Welfare state transformation, childcare, and women's work in Russia

The paper analyzes the transformation of the Russian welfare state during the transition period, through the prism of formal care provision in three distinct categories: childcare services, maternity/ parental leave provisions, and in-home caregiving and other family allowances- in both Soviet and post-Soviet periods. It shows that, since the 1990s, Russia has undergone significant structural reforms of its social, political, and economic systems, including cbildcare. Such reforms were not limited to changes in the welfare state, but also included deep ideological changes. These changes involved a transformation in the Russian welfare regime, leading towards a neo-familialist model of care. The paper illustrates the implications of the new cbildcare policy mix on the Position of women in the labor market, utilizing the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey data.