The paper focuses on the evolution of government policies for disabled people in Russia from 1991 onwards and development periodization, based on changes in the pension legislation. Analysis of government policies is essential due to the ratification by the Russian Federation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The paper covers compensation policies (benefits) and integration measures. We focus on three dimensions of regulation and social policy: disability benefits, employment protection and non-cash benefits. Our analysis reveals that the employment rate of disabled people is shaped by institutional factors. Disability policy in Russia is developed in the context of international law. Since the 1990s employment assistance for people with disabilities has advanced from supporting sheltered employment towards encouraging the integration into the open labour market. The choice of government policies was greatly influenced by the economic situation in the country. Weak enforcement of employment quotas and of requirements concerning the creation of specialized working places, as well as a limited use of tax deductions lowers the efficiency of employment policies for disabled people. The use of “remaining earning capacity” as the key criterion for the assignment of disability benefits negatively influenced disabled people’s labour supply in the 2000s.