The current state of practice of seismic risk mitigation policy in the following countries is analyzed: Japan, USA, China, Italy and the Russian Federation. In particular, the paper compares seismic retrofit policies for existing buildings and financing mechanisms for comprehensive seismic risk mitigation in the context of each country's regulatory framework. The analysis of the current seismic risk mitigation policy in the Russian Federation leads to the conclusion that it needs serious modernization and reorganization, including: 1) development of a new generation of standards specifying nonlinear analysis methods and 2) development of effective financing mechanisms for the seismic evaluation and seismic modernization of the existing building stock.

            The aim of this paper is to identify best practices in seismic retrofitting policy that may be useful for the implementation and adjustment of seismic risk mitigation policies in the Russian Federation at the federal and regional levels.

            The result of the paper is a set of recommendations based on the most effective seismic risk mitigation policy instruments, grouped according to the key stages of the seismic amplification process:

–   risk assessment of existing buildings;

–   knowledge transfer;

–   setting targets for the seismic modernization;

–   implementation of the seismic strengthening policy;

–   policy implementation monitoring.