YOUTH AS A DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE FOR RUSSIAN REGIONS: STATE AND CORPORATE STRATEGIES

Abstract

Introduction. The paper presents an overview and analytical interpretation of the results of the AllRussian Scientific and Practical Conference “Youth as a Resource for the Development of Russian Regions: State and Corporate Strategies” (Chelyabinsk, October 30–31, 2025). The conference is considered as a representative platform for rethinking the role of youth in regional development and population preservation policies. The purpose of the article is to provide a comprehensive synthesis of the conference outcomes and to identify key approaches to understanding youth as a resource for the socio-economic and demographic development of Russian regions in the context of state and corporate strategies. Methods and materials. The empirical base includes the conference programme and materials, participants’ papers and discussions, official documents of federal and regional authorities in the field of youth and demographic policy (including the national project “Family”, strategic documents on family and youth policy, and the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs’ order approving key performance indicators for youth policy implementation), as well as Rosstat and EMISS statistics on the size and age structure of the Russian population. The study applies qualitative content analysis, institutional and comparative analysis, and elements of demographic analysis of age structure and demographic development resources. Results. The analysis shows that the conference discussions conceptualize youth not only as a labour and innovation resource, but also as a strategic demographic resource for regional development. Several thematic blocks are identified: assessing the effectiveness of youth policy and implementing KPI; youth within the framework of population preservation and support for young families; new tools and digital formats of youth policy; the formation of civic engagement and electoral culture; youth entrepreneurship and corporate practices as social mobility channels. Building on the authors’ concept of demographic development resources, the article demonstrates which regulatory, organizational, economic, infrastructural, informational, and socio-demographic resources are strengthened through the state and corporate strategies discussed at the conference. Particular attention is paid to the narrowing “demographic window of opportunity” due to the steady decline in the share of the population aged 0–35 and the growing value of youth cohorts as carriers of demographic resources. Scientific novelty of the study. For the first time, a major scientific and practical conference on youth as a resource for the development of Russian regions is analyzed within the framework of the concept of demographic development resources. The article substantiates the interpretation of youth and well-functioning young families with children as the core of the demographic development resource base and links youth, family and demographic policy practices to long-term shifts in the age structure and the agenda of population preservation. Practical Significance. The findings can be used by public authorities, local governments, corporations and educational institutions in designing and updating regional youth, family and demographic policies, scaling up successful practices, and building integrated cross-sectoral strategies for working with youth as a key resource for regional development. Conclusions. The conference confirmed that youth is a system-forming resource for the sustainable development of Russian regions and for the country’s demographic security. Effective use of this resource requires coordinated efforts by state, municipal, corporate and educational actors, regular demographic and socio-economic evaluation of youth policy programmes, and further development of communicative platforms that bring together researchers, practitioners and young people themselves.