ABSTRACT
Introduction This chapter examines how federal health policy is addressed in the most widely circulated newspapers in Russia and reviews the current developments in welfare policy, focusing specifi cally on the National Project ‘Health’ launched by Vladimir Putin, the current Prime Minister and former President of the Russian Federation (2000-8). The two-year National Project ‘Health’ (2006-7) outlines the policy priorities of the president and the government and is the most important health project implemented in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
