Summary (English)

Over the past four centuries, Russia has experienced a wide diversity of political, social and economic environments, with the national social protection system changing and adapting to the concurrent ideologies and circumstances constantly. The development of social protection in Russia can be divided into three periods. The first period (1598-1917) saw the origins of the earliest social protection schemes, in the form of scattered interventions by the State and mainly provided to State officials, the military and workers in large factories. The second period (1917-1991) existed during the erstwhile Soviet Union and saw the expansion of universal social protection coverage. The third period (1991-present) shows how the social protection system changed following Russia’s transition from a centrally-controlled to a market economy.