As the Soviet Union became urbanized, families grew more numerous and smaller in average size. Between the censuses of 1959 and 1989, the number of family units increased 41%, from 28.5 million to more than 40 million. Average family size in the Russian Republic declined from 3.4 persons in 1970 to 3.1 in 1989. Already in the late 1970s, more than 80% of urban families had two children or fewer. In 1989 some 87% of the population lived in families, of which about 80% were based on a married couple.

According to the 1994 survey, the dynamics of the average Russian family have changed somewhat. Compared with 1989, about 3% fewer individuals characterized their marriages as in conflict, and 9% fewer called their marriages "egalitarian" in the distribution of authority between the partners. The average distribution of common household tasks was shown to be far from equal, with women performing an average of about 75% of cooking, cleaning, and shopping chores. Between 1989 and 1994, women's expression of dissatisfaction with their family situation increased 13%, while that of men rose only 2%. Women reporting family satisfaction were predominantly young or elderly, with sufficient-to-high incomes and at least a secondary education. According to experts, social and economic crises have caused Russians to rely more heavily than ever on the family as a source of personal satisfaction. But these same crises have caused the standard of living to fall, and they have required that more time be spent at work to keep it from falling further, thus making it harder for families to sustain their most cherished attributes.