The article considers the results of the latest stage of reforming the Institute of public service in the Russian Federation. It makes an overview and a brief critical analysis of the key milestones of civil service development during 2009–2013. The key trends for the future development are also described. Such trends include lack of an integral system of public service in the Russian Federation and a system of its management; lack of efficient technologies and modern methods of personnel work; imperfection of the mechanisms of qualified personnel selection and evaluation; the absence of a link between the civil servants’ performance results and the size of payments. Conclusions and generalizations are supported by the official statistics data and sociological analysis, by the materials of the researches conducted by the author. Reduction and rejuvenation of personnel and introduction of information and communication technologies do not contribute to the efficiency of the state apparatus all by themselves. This should be proceeded by the choice of the strategy of the reform and an independent model of state service adequate to Russia of today. The translation of public service reform onto the plane of systematic work is defi ned as a necessary condition for increasing the effi ciency of state management. It needs implementing socio-economic challenges by the state.