The article examines the interaction of the state and society, where the main actors are various kinds of social movements.  They are created based on the ideas of a particular social group, and when they gain importance in society, they themselves become initiators of various socially significant projects. Gaining power and strength among the public, movements gain the opportunity to influence the state and interact with it through mechanisms inaccessible to an ordinary citizen. The paper focuses on the following social movements: «Pro-life», «Pro-choice», «Feminism», «me too», and describes the results of an empirical study on the topic «The influence of social movements on modern Russia».Objective: to track the influence of social movements on the formation of communication channels with the state, as well as the processes of interaction of citizens through these movements.Results: the theoretical foundations of social movements are described; the issues of the influence of social movements on the formation of communication channels with the state, as well as the processes of interaction of citizens through these movements are considered.Conclusions: analyzing the results of an empirical study,it can be traced that among the older generation, many more people deny the importance of social movements for the modern state. This contributes to the obsolescence of communication channels and their slow degradation.  It is revealed that social movements not only directly influence the state policy, but also increase the number of people interested in it.