professor Veronica Kabalina and Master's graduate Anna Pakhomova of the HSE Faculty of Management.

Quantum cryptography is an almost perfect method of encrypting sensitive data. Information sent over quantum cryptography networks cannot be intercepted without distortion, and any attempt at eavesdropping can be easily detected. However, the problem with quantum cryptography is that it only works over relatively short distances. A team of researchers of the HSE Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM) Department of Quantum Optics and Telecommunications has developed and tested a system capable of increasing the transmission distance by an order of magnitude.

For a business startup to grow and thrive, its employees should have a vested interest in its success. Employee incentives may include bonuses, equity and profit sharing, recognition of accomplishments, opportunities for career development, and flexible work schedules. But being inspired by a new challenge and proud of work well done can motivate people even more effectively, according to Olga Gaponova, Associate Professor at the Department of General and Strategic Management, HSE Branch in Nizhny Novgorod.

The age profile of marriage in Russia is changing. A growing number of people are getting married for the first time above the age of 25. Remarriages have also shifted along the time axis, which indicates a change in matrimonial habits. Early marriages have become less popular and the average age of men and women getting married has increased, says Sergei Zakharov, deputy director of the HSE Institute of Demography.

The larger the household, the greater the likelihood that it will escape poverty. Each member of a large family pays less for housing, food, clothing and furniture due to economies of scale. They have lower transport and telecommunications expenses than members of small families do, say Kseniya Abanokova, Junior Research Fellow at the Centre for Labour Market Studies, and Michael Lokshin, Leading Research Fellow at the Centre.

Russia is entering a period of decline in first marriages. The 1990s generation now reaching marrying age is not numerous; and in addition, people now tend to marry at a later age. However, the upcoming decline in marriages is nothing new—Russia experienced a similar situation both thirty and fifty years ago, according to Sergei Zakharov, Deputy Director of the HSE's Institute of Demography.

Despite the Russian government's efforts to support economic development in the Far East of Russia, this area still lags behind in terms of modernization. Many of its residents are planning to migrate to elsewhere in Russia or even another country. According to Anna Nemirovskaya, Senior Research Fellow at the HSE's Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR), the federal government needs to step up its efforts to remedy this situation.

In choosing a field for further studies, high school students are influenced by their peers, among other factors. For example, a high school student interested in technology among a class of peers who are not so good at physics may perceive it as a competitive advantage, increasing the likelihood of their choice of a technical field for a career, according to Andrey Zakharov, Deputy Head of the International Laboratory for Education Policy Analysis at the HSE's Graduate School of Education, and Elizaveta Chernenko, Research Fellow of the same laboratory.

Russian firms prefer to freeze rather than cut employee wages during crises, reasoning that high inflation will cause real wages to drop anyway, while nominal wage cuts may prompt valued employees to leave, suggests Alexander Larin, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, HSE Branch in Nizhny Novgorod, in his paper 'Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity: Unions' Achievement or Employers' Choice?'

Even today, ages-old folk culture can serve as a basis for collective identity by bringing together people who share this interest and underlying values, as evidenced by Russia's folk heritage movement. According to Rostislav Kononenko, Senior Lecturer at the HSE's Department of General Sociology, and Evgenia Karpova, Master's student at the HSE, the folk heritage movement in Russia is driven by urban intellectuals working to preserve and promote authentic folk culture.