In this paper uses data from Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE) to investigation the effects changing socioeconomic environment have had on the relative bargaining positions of women in Russian families. To understand ‘the big picture’ I first examine major trends in work and family life of Russian women, namely, trends in labor force participation, college education, occupational choice, marriage and divorce rates, fertility, use of contraceptives and abortion rates. Then a closer look is given to the period of 2002-2008, estimating a regression model that allows to infer whether exogenous social changes affected Russian women’s bargaining strength within the family. Namely, I look into how family expenditures on children changed relative to family’s spending on alcohol and tobacco throughout this period, testing the hypothesis that a stronger women’s position increases spending on children, while relative weakening of men’s position reduces spending on alcohol and tobacco. The findings suggest that the previously recorded negative trend which disadvantaged Russian women in 1990s and early 2000s had been reversed in mid-2000s, implying that the new economic and social order finally started to benefit women.