The new Government website takes a systematic approach to providing detailed and up-to-date information on the work of the Government as a collegial body. The site allows for quick and convenient access to archival material on the Government’s decisions, legislative activity, implementation of instructions and plans, and the work of the Prime Minister, his deputies and federal ministers.
The Government Executive Office will continue to upgrade the official website of the Russian Government. The press service will release information on improvements to the website’s existing features and sections and the introduction of new ones.
Overview of the site’s main sections
From the Home Page users are one click away from the Government’s core strategic planning documents, including its policy priorities to 2018, state programmes, socioeconomic development roadmaps, and other important documents.
The section Structure contains basic information on the legal foundations of the Government’s activity; the composition of the cabinet of ministers; the division of responsibilities among deputy prime ministers; information on executive bodies – federal ministries, departments, agencies, services and oversight bodies (every ministry and department has its own news feed); Government bodies, including Government commissions and councils (each coordinating or advisory body has its own news feed).
The section Government in Action contains 52 subsections divided by topic, covering all the functions of the Government under the Russian Constitution and the federal constitutional law On the Government of the Russian Federation. The list of functions is based on the official division of responsibilities among deputy prime ministers, as approved by the Government’s acts. For convenience’s sake, lengthy official titles of the areas of responsibilities of deputy prime ministers are shortened to tags (full titles are contained at the top of each of the 52 subsections). Each subsection contains materials on a particular function of the cabinet. The majority of materials are tagged under the sections “Documents,” “Instructions,” “Legislation,” as are transcripts (or excerpts), and news and information on the work of the Government members, ministries and departments.
Documents: Includes explanatory notes to the Government’s acts. Accompanying background materials describe the general features of a document, the problem it addresses, expected results and progress reports on implementation.
Government meetings: Every Government meeting is accompanied by materials for the meeting (announcements); the portion of the transcript broadcasted in the press centre of the Government House; decisions taken by the Government at the meeting (protocols); and transcripts of any briefings held.
The News section contains announcements of upcoming events and a general news feed featuring transcripts of events in which the Prime Minister participates. Transcripts and news are accompanied by background materials, photos, video and select quotes. Announcements of upcoming events include materials on the Government’s future meetings and press releases on other planned events.
Prime minister: News on the work of the Prime Minister; his speeches and messages; photos and video of his events, including working visits; links to pages in social media. This section links to the official website of Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister and Chairman of the United Russia party.
Deputy Prime Ministers: Coverage of the work of deputy prime ministers, transcripts of their briefings and statements to the media; links to personal profiles in social media.
Personal News feeds for government members: Includes important current events of federal ministers covered by the media (taken from the sites of the respective ministries); statements in the media (published on the sites of the respective ministries); and links to their personal profiles in social media.
Ministries and departments: Major news on the work of federal executive bodies (ministries, agencies, services and oversight bodies) taken from their official sites; links to verified pages of ministries and departments in social media.
Government information: Russia by Region (map): A geographical overview of the Government’s activity. Materials are classified by the associated region, and may contain news, transcripts (or excerpts), documents, instructions, and information on the work of deputy prime ministers, federal ministries and departments.
User functions of the website
send a message: A service for sending electronic messages to the Government and the Prime Minister; information on how citizens can meet with heads of federal executive bodies; legal and regulatory acts on work with citizens; periodic reviews of messages from citizens. The “Personal Account” feature is currently under development.
search: Users can search the full site, an individual section, or multiple sections simultaneously. Every section with dated content features a calendar allowing users to search specific dates or a range of dates. The option to search the archives of past versions of the site has been added.
Users can also subscribe to receive news, documents, instructions and messages published on the site by e-mail, SMS or RSS.
All materials can be shared in social media or saved using notetaking services.
A link to the portal of government services is featured on the site’s main menu.
The section containing links to other government websites at the bottom of the home page includes a link to Open Data – a list of socially important information provided by federal executive bodies in a special format that increases access to such information, thereby multiplying its social and economic effect.
English version: Contains key sections and materials of interest to an international audience.
New Government website design
The structure, navigation and design of the Government website are aimed at providing a consistent and coherent presentation of original content. Every page contains a main menu, a search bar, a site map and latest news. An ongoing smart timeline is one of the features of the design. Context-sensitive help is available using words and proper names.
The simple, clean design ensures there is no information clutter on the pages. The links open in a new tab on top of the home page or the index page of the menu section.
The graphics have been adapted for high-definition screens. The interface has been optimised for touch-screen devices with readable and adaptable typefaces.
The website has implemented the Mark&Share utility, which allows interesting fragments of text on the page to be marked and shared via a unique url. It is very convenient to share content by sending an automatically generated link. By clicking on the link, users will be able to open a page with the marked source content.
The website uses HTML5 video technology.
The website has been adapted for users who need to use special software and technology for internet browsing. The website developers followed the GOST R-52872-2007 national standard of accessibility for users with visual impairments as well as international accessibility standards (W3C, WAI, WCAG 2.0). The developers relied on international experience in similar projects.