ABSTRACT
Over the decades of Soviet power in Russia, the State monopolised social policy, and this was inevitably reflected in the nature of the social policy put into practice and in its results. The State not only organised social policy, but also acted as guarantor, responsible for many vital aspects of life - the life of the society and the life of the ordinary person. In 1990, on the threshold of radical economic reform and transformation of the political system, the Russian government, in setting about these radical reforms, was faced with the problem of choosing a paradigm that included social policy in its economic strategy. One of the peculiar features of social policy within the new socioeconomic system has been the change in the relationship between the Federal central government and the regions, as regards the distribution of powers to tackle social problems.
