Strategy of the demographic development of Russia: the notion and contents

The article presents the author’s interpretation of the notions: strategy, concept, policy, development and dynamics, shows the nature of the notions used in the social sphere. Much attention is paid to substantiation of the correlation between the basic notions of strategy and concept, identification of the connecting role played by concept. On the one hand, it is a tactical component of strategy, and on the other hand, it is an integral part of policy that also includes beside concept a system of measures (programmes, action plans, etc.) and practices of policy implementation, which should comply with the concept. Along with the characteristic of such notions as development and dynamics, there is given a detailed analysis of the differences between these notions. The article analyses the application of the above notions in the Russian practice, and in particular shows their use in development of the demographic concepts approved in 2001 and 2007. In the first case the document was adopted as Demographic Development Concept, and in the second - as Demographic Policy Concept. The article substantiates the necessity of adjusting the present Concept of the RF Demographic Policy for the Period till 2025, proposes a possible formulation of this policy objective for the current period, during which the population reproduction indicators will be affected by the demographic decline, the origins of which date back to the depopulation of the 1990s.