Russia's Social Policies: Choice without Alternative?

Covers specifics of social polices in the Yeltsin period on the basis of the international INTAS project -- "Restructuring the Welfare State: East and West, 1995-1998." Compared to the Soviet model, the Russian model of social policies features a lack of social guarantees. Its prime social effect is seen in the naturalization of consumption & drastic cuts in the quantity & role of money. Current social policies are described as means by which the ruling elite ensure social stability through an unarticulated consent between government & the population, built on the economics of survival. Ways to correct such social policies are suggested. 5 References. Adapted from the source document.