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Social policy of Russia and China: a comparative analysis of

approaches to working with the elderly population

Li Zhongyuan *

ABSTRACT

Objective. This article compares the approaches in social policy in relation to the elderly

population of Russia and China, a relevant topic, since both countries at the end of the twen-

tieth century faced the problem of population aging. At the same time, the principles of work-

ing with older people in these countries have a number of similarities and significant

differences that have the potential to strengthen the exchange of experiences. method. Inter-

views with specialists in the field of the application of social policy in this area. The interview

guide consists of three blocks, the third of which is specialized for respondents by country.

Block 1 (7 questions) aims at a general assessment of the situation of the elderly population

in the country from the point of view of the perception of the elderly as a social group, their

role in society, as well as a general description of social policy in this area. Block 2 (4 ques-

tions) aims at a more detailed discussion of the problems of social policy in relation to the

elderly population from the point of view of various socio-cultural groups. Block 3 (1 general

and 3 special questions) is a list of social policy measures in the field of population ageing,

which is offered to the expert for evaluation. Since the study aims to find ways to adapt and

borrow social policy measures for each country, respondents from China will be offered Rus-

sian measures, and respondents from Russia, Chinese measures. results. The interviews

conducted demonstrate the relevance of a possible exchange of experiences between coun-

tries and enabled us to identify the areas in which such an exchange will be most effective.

KEYWORDS: social policy; management sociology; ageing population; Culture; population

decrease; population problems.

*

Aspirant. Department of Sociology; Moscow State Institute of International Relations

(

University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Department of Sociology, spe-

cialty:22.00.08 sociology of management. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3643-7402 .

E-mail:nzm8628@mail.ru

Recibido: 01/06/2021

Aceptado: 23/07/2021

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Política social de Rusia y China: un análisis comparativo de

enfoques para trabajar con la población de edad avanzada

RESUMEN

Objetivo. Este artículo compara los enfoques en la política social en relación con la población

anciana de Rusia y China, tema relevante, ya que ambos países a finales del siglo XX se en-

frentaron al problema del envejecimiento de la población. Al mismo tiempo, los principios de

trabajar con las personas mayores en estos países tienen una serie de similitudes y diferencias

significativas que tienen el potencial de reforzar el intercambio de experiencias. Método. En-

trevistas a especialistas en el campo de la aplicación de la política social en esta área. La guía

de entrevistas consta de tres bloques, el tercero de los cuales está especializado para los en-

cuestados por país. El bloque 1 (7 preguntas) tiene por objeto una evaluación general de la

situación de la población anciana en el país desde el punto de vista de la percepción de las

personas mayores como grupo social, su papel en la sociedad, así como una descripción gene-

ral de la política social en este ámbito. El bloque 2 (4 preguntas) tiene por objeto un debate

más detallado de los problemas de la política social en relación con la población de edad avan-

zada desde el punto de vista de diversos grupos socio-culturales. El bloque 3 (1 general y 3

preguntas especiales) es una lista de medidas de política social en el ámbito del envejeci-

miento de la población, que se ofrece al experto para su evaluación. Dado que el estudio tiene

como objetivo encontrar formas de adaptar y tomar prestadas medidas de política social para

cada país, a los encuestados de China se les ofrecerán medidas rusas, y a los encuestados de

Rusia, medidas chinas. Resultados. Las entrevistas realizadas demuestran la pertinencia de

un posible intercambio de experiencias entre países y nos permitieron identificar las áreas en

las que dicho intercambio será más eficaz.

PALABRAS CLAVE: política social; sociología de la gestión; envejecimiento de la población;

Cultura; disminución de la población; problemas de población.

Introduction

The global trend of increasing the share of the elderly population in the demographic

structure is a challenge for most countries of the world, including Russia and China. Popu-

lation ageing can be both a threat (Dobrokhleb, 2017), and an opportunity (Ntugarten, 2016),

which makes cross-country comparative studies particularly relevant from a managerial per-

spective. An increase in the effectiveness of public policies on population ageing, while ad-

dressing their cultural context, can be achieved through the exchange of experience with

other countries, which will help to find alternative solutions to the policy objectives. Solving

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the problems of an aging society is a multi-faceted task. When considering such a large-scale

issue, it could be useful to attract foreign experience. To test this assumption, the author

conducted interviews with Russian and Chinese experts and practitioners in the field of so-

cial policy.

1

. On the main theoretical approaches to solving the problems of population aging

Today, approaches to finding possible solutions to the problems of an aging society

can be divided into three groups: the statistical-economic, approach, the distance/stratifica-

tion approach, and the symbolic approach.

From a statistical point of view, Russia faced the issue of population aging earlier, than

in China. Already in 1995, Russia adopted the law "On State Benefits for citizens, with chil-

dren", which aims to provide material support for motherhood, fatherhood and childhood

according to the Law of the Russian Federation № 81-FZ, 1995, and, as a result, shift the gen-

der and age pyramid towards the working-age population by increasing the number of chil-

dren. In China, changes appeared later, under the influence of the demographic policy “one-

child policy”, which was in force since the 70s of the 20th century: only from 2016, the Chi-

nese are allowed to have two children. Initially, this policy was introduced to reduce the birth

rate in the country. However, its unintended consequence was an increase in the share of the

elderly in the structure of the country's population.

According to UN statistics, the share of the population over 65 in Russia increased to

7

% in the 70s of the last century, and in China a similar percentage of the elderly has been

observed only since the 2000s base on the World Population Prospects in 2017. Dynamics in

both countries are directed towards increasing the proportion of the aged, and a variety of

options are being considered to work with this. There are “simple " methods of changing the

age balance of the population, for example, simplifying the regime of work and residence in

the country for migrants. However, such a strategy is not applicable either in Russia, or in

China, primarily due to the emerging shortage of resources, material and social (Fadeeva,

2018). The experience of applying such a strategy has demonstrated the emergence of a num-

ber of related problems: for example, due-to the influx of migrants in Russia, the problem of

choosing employees based on appearance criteria has become more acute (Zayonchkovskaya,

Mkrtchyan, 2007). In China, the influx of migrants mainly introduced in the chapels of the

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country's territory, has led to an imbalance in the number and demographic structure of the

population by region. Another consequence of the opening of the labor market in China was

an increase in the total population, which put a strain on all social systems, and, as a result,

caused the need to raise the retirement age and improve the legal system to protect the rights

of older citizens (Guo, 2007).

The statistical-and economic approach to the analysis of old age includes an analysis

of the degree of economic activity of this population group. It is assumed, that economic ac-

tivity can be the result of both generating resources for the employer, and through simple

consumer behavior, which remains the only option for an elderly person outside the labor

market. However, stimulating economic activity through the payment of pensions leads to

budget deficits, and the implementation of effective strategies requires paying more attention

to the role of the state as the main managing entity in the country, rationally allocating re-

sources. At the moment, the effectiveness of pension systems is not sufficient, to become the

most significant element of social policy and research in this area; moreover, the structure of

pension systems is highly dependent not on the existing needs of the elderly, but on the cul-

ture and history of the country (Galasso, Profeta, 2018).

The second approach to finding solutions to the problems of population aging is a set

of positions, according to which it is necessary to reduce the distance between the elderly and

young populations, help provide material and psychological support to older generations,

and, on the other hand, stimulate the exchange of information between generations in a pre-

figurativeо-culturalsociety.

This is the essence of the “active aging” principle.” -- The main international guiding

principle on working with older persons in the twenty-first century as said “Report of the

World Assembly on Ageing(1982)”, adopted by the United Nations during the Second

World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid in April 2002 2002. In the second chapter, “Recom-

mendations for action“, the first item of the priority area is formulated as” participation of

older people in development", which confirms the need to represent and protect the rights of

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the elderly population on an equal basis with other age categories. Governments and manag-

ers should ensure the right of older people to participate in public life, despite their natural

physical limitations.

The third group of approaches -- consists of approaches, related to the analysis of the

symbolic nature of old age in specific societies, and the peculiarities of the subcultures of older people.

Despite the development of similar types of demographic structure in a number of countries

around the world, each country has its own cultural characteristics. This is an important

moment for solving the problems of society in the field of population aging. So, China is

strongly influenced by Confucianism, so the concept of “Xiao” about honoring parents is still

relevant. The hieroglyph 孝 of the oldest written form looks like a child, supporting an old

man:

Fig. 1. Hieroglyph, used in the designation of the concept of Xiao

The modern spelling of this hieroglyph consists of two parts. The upper part -- The

upper part is 老 (“the aged”)，the lower part -- , and the lower part is 子 (“the sons

genertation"). This is the essence of this concept: the younger generation must support the

oldergeneration . The principle of “老吾老，以及人之老" mentioned in Analects of Confu-

cius "honoring not only one's older relatives but also others", encourages all members of society to

take care of the elderly, regardless of whether the society is considered aging-respect is the

basis in any case.

Also, the obligation to honor parents is enshrined at the legal level in the "Marriage

Law” of China: “When children fail to meet their maintenance obligations, parents, who are

unable to work or live in difficult conditions, have the right to demand alimony payments

from their children. Those, who refuse to pay them, may be required to do so in court, and in

case of non-compliance with the requirements, they must be brought to criminal responsi-

bility in accordance with the law.” Paragraph 261 of the Criminal Code clearly states, that "

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if the younger generation does not fulfill their responsibilities for the maintenance and ma-

terial support of their parents, then violators of this instruction may face imprisonment for

up to five years or criminal liability”" From this, we can conclude, that in the case of China ,

it would be more reasonable, and culturally and historically logical to solve the problems,

caused by changes in the age structure, not only by the state, but also by society as a whole-

this is already an attitude, that needs state assistance.

In Russia, older people have historically also been a source of wisdom, informal power,

and special social status. However, this was not fixed in legal or ideological documents, and

the main manifestation of honoring a person for his age can be considered events, related to

the Great Patriotic War. Most of the people, who now make up the category of the elderly,

somehow faced the war directly or through overcoming its consequences, so the special sta-

tus of an elderly person in Russia today is associated with the degree of their proximity to

the events of those years. Beyond that, an elderly person in Russia is basically a legal status.

It should be noted, here that in the research literature there is a position, according to

which older people are not an economic or purely-age group, but a subculture, that is, the

research emphasis is placed on the primacy of the social nature of the division of people into

the elderly and those, who have not yet reached the elderly status. According to the ap-

proaches of this category, older people-use their free time differently, and show different lev-

els of activity. Experts of the World Health Organization also analyze the social activity of

older generations along with the demographic and economic characteristics of this popula-

tion group. Social activity is the conditions and opportunities (health, safety) for maintaining

the quality of life through continued participation in society not only in the labor market,

but also in the social, cultural, spiritual, and civil life of society.

This approach indicates a possible definition of the elderly population as a group,

united not only by age indicators, but also by behavioral characteristics. It is the aspect of

common culture that creates relations between older citizens, while simultaneously separat-

ing them from others and connecting them with them, but still forming their own, special

culture (Rose, 1962). Special norms and values are formed, as well as their own way of life.

With age, a person loses the usual professional, official, often economic, and power statuses,

and there is a need for a newone, which is based precisely on age, since public communication

with other groups is limited. The analysis of older people as a subculture allows us to analyze

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the formation of ethical ties, ways to adapt to changes in the level of health and social inclu-

sion. It is adaptation that becomes the most essential mechanism for the subculture of older

people (Alperovich, 1998).

The subcultural approach for Russia manifests itself precisely in defining the majority

of older people as "veterans", that is, in reducing the complex full-fledged life stage to a num-

ber of cultural characteristics and manifestations. In China, in addition to traditional respect,

the elderly have, a shortcut lovers of Square Dancing (a group dance in the square, people of

different age classes in the evening voluntarily go on the streets, the squares dance), or their

free time to search the second half for the younger members of the family -- and that, and

another is a significant simplification, which affects the nature of the perception of the el-

derly population.

However, a comparison of theoretical approaches cannot provide complete infor-

mation about, the principles on which social policy in the field of the elderly population is

based in modern Russia and China. To form such an understanding, it is necessary to turn to

the motivation of those, whose forces and decisions implement social policy.

2

. Results of expert interviews: Potential exchange of experience in the field of

social policy

Were selected using the “snowball” method. It was based on social security experts,

who shared the contacts of their colleagues, who could provide answers to the interview

questions. The study included 13 interviews with a total duration of 7 hours and 26 minutes.

Interviews were conducted starting from 01 August 012020, 2020. until 02 February 022021,

2021. Thus, it was possible to record the current state of social policy in relation to the elderly

population. 6 interviews were conducted among Chinese respondents, and 7 interviews were

conducted among Russian respondents.

Experts interviewed, both Russian, and Chinese, expressed the opinion, that the aging

of the population is more of a social, problem than an economicone . Despite the fact, that the aging of

the population creates a direct (pension) and indirect burden on the state budget (“reducing

the labor force creates big problems for the economy” — this phrase was heard by both Chinese, and

Russian respondents), the aspect of public relations concerns experts more. Thus, one of the

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Chinese respondents points to the emerging “conflict between traditional and modern culture” of

interaction and mutual assistance between generations, which is connected with the com-

plex nature of modern old age, which goes beyond family relations. Several Chinese experts,

answering the question about the General characteristics of the situation of the elderly pop-

ulation in the country, made reference to population policy and its role in the current situa-

tion of the elderly person: “to change the policy of family planning has led to serious disruptions in the

social structure”, and the consequences of these violations can be so significant, that “the govern-

ment will have to seek additional means of solving this problem”.

Despite the suggestion to describe the elderly population as a social, group rather than

an economic one, both Russian and Chinese experts focused on economic perception. Rus-

sian experts first of all drew attention to the lack of characteristics in older people, that

would make them economically “beneficial” to society. And Chinese experts believe, that it

is necessary to develop the consumer market for older generations. As pointed out by the

respondents, an elderly man -- is primarily for physically disabled people (“not able to work

because of the nature of health”, “physical health weakened day by day” - a Chinese expert social welfare

of the city), as well as people, are subject to risks in the field of employment (“at work, many

older people are the so-called ageism, they are forced to reduce their working hours or quit”, “when you lose

your job, you can only rely on the state or the family” — the opinion of the Russian respondents,

scientific expert on dealing with the promotion of cooperation between Russia and China).

Another characteristic of the social group of the elderly population, which is singled out by

both Russian, and Chinese experts, is a special psychological state, “a sense of uselessness, profes-

sional lack of demand, dependence on the younger generation”, “the most difficult thing is loneliness, lack of

support, separation from society”.

Experts from Russia and China gave slightly different answers to the question of

which social institution should be focused on working with the vulnerable category of the

elderly population. Thus, Russian respondents emphasized the impossibility of solving these

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problems without family participation, since "in Russia, pension payments are often insufficient to

meet the basic needs of the aging population”. Chinese experts, contrary to the theoretically assumed

emphasis on the traditional values of Confucianism (respect for elders, support for their

younger generations), stressed, that the family can only be supported, where there is no state

support, for example, in rural areas. As for the rest, according to the interviewed experts from

China, it is the state that should maintain a leading role in this issue through the creation of

”

guidelines", that guide local government bodies. For additional question, is whether the hold-

ing of the state social policy Department of elderly from the “active” population, experts from

both countries objected, that there are “objective health indicators in most cases distinguish seniors

from young people”, that is, if separation occurs, it is not by reason of conducting public policy,

and a deeper biological and relevant social causes.

This is also evidenced by the answers to questions about the role of cultural charac-

teristics in social policy: many policy outcomes differ from those planned not so much be-

cause-of mistakes at the level of administrative implementation, but because of-the peculiar-

ities of the institution of the family and the perception of a person's life path in a particular

society. So, one of the Russian experts makes a direct referenceto this: "traditions within the

family institution also differ, and these differences should be taken into account in the development of social

policy”. A similar idea is expressed by a respondent from China, who speaks of the need to

work precisely through "promoting the idea” of the acceptability of alternative ways of caring

for elderly relatives among the population, as opposed to the simple management

measuresused . Such accents, as experts note, are not always present in the implemented

support measures, which is mainly due to the uneven distribution of resources between the

country's regions; in China, the differences are mainly between urban and rural areas, in Rus-

sia — between regional centers and “outskirts”.

Thus, giving a general description of the situation of the elderly in the country, experts

note a number of points. ВоFirstпервых, the situation of the elderly population is really not

a matter of economics, but of social relations. Solving the problems of an aging society and

the consequences of an aging society require not only financial investments, but also social

efforts, since an elderly person is a product of socialization, a part of society, and often social

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resources are more necessary for him, than materialones. Secondly, there is uncertainty

about, which actor of public relations should be the main one in interactions with the elderly

—

neither the family, nor the state in both countries at the moment, according to the experts

surveyed, can not cope with their obligations towards the elderly. For both countries, it is

important to instill the values of responsibility and care in family members, who have to take

care of elderly relatives or who have already faced this task, however, the current context of

public relations in both Russia, and China makes it difficult to ensure a problem-free old age.

When asked about the effectiveness of current measures, both Russian, and Chinese

experts did not give a direct answer, saying no longer, which of the existing social policy

measures is effective, but rather, what measures are possible and would be effective, if they

were implemented in practice. Social policy, aimed at the elderly population, is initially seen

by Russian and Chinese experts as ineffective, and requires further development. Speaking

about potentially-effective measures, Russian experts emphasized the need to expand op-

portunities to preserve the status of an elderly person as economically-active through em-

ployment and retraining, and a similar idea is expressed among Chinese respondents, who

suggest using new technologies, to "partially solve the problem of labor shortage" due to retirement

of an elderly person. Unlike the Russian respondents, Chinese experts see potential pension

as one of the measures of social policy to maintain the living standards of older, regardless of,

whether they work or not, that confirms the special status of the state initiative, who is cred-

ited with the Chinese experts implemented measures; in their view, without the participa-

tion of the state social policy is impossible.

The answers to questions about effective and ineffective measures show, that experts

tend to “look for those responsible” for inefficiency, rather than delve into the essence of spe-

cific measures and evaluate them in detail. So, one of the Russian experts said, that “in Moscow

and major cities the situation is in this respect better, than in small towns”, that is, the effectiveness of

the measures associated not with their content and implementation mechanisms, and with

the traditional view that, in the regions life is more complicated, less economically successful,

and so on. Such an opinion contradicts the, way social policy measures are actually imple-

mented: regulations and initiatives, implemented locally, are essentially, the same for all lo-

calities and are aimed at solving urgent problems of the local population, regardless of the

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size and number of the population. Among Chinese respondents, performance ratings are less

tied to such thinking patterns: according to one of them, all social policies “help solve problems,

but the extent, to which they can solve problems, varies”.

Questions about specific measures and ways to improve them were left unanswered

or widely commented on by almost all the experts interviewed. This can be attributed to the

style of their responses to questions about the effectiveness of social policies in general,

which showed, that the perception of effectiveness was more related to the usual ideas about

the problems of older people, than was a manifestation of expert evaluation of specific

measures. Chinese respondents did not provide meaningful answers to questions about po-

tential new measures and the possible new role of the family in social policy. In addition,

experts from China did not elaborate on the question of, how to better integrate an elderly

person into public life. It can be assumed, that these questions seemed superfluous to ex-

perts, not providing new information to the answers, that experts gave earlier, since in China

traditionally the family plays a significant role in working with the elderly, and the society,

which already consists of a large proportion of the elderly population, has been integrating

the elderly for many years.

Russian experts expressed the opinion, that the state should play a more active "ally"

of the family in social policy: the role of the family — "to integrate the older members in daily life,

contribute to their comfortable psychological state, that older people do not feel unnecessary", and the task

of the state "to implement the measures, which are within its competence (the creation of leisure centres,

providing high-quality and free medical care, providing resort-sanatorium vouchers at discounted and afford-

able prices, the increase in pension payments)”. At the same time, experts see the development of

information technologies, which, among other things, could help reduce discrimination in

the workplace based on age, as one of the means of integrating an elderly person into active

social life.

Summing up the analysis of Block 2, we conclude, that a contradiction was found in

the course of expert interviews. Despite the fact, that the expert has special professional

knowledge, and works in the field of implementing social policy measures, he often does not

perceive politics as a set of more or less effective practices, but rather looks at it as a some-

what abstract array of measures of state influence on society. The responses of experts from

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both Russia, and China to questions about effectiveness demonstrated that working in the

field of social policy implementation does not always mean being interested in the details

and features of this policy and having daily thoughts about ways to improve its effectiveness.

Therefore, based on the experts responses, it can be assumed, that one of the sources of reduced

effectiveness of the measures taken in both countries is the formal approach of people, involved in translating

social policy measures from the field of state and legislative initiative to the field of local practice.

The responses, to the third block, of questions confirm the trend, identified in Block

2

: experts are not inclined to think about, what measures can be effective. Russian experts

were asked to evaluate the measures, implemented in China: legally oblige children to pro-

vide for their parents, create specialized committees on a voluntary basis, that represent the

interests of older people in government bodies, and create specialized educational institu-

tions for older people, where they could get new skills, and refresh their knowledge of the

existing specialty. Russian experts expressed their agreement with the proposed measures,

implemented in China, but the answers practically did not go beyond the expression of con-

sent. The only additional comments, that were made, indicated the need for a “detailed study”

of the measures, proposed for borrowing. The Chinese respondent was asked to consider

three possible measures, implemented in Russia: payment of regular allowances for children

up to their majority, nationwide thematic actions for older people, related to historical mo-

ments, with gratitude to older generations for their work, and regular state vouchers for

treatment in sanatoriums or medical centers after a certain age. Chinese experts were laconic

and pointed mainly to the financial aspect of moving measures from Russia to China: Russian

measures, according to Chinese respondents, "require a lot of financial support” and “can be imple-

mented on a pilot basis”" In addition, experts from China found already existing alternatives for

all the proposed measures, which indicates a tendency to adhere to the already existing

course in social policy, even if the proposed new measures may be more effective.

The conducted interviews, therefore, allowed us to make not only an expert assess-

ment of directly implemented social policy measures in Russia and China, but also to identify

an acute management problem. This problem lies in the formality of the experts approach to

social policy, the perception of it as a given, created by the state, and not as a set of initiatives,

implemented by people for people. This approach seems to contradict the fact, that experts present the

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elderly population as a social, rather than an economic group, and emphasize the special role of the family and

the immediate environment in ensuring a problem-free old age.

Expert interviews complement the conclusions, drawn in the course of theoretical

analysis and consideration of the essence of measures implemented in both countries. From

the point of view of a theoretical view of the elderly population, it can be said, that the inter-

viewed experts were more likely to support an economic approach to the problems of popu-

lation aging, a more complex integral approach, which includes understanding the social im-

age of the elderly person and its cultural characteristics, rather than a statistical and eco-

nomic approach to the problems of population aging. Russian experts confirmed the division

between the role of the state and the family in solving the problems of the elderly population

revealed in the course of theoretical analysis. Chinese experts did not place such a strong

emphasis on the economic independence of the elderly person, as it was assumed, based on

the analysis of literature, research and cases.

The assumption, that social policy is less effective due to the perception of the elderly

as an “inconvenient” group, that does not integrate into an economically active society, was

also confirmed in expert interviews. The experts did say, that the measures taken should

have as one of their goals the preservation of the participation of older people in the labor

force, ignoring the characteristics of this group and its potential to transfer experience, val-

ues and perform alternative social roles and tasks.

A general conclusion, can be drawn that the problem is the lack of perception of the

elderly population as a group with a special subcultural and symbolic content, there is an

increase in the social distance between the elderly and the active population, and the problem

of ensuring the needs of the elderly, both basic, and more complex, is acute. However, it is

necessary to emphasize a fact, that is not obvious for theoretical analysis and is clearly man-

ifested in the course of communication with experts: solving these problems and fulfilling

the tasks of effective exchange of experience lies not only in changing the essence and mech-

anisms of the proposed social policy measures, but also in changing the approach to their

implementation by managers themselves. The interviews showed a high degree of formality in the

approach to social policy on the part of those, who should be most interested in its implementation and in im-

proving its effectiveness. We can assume the reasons for this attitude of specialists: work in the

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field of implementing social policy measures is often not highly paid and is perceived as a

means of livelihood, and not as a means of solving public problems, which is true for both

Russian, and Chinese civil servants, since they are part of a similar model of public service

(

Zhuravleva, 2017).

Сonclusion

A sociological analysis of approaches to the study of social policy regarding the prob-

lem of population aging indicates, that social policy should be studied in its entirety. The low

degree of understanding of the importance of the complexity of the issue of aging in society

leads to the emergence of not only economic problems, which are manifested in the tax bur-

den and the need to support the less economically-active population at the expense of those,

who continue to work. Existing social policy measures do not fully take into account the

importance of maintaining the inclusion of an elderly person in public life, and they do not

work in any way with the values of the population.

However, this perception is more typical for Russia, than for China, which has a great

potential for adapting successful measures, taken in China, to Russian realities. Such adap-

tation requires an understanding of the cultural contexts of social policyimplementation, so

direct borrowing of China's experience is impossible. The potential for a comprehensive pol-

icy transformation lies, primarily, in the search for functional alternatives to values, that dif-

fer widely between countries. The differences are related to the degree of orientation to soci-

ety in matters of support for old age, in the philosophical basis of policyimplementation, and

in the degree of importance of legal facts relative to public facts.

Expert interviews have raised the question, that the degree of effectiveness of

measures in both countries strongly depends on the attitude of managers to their role in im-

plementing measures. According to the interviewed experts, the attitude is mostly formal,

which affects the effectiveness of social policy in the field of the elderly population. From this

it can be concluded, that the employment of social policies between China and Russia as a

way of solving local problems will be effective, if people, involved in the implementation of

these measures, will be more proactive, will receive financial compensation for his initiative,

will have the opportunity to improve their professional skills social policy of the elderly pop-

ulation, expressed interest in efficiency.

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