Historical development of the state policy of Russia in the sphere of increasing the well-being of the population

The work is devoted to the study of the state policy of Russia in the field of improving the welfare of the population, changes in its influence on the welfare of the country’s population in different periods of history. We consider various interpretations of the concept of welfare, their changes in the course of history. We conclude that the state policy to ensure and improve the wellbeing of the population was constantly subject to transformation and reorientation depending on the level of society development, the nature of social relations, the political system, the state system, the priority of external and internal problems. It is determined that in the population welfare system a special place is occupied by the income category, as one of the indicators characterizing the quantitative aspect of the population’s welfare. The nature of state policy in different periods had a direct impact on the situation in the sphere of the population’s well-being. Particular attention is paid to the fact that a sharp change in the state policy in the field of population welfare from the command-administrative methods of the Soviet period to the almost complete “withdrawal” of the state from the social sphere in the 1990s, caused a noticeable decline in welfare, especially the incomes of most of the population of Russia, the negative consequences of radical political changes are felt in early 21st century.