The paper explores the aspects of social policies in the Russian Federation and approaches the problems of social security in the context of Russia's ratification of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention. The importance of social standards in the context of labour and social security is demonstrated with further analysis of applicable Russian laws and principal international statutes establishing the minimum guarantees of social security rights. Conclusions are drawn that the legal framework of social security should be enhanced, taking into account the best practices of foreign countries. Another focus of the analysis concerns the issues of raising social security levels for certain categories of individuals by increasing the value of minimum social standards by means of statutory indexation.