Population and Sustainable Development Section

Mission: Educational and Research Activities

The activities of the “Population and Sustainable Development” Section at the A.G. Vishnevsky Institute of Demography involve carrying out educational and research projects.

Educational Activities

• Supporting the “Population and Development” Master’s program by delivering new courses on sustainable development;

• Supervising final theses of students in the “Population and Development” Master’s program, as well as students from other programs with an interest in sustainable development;

• Conducting project-based work on sustainable development;

• Preparing students for admission to doctoral programs at leading universities worldwide;

• Conducting masterclasses on “Population and Sustainable Development”;

• Developing continuing professional education courses on sustainable development.

Research Activities

• Preparing publications for leading journals on population and sustainable development;

• Presenting at conferences;

• Participating in research projects;

• Drafting expert assessments on demographic policy and sustainable development;

• Organizing research seminars on population and sustainable development.

News from Conferences

How Does a Dagestani Village Avoid Childlessness Despite High Endogamy? New Research by HSE University and SI RAS Demographers

At the IEA RAS conference "The Caucasus in the Research Field: From Origins to Perspectives of Caucasian Studies," researchers Ilya Ermolin (HSE University, Vishnevsky Institute of Demography) and Pavel Suvorkov (Centre for Arctic and Siberian Studies, SI RAS – branch of FNISC RAS) presented a study on a remarkable demographic paradox in rural Dagestan.

Despite a very high proportion of consanguineous marriages (endogamy), the share of childless women who have completed their reproductive period is less than 2%. At the same time, the mean protogenetic interval (time from marriage to first birth) has increased from 3.3 to 5 years across cohorts – a trend usually associated with birth postponement.

The key to the puzzle emerged from qualitative interviews. The authors documented a covert practice of newborn exchange (primarily boys) between cousins. This mechanism operates in the temporal gap between a religious marriage (nikah) and official civil registration (ZAGS), which can lag by several years. Women use calendar-based fertility awareness methods not only to limit births but also to "order" the sex of the child, thereby synchronising deliveries with relatives for potential exchange.

Theoretically, the study reinterprets classical frameworks by Mauss, Sahlins, and Lévi-Strauss, introducing the concept of the "document as kinship substance" (a birth certificate consolidates social motherhood no less than blood or milk). The research also reveals the institution's historical fluidity: cohorts born before the 1970s actively practiced translocal endogamy (marriages with urban cousins) and child exchange, whereas younger generations face a shrinking circle of potential participants, raising questions about the strategy's long-term sustainability.

The study draws on a complete household survey (N ≈ 5,400) and 60 semi-structured interviews collected during multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in 2019. All data have been fully anonymised and collected with informed consent from respondents.

 

Business Forum “Russian Paper Week – Russian Forestry Forum”

Ilya Ermolin took part in the discussion within the section “Corporate Book Publishing in the Pulp and Paper Industry (PPI)” at the business forum “Russian Paper Week – Russian Forestry Forum,” which was held at the Congress Center of Bauman Moscow State Technical University (MSTU) from October 7 to 9, 2026. As part of the section, Ermolin presented a critical analysis of current corporate book publishing practices in the pulp and paper industry. The discussion focused not only on the technological aspects of production, but also on human capital and the long-term impact of corporate publications on local communities in single-industry towns, which are entirely dependent on such enterprises. The issues raised by Ermolin touched on four key aspects of sustainable development: resource management efficiency, accessibility of technology, social impact, and international cooperation.

1. Efficiency and Outsourcing
Addressing this issue, which relates to the human resources policies of pulp and paper mills (PPMs), the discussion participants agreed that a balance must be maintained between preserving internal corporate expertise and attracting external specialized experts to improve the quality of the final product.

2. Accessibility and Ergonomics
The second set of questions concerned the implementation of digital tools. This topic is directly related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of reducing the digital divide and ensuring access to information for all age groups. The participants noted that, at present, corporate book publishing in the pulp and paper industry is aimed at the mass consumer. Employees and their family members across all generations readily download various corporate applications and scan QR codes for events offered by the mills as part of their policy to support families and company veterans.

3. Social Impact on Families
Particular attention was paid to feedback from employees' families. According to Ilya Ermolin, a corporate publication can serve as an important tool for strengthening family values and increasing loyalty to the enterprise—provided it captures their interest and does not just sit gathering dust on a shelf. Representatives of the press services from various pulp and paper mills noted the role of print publications in maintaining intergenerational connections in single-industry towns. Often, a single print run of corporate books is insufficient to satisfy the demand from residents of different age groups for books in which the history of the enterprise is closely intertwined with the history of the city and the country. A lively, sometimes artistic narrative style—featuring numerous visuals and QR links to rare digitized video materials—often makes these books guides to the future career trajectories of several generations.

4. International Development
The session concluded with a contribution from an expert on the prospects for exporting corporate culture. In the context of globalization and the search for new markets, the exchange of corporate knowledge and enterprise history is becoming an important element of international cooperation in the forestry sector.

Section members: 
Ilya Ermolin (https://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/208498029/) - Section Head

Alexander Larionov (https://www.hse.ru/en/staff/75689090/) - Deputy Head 

Daria Lebedeva (https://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/190899028/

Aleksei Pobedonostsev (https://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/859152356/)

Anna Tikhomirova (https://www.hse.ru/en/org/persons/856269190/)

Pavel Suvorkov (https://socinst.ru/staff/suvorkov-pavel-eduardovich/)