Social protection in Russia: Choices of the future

The role of social protection in supporting people’s well‑being, reducing poverty and inequality is difficult to overestimate in stable times, but its importance increases especially in times of crisis, as confirmed by the global shock of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Under the conditions of increasing uncertainty, a social protection system turns into a “safety cushion” — a macroeconomic and sociopolitical stabilizer. The purpose of the article is to show, based on the analysis of the main trends in the development of the Russian social protection system and considering the challenges of the current moment, possible alternative choices in its development in the mid‑term period. Authors use a broad definition of the social protection system, which includes non‑contributory measures of social protection (social assistance), contributory and non‑contributory pensions, minimum wages, and social services (long‑term care). The article contributes to the literature on economics and public administration, which focuses on social policy in times of economic crises. The article discusses the turn in social protection associated with the adoption of the national development goals in 2018. The authors analyze to what extent has the coronavirus pandemic affected the main challenges and problems facing Russian social protection; what were the key decisions in the field of anticrisis support for the population, and how they affected indicators of poverty and inequality. The article also presents recent research results on changes in public attitudes toward social protection as well as issues of using the time‑budget as a component of a comprehensive assessment of the population’s quality of life. In conclusion, the article discusses lessons which can be learned from the experience of the pandemic‑related crisis for the future development of the Russian social protection system, including in the conditions of turbulence that have arisen in 2022.