[Gerontology in the USSR: yesterday, today and tomorrow]

Main stages of the development of gerontological studies in this country are specified. The genetic mechanisms of aging, intra- and supracellular regulation, age-specific immunological shifts, and functional systems of the organism are defined as priority targets of research. More attention is to be focussed on the development of the biological age criteria, studies of interrelationships between aging and age-specific pathology, analysis of age factors underlying main diseases of the old, on the development and trial of new geriatric drugs, and the search for effective life-prolonging agents. In the field of social gerontology, special attention is to be paid to the research into the causes of relatively low life expectation in this country, the lifestyle rationale, and to the improvement of medico-social services for the elderly population.