Centralization of the System of E-Participation in the Russian Federation: Expert Interviews Data

Abstract

This article presents the results of the study aimed at analyzing the institutional transformations of the E-Participation system in Russia. Since 2020, the e-participation system in Russia has undergone significant transformations associated with the introduction of centralized federal resources. As a result, different institutional models have been formed in different constituent regions of the Russian Federation, implying the refusal, autonomous preservation or coexistence of regional electronic channels with federal ones. The purpose of the study is to form an assessment of the changes taking place — the centralization of the e-participation system in the regions of the Russian Federation and the change in the degree of control over the activities of regional authorities by federal authorities. To achieve the goal of the study, expert interviews were conducted with 76 respondents, who are representatives of five key groups of subjects in the process of creating and using electronic channels for civic participation. The results of the study demonstrated an ambiguous opinion of experts on the ongoing changes and confirmed that the goals of federal authorities in the implementation of centralized projects of electronic citizen participation are aimed, among other things, at increasing the political controllability of regional authorities and collecting data for consideration when making management decisions.