Public Demand for State Support in the Post-Communist Welfare State

The Case of Russia

Bibliographic Data

ID2392264
AuthorsVasiliy A Anikin (0000-0002-2316-4628, HSE University, Russia; Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia, corresponding author), Yulia P Lezhnina (HSE University, Russia; Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia), Светлана Мареева (0000-0002-2057-8518, HSE University, Russia; Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia), Svetlana V Mareeva, Ekaterina Slobodenyuk (0000-0002-4255-5050, HSE University, Russia; Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia), Ekaterina D Slobodenyuk (National Research University Higher School of Economics)
Year2023
Volume28
Issue4
Pages1014-1032
Publication date2023-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Research Online (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/13607804221091572
OpenAlexW4288074619
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited68

This study explores the roots and details of the Russian population's demand for broad state interventions in three areas: labour market, social investment, and material support. Demands in labour market policy are the most frequent among the Russian population and stem from the need to eliminate inequalities in access to 'good' jobs and ensure fair remuneration of skilled labour. In Russia, unlike in Europe, needs in social investment policy do not stem from individualistic interests and the imperative to compensate for market failure. Instead, they result from state failure, leading in particular to growing inequality of life chances in healthcare and worsening health of the broader society. These impacts are perceived as a fundamental adverse effect of unsuccessful social policy changes, and this type of demand for state support is growing alongside household income. At the same time, wealthy Russians also hardly believe in state efficiency in the labour market, show less demand for employment policy interventions, and generally prefer 'state escapism'. The study argues that an individualistic mindset per se is a cornerstone of the absence of request for state support in any form. These findings support the concept of bottom-up sociocultural modernisation while helping explain state escapism in post-communist welfare regimes. In general, the study provides empirical contributions to the literature on diversity of statist expectations in post-communist welfare regimes

Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Market economy · Modernization theory · Political science · Population · Social policy · Sociology · Welfare state · Employment and Welfare Studies · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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