ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the public sector in Russia over the decade of transition (1992–2002), addressing three questions: How has the public sector functioned as a source of or a detractor from cohesion and social cohesion in Russian society? How has this dynamic changed over the course of the transition? What policies could be applied to the sector in order to encourage a rebuilding of social cohesion and capital? The chapter argues that throughout the Yeltsin period the public sector functioned mainly as a detractor from social cohesion, generating large-scale societal distrust and defection from state-mediated social security programs. The Putin administration has begun efforts to restore trust by constructing a more effective and transparent public sector. It is at the same time streamlining that sector, shrinking the state’s role and responsibilities, and bringing taxing and redistributive practices more into sync with the inegalitarian realities of present Russian society.
