The Internet attracts people with its diversified information and accessibility. At present, one can visit the Internet even through his or her mobile telephone. Almost 70 percent of Russians use the Internet daily, and the leaders of the country play a key role in popularizing it.
The Internet has helped to form a civil society in the country and shaped public opinion about Russia on the international stage, says the director of the “Intellectual Data Analysis Laboratory”, Ivan Begtin.
“One of the most interesting Internet events in the past year was the opening of a Twitter blog by the Russian President,” says Ivan Begtin. “His lead was followed by governors and senior officials. A large number of officials has started communicating with citizens through the Internet. I would like to single out the blogs of officials and their communities, the www.gosbook.ru and www.regionalochka.ru networks. In short, the Internet offers an opportunity for an official to make contact with an ordinary person. This is a significant development,” Ivan Begtin said.
Lately, the Internet has been used to deliver government services and at the same time, has become an important source of information about the country. Several interesting projects, have been implemented, including the “RosGosZatraty” site, which monitors the Russian government’s expenses on the basis of declassified information about contracts concluded between 2007 and 2009. Another is the “public government” service, which provides information on the purposes of government expenditures. There is also a resource that allows the circulation of documents with the use of electronic digital signatures. There are also Internet-projects that help medium-sized businesses to submit their financial reports to the government: “Elba” – the electronic accountant, and “Moyo delo” or “My business”.
However, it’s too early to say that everything on the Runet is fine. A lot has to be done to develop the segment, including ensuring speedy connection in the regions, fighting fraud on the Internet and creating a full-fledged electronic government to establish interaction between people and the government.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Marina Volkova
Quelle/Source: The Voice of Russia, 30.09.2010