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The article focuses on the core contradictions within the development of the social non-profit sector in Russia. The empirical basis of the study comprises statistical data, legal documents regulating the social services’ sphere, research data from previous studies conducted in Russia, as well as qualitative data collected for this study. The introduction provides background information on the stages of reforming the social service system in Russia. The first part is devoted to the contradictions between international trends and Russian patterns. In line with a neoliberal approach, non-profit NGOs play a significant role as key actors in social work providing social services for different client groups. At the same time, they are not independent and Russian civil society is not yet strong enough to realize social rights of citizens. In the next section, some of the key issues of interaction between the government and NGOs are discussed. An analysis of the current situation demonstrates that while a social partnership between the state and NGOs is affirmed by authorities on official level, in practice, the state still dominates the social sector. The article then focuses on how Russian NGOs have reoriented their efforts toward financial sustainability through government support.

The formation of a mixed system of public goods production in Russia has been accompanied by the increasing role of the private sector in the field of social services, characterized by innovative approaches to the provision of youth services. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at the following key questions: what the place of youth in the social service system is, and what the attitude of youth to state social services and NGOs is. Empirical data were obtained from surveys of residents of St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg (n = 1204), among which almost 40% of participants were young respondents aged between 18 and 35. The questionnaire included questions about the demand for social services, relationships to NGOs as service providers, the prevalence of receiving services using digital technologies, the issuers concerning the quality of social services, and trust/distrust of NGOs. Different client groups among youth and development trends were identified. The research results indicate the prevalence of young respondents who are confident that new providers can expand the range of social services and improve their quality. Young people showed a high level of satisfaction with the services they received from non-governmental organizations, and they believe that NGOs are more client-oriented, then governmental organizations. The study demonstrates that youth is becoming one of the key actors in the developing system of mixed-welfare provision in Russia, which is more consistent with the modern views on young people as consumers of social services and which is able to attract them to the service market as providers.