Social Dependency and Social Parasitism in Modern Russia: an Expert Assessment of the Causes and Factors of Existence

The wide occurrence of social dependency and parasitism in Russia is regarded as a pressing problem by both social sphere professionals and researchers. It is evident that social dependency as a challenge demands productive efforts to be resolved. This situation forms an academic issue of limited amount of knowledge on causes and factors that evoke and support this phenomenon. The analysis of research on the topic indicates that most of them are of descriptive and stating nature. Empirical studies of the problem are few and fragmented. The article analyses the results of a qualitative sociological research of the content of social dependency and parasitism, as well as the causes of the origins and the factors that support these phenomena. The researchers obtained an expert group judgement while conducting a semi-structured interview and a focus-group with experts that represent regional level of social processes management. The authors make conclusions on possible activities of the state and society on reducing the spread of social dependency and parasitism.