The article analyzes problems of the Russia forest complex development related to social, environmental and infrastructure issues, the solution of which is impossible without state participation. The reasons of the poor adaptation of the forest complex market economy to long development periods, as well as the environmental consequences of economic activity, including environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, loss of biodiversity and damage to public health, are considered. The analysis of the forest complex market economy features is made on domestic and foreign examples, a serious shortcoming of which is the isolation of the investment payback process from the chosen economic development direction. Forest rejuvenation in this way leads to a decrease or even loss of the forests biospheric properties to regulate the surface runoff of atmospheric precipitation and the formation of groundwater reserves. It is known, that in the forests of the European part of Russia have been accumulated large reserves of semi-subsistence conifer and hard wood. It is shown that to involve it in use it is necessary to change the principles of annual use calculations and to actually re-develop the regulatory framework for the intermediate use of forest wood resources. Four forest management units in the forest economy of the forest complex were identified: state forest management and implementation of medium-term and long-term planning of all types of work in forests, taking into account materials of the state forest inventory and assessing the state and trends in the development of domestic and foreign timber markets; protection and protection of forests from fires and other adverse natural factors (insects, fungi, pollution); carrying out planned logging with the differentiated use of all types of wood and the organization of reforestation taking into account the diversity of growing conditions and the possibilities of using the lands of the state forest fund of Russia. It is advisable to create economic mechanisms to stimulate the activities of all enterprises and institutions of the Russia forest complex for the transition to new environmentally sound technologies in the forest. A flexible economic mechanism is needed to include forest management costs in the cost of harvested wood in order to restore the ecological, economic, social and cultural properties of forests.