Chief Specialist of the Russian Ministry of Health on Reproductive Health, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor Oleg Apolikhin told the media that less than half of men in Russia reach the age of 67. Health problems, according to the researcher, appear in the majority of the stronger sex between the ages of 21 and 54.
The editorial board of Vechernyaya Moskva asked the priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, archpriest, rector of the church of St. Theodore the Studite, Father Vsevolod (Chaplin), to comment on the news.
- This question is not so much personal as socially significant. It would be sly to shift the global problem onto the shoulders of a single person. Alas, this is a system, - said the priest.
Father Vsevolod said that, in theory, with an increase in the retirement age, the pension contribution should increase. But the supposed "four-day work week", which today is spoken of as a very real innovation, will zero this "gain."
- There is one more important problem. At the age of 25, at a job interview, a young man may hear that he is not suitable because he is not sufficiently educated or experienced. And at 45, a man may hear that he is too old and there is no longer a job for him. Well-paid, prestigious places are occupied by members of close-knit teams, and not prestigious ones - by migrants, - the abbot explained.
The archpriest expressed his conviction that such people, full of strength and desire to work, who have experience, but who find themselves out of work, who are confused and feel useless by anyone, need to be helped in adaptation at the state level.
“As a priest, many people turn to me with similar problems. They say that there is no job, it is impossible to get a job. Meanwhile, 40 - 50 years is an age of great activity, people can and want to work, dream of being in demand. We need to help them to be realized, - said Chaplin.
The priest noticed that you can work in a summer cottage, fill the void with computer games, imitate some kind of activity, but, in fact, this does not help.
- Of course, in a hard time prayer strengthens. Of course, communication with children and grandchildren, the love of loved ones is very supportive. But it so happens that a person gives the best years to study, a career, trying to earn money, and by the age of 50 he has no position, no money, no family. He is a lost, thrown to the sidelines of life, a loner who does not know how to continue to live. There are many of them today. Sometimes they come to the temple. Many of them are so destroyed that they can no longer perform even the simplest physical work in the church. Just like that, words and teachings can no longer help them. Objectively, they cannot be the masters of their own destiny, they have no opportunity, - explained Vsevolod Chaplin.
The clergyman said with regret that the people who found themselves "at a broken trough in a flourishing age" are not to blame for this. They just need help, but not in the form of "handouts", but in the form of a state implementation program for a certain social-age group.
