Digitalisation in Russia: In Search of a Legal Model

Abstract

The article considers issues faced by legal regulation of digitalisation in Russia. The aim of the analysis was to formulate theoretical approaches to the current state of legal regulation of digitalisation in Russia and directions for its improvement. To this end, the authors set the objectives to assess the sufficiency and adequacy of legal regulation in Russia and then compare it with the experience of the UK, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Russia has formulated a national goal for building a digital economy. A national programme of the same name and other policy documents have been adopted in accordance with this goal. However, even before this goal was set, a number of strategic planning documents (a strategy and a doctrine) had been adopted in this area in Russia. Our analysis demonstrates that their provisions have only partly been taken into consideration in drafting the new regulation. Actually, in the year 2017 there was one set of goals, and the year 2018 saw a different set of goals. The survey found shortcomings in the legal regulation of long-term digitalisation goals, such as poorly defined contents of the measures, a lack of measurable and concrete actions to develop legal regulations, and a failure to elaborate the structure of the documents. The foreign countries under review have developed approaches to drafting clear and understandable digitalisation strategies. They typically analyse existing entry points, make an inventory of activities in all areas, and identify measurable regulatory initiatives. It would be advisable to apply such approaches in Russia. Of further note are gaps in regulation of government information systems (‘GIS’) in strategic planning documents related to establishing the cost of GIS development, information availability, and assessment of GIS efficiency. Based on the survey outcomes, the authors suggest that there is a need for a unified digitalisation strategy and better legal regulation in Russia. Due to the shortcomings mentioned in digitalisation, Russia can fail to attain the digitalisation aims and objectives, and begin to lag behind the rest of the world.