The Economic Marginalization of Post-Soviet Russia's Elderly Population and the Failure of State Ageing Policy: A Case Study of Magadan City

Abstract

This paper explores how senior citizens in the far north-eastern Russian city of Magadan have restructured their lives in order to ensure their survival in the face of enduring post-Soviet marginalization. While this is an extreme example of the problems Russia's senior citizens must now face, due to the city's remoteness, climate and high cost of living, the discussions have resonance for the rest of the country. To enable the analysis of this group's survival strategies the paper will first examine the reasons why they are needed, looking at the “creation” of poverty at the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fragmented response of the state to these issues. The paper's final section examines the worrying trends that can be identified in the Russian government's attempts to restructure its social policy with regards to ageing. These reforms, it is argued, will further destabilize the everyday lives of Russia's senior citizens.