Question

How has Russia been influenced by the Open Data Movement? Does the government of Russia have an Open Data site? Have any 3rd party organizations set up an Open Data site for Russia?

Answer 1

Open data refers to the concept that certain data need to be available to everyone easily accessible for use and reuse for anyone. In other words, the data is accessible via the internet, digital in form, it enables interoperability with other data and it is free of restriction for use or reuse.

In Russia, the government released the Open Data policy which is relatively new for the country. This sector is the most untapped section in Russia. Almost 2400 datasets have been made available to the public through Open Data. Russia’s Open Data portal is divided into 16 major topics that has several sections such as hydrometeorology, mapping, education, transport and health. Another portal ‘Clearspending’ is a portal that uses Open Government data to track the government expenditure. It tracks the performance of 12 million contractors and almost 900,000 vendors. The Open Data also helped to identify over 4 million procurement violations. Though the Open Data has been implemented in Russia, it still has a long way to go to meet the growing demand of the population for maintaining transparent and reliable information for the decisions made by the government. In order to meet this growing demand, World Bank is helping Russia to establish efficient open government practices. The main aim of this collaboration is to provide excellent international experiences and adapt the best global practices to meet Russia’s needs. Open Data is regulated by government agencies. Finally, it is pertinent to note that Open Data usage in Russian Federation is regulated in accordance with Federal Law.