The multilevel nature of the contemporary system of welfare aid in Russia

The multilevelness is an inalienable property of the modern welfare-aid system in Russia. And with it the question of levels quantity is not solved yet. Let us try to find a solution. Welfare aid legalbasis at the federal and regional levels relies upon Article 72 of the Russian Constitution. In accordance with this norm the coordinationof welfare system issues is in the combined competence of the Russian Federation and its regions. One more level of welfare measuresis mentioned in numerous law researches - the municipal one. This kind of regulation was not widely spread in the Soviet Union and itbecomes one of the guarantees against crisis in welfare system nowadays. Authors in many sources of juridical literature (M.L. Zakharov,D.I. Rogachev, Ye.V. Romanova, and etc.) note that welfare aid can be regulated locally, on the basis of normative clauses oflocal standard acts. We think it is well grounded to exclude an employers assistance from the welfare-aid system, because it does notpossess the main characteristic of the modern welfare - its realization by means of budget and (or) non-budget funds. Another questionableopinion exists in welfare law. It is about a possibility to regulate welfare aid at an individual level (by entering, changing or dissolvinglabour contracts). In our opinion, individual regulation cannot be considered as a level of welfare-aid system, because labourcontract obligations are contrary to many basic principles of welfare law, such as universality, solidarity, support of living standard (satisfactionof all the essential needs), and etc. It is scientifically grounded to consider interregional aid as a separate level of welfare-aidsystem in Russia at the moment. We single it out for it possesses essential welfare properties - special funding sources, needs of recipients,and a special purpose - satisfaction of the essential needs. Undoubtedly, welfare-aid relations are regulated at the level of internationalstandard acts. Its main specificity consists in the contractual nature. The international level of the welfare-aid system is based onRussian international agreements with other nations. Thus, the domestic welfare-aid system includes five separate levels: international,federal, regional, interregional and a local one.

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