Social Changes and Social Policy

Abstract

The article presents characteristics of the main stages of Soviet social policy and post-soviet developments. The author talks about economic and political priorities of Soviet period when the system of social policy has become a legitimate mechanism of economic development and consolidation of socialism. The building of the welfare state in post-Soviet Russia is faced with difficulties, related with the existing bureaucracies and specificity of social structure. Implementation of the reforms in social sphere is delayed under the conditions of strong public bureaucracies and weakness of civic society.