ИСТИНА

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union the development of the Russian third sector was marked by impressive achievements. However this development was rather contradictory; a great deal of inconsistency has characterized public policy in relation to nonprofit organizations. During the last 15-20 years, impressive measures have been taken to stimulate the development of the nonprofit sector, including the creation of organizational and financial infrastructure of state support for socially-oriented NPOs, as well as to encourage philanthropic giving by individuals and companies. At the same time restrictive measures have been implemented that resulted in complication of registration and reporting requirements and procedures. Much has been achieved recently in terms of improving the institutional framework of government - civil society interaction. The Federal law adopted in 2015 allows NPOs to provide social services to the population on an equal basis with other economic entities. In 2017, the new stimulating law on the Performers of Public Benefit Services (PPBS) has come into force. In addition, the government has adopted the "Supporting the access of non-governmental organizations to the provision of services in the social sphere road map ". This document directs the authorities at allocating at least 10% of the regional and municipal social budgets to finance the services rendered by nonprofit organizations. Philanthropic behavior of Russians is also undergoing a positive transformation: currently 58% of citizens donate on a regular basis. Russia has also developed a considerable philanthropic foundations sector: nearly 9,000 foundations were operating in 2014-2015. Thus, we are talking about the beginning of a major reform of the social sphere in Russia. Active subjects of this reform are social NPOs, as well as philanthropic foundations. In general, the reform vector corresponds to the global trend of the growth of public funding for social work carried out by nonprofit organizations.