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This paper aims to fill the gap in social sciences research on parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia. It focusses on the barriers that children with developmental disabilities and autism face in preschool education in Russia and highlights the emerging facilitators of inclusive education.

It uses a modified labelling approach analysing strategies of withdrawal and resistance. The research included semi-structured interviews with parents of children with Down syndrome, Rett syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in 2013–2014 and 2018–2019 and semi-structured interviews with professionals in Tatarstan, Russia. The data analysis was based on constructivist methods and grounded theory.

Although Russian law guarantees equal access to education for every child and requires the development of inclusive education, children with developmental disabilities, including autism, are often stigmatised at the preschool stage, both in special needs and mainstream institutions. Parents use various strategies to navigate access to preschool education and try more than one strategy from secrecy and withdrawal to resistance. Parents challenged the mainstream educational structures in Kazan and established groups for children with autism in some mainstream kindergartens and classes in mainstream schools.

There should be informational support for parents with different options for special needs education, providing integrative and inclusive education. It is necessary to increase the number of trained specialists in special needs and mainstream kindergartens in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and ASD. More study is required to overcome stigmatisation and increase tolerance towards persons with developmental disabilities in Russia both on a national and local level.

The research findings can be useful for countries which have recently recognised ASD and do not have inclusive preschool educational practices and where labelling towards children with developmental disabilities is still common. The study recommends that resources are required to provide free or affordable preschool education for children with developmental disabilities. It is also crucial to help parents navigate preschool education and select the best options for each child’s needs.

This study’s findings add value to the importance of addressing the stigma towards people with disabilities within professional groups and broader society, which form barriers for preschool education and in some cases result in withdrawal from preschool education. To overcome the stigmatisation of children with developmental disabilities in preschool education, it is necessary to establish modern targeted pedagogical approaches and training for professionals and informational campaigns for the broader audience.

The paper is novel as there was no sociological research into preschool education of children with developmental disabilities in Russia. It argues that the parents’ experiences are much broader than just interactions with special needs or mainstream education. Parents navigate across special needs institutions, specialised groups in mainstream and private kindergartens, mixed groups in mainstream kindergartens and home education with various strategies from secrecy and withdrawal to resistance and challenge. Preschool education for children with developmental disabilities in Russia is hindered by a lack of professional resources and the stigma embedded into professional and societal responses.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the challenges of bringing postcolonial, racism and migration research into a meaningful dialogue. Based on the research examining migration from Central Asia into Russia, the paper analyses migration policy and the everyday experiences of migrants.

The paper is based on mixed methodologies, including narrative, semi-structured and in-depth interviews with migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in Russian cities and those who returned to their country of origin (over 300 people), interviews with representatives of NGOs, state officials and journalists in 2013–2016 and an analysis of the legislation and mass-media regarding migration from Central Asia.

The paper demonstrates that experiencing racism is a part of everyday life for migrants from Central Asia living in Russia. Whether this is in interactions with the state, fear of persecution on the street by the police or in the workplace, it is a constant factor. It argues that the political and everyday xenophobia and racism demonstrates deeply rooted imperial views in Russia’s inner politics and shapes attitudes toward migrants.

The paper contributes to broader debates on the linkages between migration and racism in Europe, in particularly questioning the positionality of migrants from “not-European” countries.

Mbembe’s approach to “let die” is pertinent in understanding postcolonial migration. Racism continually plays a role in “normalization” of abuse toward migrants and restrictive migration policy. Blaming “the migrant” for acting informally, draining healthcare resources and for posing a security risk provides a much-needed scapegoat for the state.

During the past decade, Russian federal authorities have tried to build an effective national innovation system, strongly emphasizing a well-functioning science sector. The purpose of this paper is to look at future developments of Russian science from the perspective of recent policies and their perceptions by Russian scientists. Special emphasis is placed on the so-called “efficient contracts” policy for researchers which should make the remuneration system of public R&D organisations more competitive.

The paper examines the results of an extensive survey of almost 1,500 Russian scientists and managers at universities and public research organisations conducted by the authors in 2013 and recent statistical data and policy documents.

The paper concludes that some of the ambitious science and technology goals set by the government will be hard to achieve in the next decade. The scientific landscape is likely to experience certain structural changes but will probably face many of the existing problems. Improvements in overall R&D performance will largely depend on how well the “efficient contracts” policy is implemented.

The future development of Russian science is discussed based on major recent policy documents and the opinions of Russian scientists. The findings might be important for policy makers not only in Russia but other countries as well.

The purpose of this chapter is to study perspectives of formation of the optimization model of a well-balanced information economy in modern Russia.

The research methodology includes the complex SWOT analysis of the environment, wherein the optimization model of a well-balanced information economy in modern Russia is implemented; this analysis allows determining threats and possibilities for its formation. Also, the method of formalization is used that allows tablulation of results.

The authors show a number of prerquisites for the formation of a well-balanced information economy in Russia, as well as multiple internal barriers on the path of its development. One of the barriers is deficit of resources. Also, there exist large perspectives of formation of the optimization model of a well-balanced information economy. These perspectives include improvement of legal conditions of financing of development of digital economy, intensive development of the ICT spheres and online business, growth of innovational activity and efficiency in the information sphere, and creation and stimulation of implementing the possibilities for feedback in the course of information economy’s formation. Based on the analyzed tendencies, it is concluded that these perspectives will allow overcoming the major barriers on the path of implementation of the strategy of building the optimization model of a well-balanced information economy in modern Russia, related to deficit of resources, structural imbalance of the noosphere, low efficiency of information, and linear direction of the process of management of information economy.

The authors determine that successful practical implementation of this strategy is largely predetermined by the capability of state regulators for a highly effective management of internal and external factors. It is recommended to pay attention to the management of these factors in the process of practical implementation of the strategy of forming the optimization model of a well-balanced information economy in modern Russia.

The purpose of this chapter is to develop a framework strategy for implementing the optimization model of information economy in modern Russia, aimed at its adaptation to the peculiarities of the Russian economic practice.

The methods of induction, deduction, synthesis, and systemic analysis are used, as along with goal-oriented approaches, such as the method of modeling of socio-economic systems, and the method of formalization.

The authors develop the framework strategy of implementing the optimization model of information economy in modern Russia that takes into account specifics of socio-economic development and informatization of the Russian economic system at the modern stage. This strategy differs from the strategy of formation of an information economy implemented in modern Russia. The most important difference is a wide and comprehensive balance, while the Russian economy is tolerant toward imbalance. The offered strategy allows refusing from copying economic practice implemented by other countries and determining own path of formation and development of information economy. This envisages the Russian treatment of the principles of implementing the innovational model of a well-balanced information economy. This treatment is based on the current possibilities of the Russian economy and on the set goal within the formation of an information economy. Due to this, the possibilities and needs of strategic development of information economy in modern Russia are balanced.

The developed framework strategy of implementing the optimization model of information economy in modern Russia is recommended for usage in the domestic economic practice.