The article is devoted to the problems of formation of “shadow” labour market in the Russian society. Evaluation of dynamics of “shadow” processes on the market is carried out on the basis of the results of sociological monitoring of economic activities of the population which is being conducted by the Center of Social and Political Monitoring at School of Public Policy in RANEPA since 2001. The basis of sociological monitoring is made of the all-Russian sociological polls of the employed population. Respondents to the polls are interviewed in the sample, representing employees of basic economic activity types occupied at the enterprises of various forms of ownership and also the major social and demographic characteristics. The surveys are conducted by personal interview (“face to face”) at the place of work or residence of respondents with obligatory respect for the principle of anonymity. The article provides an assessment of scale and depth of penetration of “shadow” economic processes into the Russian society. The study focuses on non-criminal part of the “shadow” economic activity, i.e. the employment that lacks formal agreements (contracts) with the employer or authorized bodies, the practices of keeping informal payrolls and paying unofficial wages and salaries. The monitoring research findings have given us the opportunity to define some contours of “deshadowing” Russian economy or possible shrinkage of the “shadow” from the standpoint of the involvement of citizens in the “shadow” processes. Particular attention is paid to the conditions of spreading the “shadow” employment, their impact on the involvement of the population in the “shadow” schemes. Most notable of such conditions include low level of welfare of the population, unstable system of taxation, imperfect legal framework, low level of social protection, and unfair distribution of national welfare.