The article analyzes the current state of the sociohumanities in Russia. The author gives evidence of the growth in the quantity of programs certain disciplines, such as political science, economics, law studies and sociology. According to the author’s opinion, the sociohumanities are more in demand than the natural sciences in present-day Russia. The reasons are to be found in the current state of Russian society and in the special relationship between Russian science and the «worlds» of business and politics. The high demand for certain sectors of the sociohumanities in Russia is accompanied by the loss of their knowledge-producing functions; these sectors are turning into an intermediary for transmitting the knowledge produced by Western research into national social practice.