Youth, Russian style: deputies propose raising the age again, this time to 45
Five years ago, this threshold was raised from 30 to 35
The age of youth in Russia may be extended by nearly ten years. The Ministry of Labour has proposed raising the upper limit to 40–45, citing changing perceptions of adulthood. How this may affect support measures for the population is explored in Realnoe Vremya.
Ministry of labour — in favour, Rosmolodezh — against
According to the federal law “On Youth Policy,” people aged 14 to 35 are currently considered young. However, in March 2025, the WHO raised the youth age to 44, after which a similar increase was discussed in Russia. Some parliamentarians leaned towards the idea that Russia should withdraw from the WHO altogether. This was then explained by the view that the country’s membership in the organisation was incompatible with sovereignty and ensuring national security.
Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko spoke out against leaving the WHO, but called the proposal to raise the age rational and supported its increase.
In June, the head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, Grigory Gurov, spoke out against such an increase. He explained that there are already many people aged 18 to 35 in Russia, and the national project programme “Youth and Children” is already aimed at 37 million Russians.
“Our team has a clear position that 35 years is a sufficient age for young people. We are not in favour of raising this age to 40,” Gurov said.
What can the “new youth” expect?
Currently, Russia has several preferential and social programmes aimed at supporting young people up to the age of 35. Among them are:
- The state programme “Young Family” assists young families in acquiring their own housing. The government covers 30% or 35% of the cost, while the participants pay the remainder themselves. They can do this upfront or through a mortgage. The programme will run until 2030. A mandatory condition is that the family must have sufficient financial stability.
- The federal project “Youth of Russia” was launched by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024. It includes grants, competitions, and scholarships for young entrepreneurs and researchers. At the end of 2024, the Ministry of Education reported that 9.5% of young people in Russia are covered by youth projects and programmes.
- In Tatarstan, the “Youth Housing Competition” is held annually to provide housing under the social mortgage programme. Those eligible include activists and community workers, students and young researchers, youth work specialists, rural and working youth, and young municipal and state employees. The competition is overseen by the League of Students RMOA together with the State Housing Fund under the head of the republic and the Ministry of Youth Affairs.
The chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, Artem Metelev, stated that work on raising the youth age limit is not currently underway. According to the deputy, increasing the age of youth “delays the assumption of responsibility” and leads to a reduction in the amount of support available to each young person.
Raising the upper age limit would equalise access to support programmes, competitions, and events, which, in his view, is unfair. Metelev emphasised that the resources allocated to youth policy are limited, and expansion would reduce the amount of support available to each individual.
“Many want to continue working alongside the young”
He explained that there are currently legal restrictions, meaning that some programmes, competitions, and grants are only available to young people. This is one of the reasons for reconsidering the age limits.
“There are youth forums that provide opportunities to meet people and exchange experiences. If a person over 35 decides to start a new chapter in life, they also need to acquire new knowledge and establish useful connections. However, there are still not many projects and events for this age group,” the expert said.
Bobokhonov was executive director of the Youth Housing Competition for a long time. When asked whether competition for housing would increase, he assured that the necessary support measures would be expanded to account for the situation.
“The state will accommodate this if such a law is adopted. When the youth age was raised from 30 to 35, it immediately affected quotas — for example, they were increased for participation in forums or receiving grants,” Bobokhonov said.
He noted that there is already a competition in Russia for young people with an age limit of 40.
“In legislation, there is a category Young Scientist. They also have an age limit: a specialist is considered a young scientist up to 40 years old. For them, this concept is clearly defined in legal status,” Bobokhonov recalled.