Russia is facing a pension dilemma as the country goes to the polls

Russia is due to hold parliamentary elections on 18 September 2016. To coincide with the elections, LSE EuroppBlog ran a number of articles on Russian politics, economics and society.

In the first contribution, Aadne Aasland and Linda Cook outline one of the key challenges facing Russian policymakers: the management of the country’s pension system. While the Russian government is wary of inflaming public opinion over the issue, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Russia to fund pensions at their current rate and tough choices will have to be made in the coming years.

See the related url hyperlinks for further articles in this series:

+ With a struggling economy and elections looming, why do so many Russians still back their government?
In this contribution, Evgeny Gontmakher writes on why Russian citizens still continue to show strong support for the current government despite a faltering economy. He notes that part of the explanation lies in the strong economic performance of Russia between 2000 and 2014, while the lack of a genuinely effective opposition that can inspire Russians to voice discontent has also played a role.

+ see separate record: 'There are few political incentives for Russia and the EU to normalise their relations', 20.09.16

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Russian legislative election, 18 September 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/russian-legislative-election-18-september-2016/

Blog: LSE EuropeanBlog, 14.09.16: With a struggling economy and elections looming, why do so many Russians still back their government? http://bit.ly/2clowvT

ESO: Background information: There are few political incentives for Russia and the EU to normalise their relations http://www.europeansources.info/record/there-are-few-political-incentives-for-russia-and-the-eu-to-normalise-their-relations/

---