Social Activities for Older Adults in Russia: A Study on Projects Organised by Non-Profit Organisations and Initiative Groups

Abstract Older people may broaden and refine their social roles in society through active participation in diverse social activities. To discuss the range of these roles, this paper proposes a typology of social activities organised by non-profit organisations and older adults’ initiative groups. The typology is based on a database that was compiled for the purposes of this study and covers a total of 2,366 social projects from various regions of Russia. Among the identified 11 types of activity, the two most frequent were found to be Developing Knowledge and Skills and Physical Activities . Within the analysed projects, older adults assumed a wide range of social roles, including caregivers, care receivers, learners, mentors, transmitters of culture and knowledge, and active agers. The heterogeneity of older adults’ interests and needs—and the ways in which it shapes their ageing experiences—has significant theoretical implications for understanding ageing and for the development of future social policies on ageing.