Transformation of the Electronic Participation System in Russia in the Early 2020s: Centralization Trends

Abstract

The paper is devoted to creating a centralized system that ensures the processing of opinions and claims against regional and municipal officials expressed by citizens in social networks, which began in 2020. Previous authors’ studies of Russian systems that ensure the interaction of authorities with citizens made it possible to identify six channels of electronic participation at the regional and municipal levels. However, the development of social networks and the emergence of new technologies for involving citizens in public politics have created the prerequisites for the transformation of electronic participation systems. This was reflected both in scientific research and in practice. For example, in the Russian Federation in 2020 a new channel of electronic participation was launched. A network of Regional Control Centers (RCCs) has been created and is being developed, one of the components of which is the Incident Management system, which allows real-time monitoring of the reaction of users in social networks and ensuring the processing of messages or claims of citizens to the authorities. The article presents the results of a pilot study that made it possible to identify the heterogeneity of new structures in terms of institutional affiliation and data from monitoring e-participation channels in the context of centralization processes.