This article seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of publication activity dynamics in the USSR and in the Russian Federation in the context of evolution of national economic and political systems and science policies. A broad set of bibliometric indicators derived from the Web of Science Core Collection database and InCites electronic analytical tool were used to assess the scientific output of the Soviet and Russian research establishments. Various aspects of path dependence of contemporary Russia’s patterns of publication activity on the earlier institutional models of the R&D sector established in the Soviet Union were considered. This path dependence may be clearly observed in the thematic structure of scientific publications (even more so in internationally collaborated papers), in the composition of partner countries for joint publications, and in citation indicators. The evolution of national science policies is tracked in the context of historical development of policy instruments and government actions intended to stimulate and support the publication activity of Russian (and Soviet) academics and maximize their potential effects upon the country’s key research performance indicators.