The status of women’s health in Russia is strongly influenced by cultural, historical, and socioeconomic factors. During the Soviet period and continuing into the post-Soviet era, fertility steadily declined to below-replacement levels. Historically, Russian women have tended to use both modern and traditional contraceptive methods extensively, but, at the same time, have depended heavily on the use of induced abortion as a means of preventing unintended births and achieving low fertility.

Major changes in the organization of health care services and financing over the past several decades haves ushered in a long period of transition in which major reforms of different sectors have been carried out. Despite the growth of private practice hospitals and physicians in recent years, however, the Ministry of Health continues to be the primary provider of health care in the Russian Federation.

In 2007, the Russian Federation adopted a Demographic Concept Policy for the Russian Federation 2025. Fundamental goals of the policy include at least 50% reduction of maternal and infant mortality and strengthening of population reproductive health. The following strategies are being adopted to achieve the goals:

• Increase the availability and quality of free medical care to women during pregnancy and childbirth and to newborns through the development of family-oriented perinatal approaches, that reduce the risk of adverse outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth;

• Strengthen the infrastructure and staffing for maternal and child services in accordance with existing standards for maternity care; and develop high-tech medical care for women during pregnancy and childbirth.

• Ensure the availability and quality of reproductive health care, including assisted reproductive technologies and eliminating hazardous working conditions;

• Strengthen preventive strategies to reduce unwanted pregnancies.

The Russian Ministry of Health monitors reproductive health based on existing federal statistical surveillance systems and birth certificates. Several important limitations affect the usefulness of these data. Currently, official vital records are incomplete, due to missing data from institutions outside the Ministry of Health system. Existing data are also limited due to lack of information on quality of care. These data, as well as information about women who do not receive regular medical care, can be collected only through large sample surveys.

Results from the Russia Reproductive Health Survey 2011 will provide data to inform all these goals in the area of reproductive health. Recent progress has been made in increasing women’s access to modern contraceptives and other reproductive health services, but many challenges remain, particularly in reaching the most vulnerable women and providing high-quality services. To help policymakers and program managers assess and respond to current needs, a national reproductive health survey was needed.

Funding for the Russia Reproductive Health Survey 2011 (RURHS11) was primarily provided by two major international donors: the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which covered all costs related to field work, translation, and dissemination seminars; and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which supported the CDC technical assistance for survey design, implementation, and dissemination. The survey was carried out by Russian agencies including the Federal State Statistic Service (ROSSTAT), the Ministry of Health, and IPC Statistics of Russia which worked together to coordinate survey activities and to design and carry out the fieldwork. Technical assistance in these activities was provided by the Division of Reproductive Health (DRH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia, USA.