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2022/04/15 18:38:22

Lobbying and GR in the Russian IT market. Who, how and why is doing this? TAdviser Overview

The state in Russia has paid a lot of attention to the IT sector in recent years, and the IT industry, in turn, is one of the most active and consolidated when it comes to promoting its interests in the authorities. In April 2022, TAdviser prepared a detailed review of Government Relations (GR) practices in the Russian IT industry. It contains information on how GR functions are organized in IT companies, who have the strongest GRs in the market, examples of the most successful lobbying stories and much more.

Content

The topic of interaction with government agencies in the IT market is called "scrupulous" and "sensitive"

To get information for the review, TAdviser turned to representatives of about 30 Russian IT companies. Among them are players from the latest rankings of the largest suppliers to the public sector, as well as well-known IT companies that are not included in these rankings, but also work with the public sector. In addition, even before the start of events in Ukraine, requests were sent to 7 local offices of large foreign IT suppliers. In addition, TAdviser conducted detailed interviews with 4 experts with extensive experience in the field of GR. Data from open sources was also used.

Not everyone is ready to comment on the topic of interaction with government agencies. In the IT market, it is called "scrupulous," "sensitive." In several companies, "not recorded" this is how TAdviser justified its decision to refrain from participating in the review.

In the local offices of foreign vendors, even before the suspension of their business in Russia, no one was able to answer questions on the merits. Of the Russian companies, less than half of the market players contacted by TAdviser were able to say something openly on this topic. But at the same time, some did not mind commenting unofficially.

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In Russia, the largest part of the IT market is in the state, it pays a lot of attention to the topic of digitalization and allocates large funds for IT. Because of the risks, many do not want to discuss this topic: they are afraid to spoil relations, and restore them, if anything, it will be difficult, - explained their caution to TAdviser in one of the high-tech companies.
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Taking into account the peculiarities of the topic, TAdviser decided to include in its review both official and most interesting unofficial comments obtained from communication with representatives of IT companies in order to enable the reader to form a more complete idea of ​ ​ GR activities in the Russian IT market.

Some features of the "scrupulous topic" in Russia

In some countries, the interaction of organizations with the authorities in order to promote any interests is legally regulated. So, for example, US law clearly defines the concept, functions, rights and obligations of a lobbyist (see Lobbying in the United States). To interact with federal authorities, the company can register with a special register of lobbyists in the US Congress and engage in the promotion of its interests or hire a special company providing services to professional lobbyists.

The EU also has legislation on lobbying activities, albeit more lenient than in the United States. It involves voluntary registration in the register of transparency, combining the registers of the European Commission and the European Parliament (see Lobbying in Europe).

Registered people receive a newsletter about updating the legislative framework, can be part of expert groups, request a meeting with any official representative, get acquainted with statistics. The register does not contain detailed reports of companies on spending on lobbying services, but discloses an estimate provided by the registrants themselves of annual expenses related to activities covered by the register.

Companies with Russian roots operating in international markets are also present in this register. For example, Kaspersky Lab has been registered there since 2015. From the register, you can find out that the company participated in 4 meetings with representatives of the European Commission in Brussels, received grants within the framework of the Horizon 2020 framework program (EU program for the development of scientific research and technology), and Kaspersky's annual expenses related to the activities covered by the register were estimated at 200-300 thousand euros[1].

There are also non-governmental organizations that track campaign finance and lobbying data, such as the American OpenSecrets. Its database contains information that, for example, in 2013, an employee of the American office of Kaspersky Lab donated $3,000 to the Republican Party in Texas[2]. And in 2001 American , the developer's office ON ABBYY transferred a $250 donation to former California Secretary March Kong Fong[3] she announced plans to run again for the position.

In Russia, this area is still in the "shadow," is unaccountable, and the work of lobbyists cannot be called transparent to the public. "Undercurrents" affecting policy and regulatory decision-making and their ultimate beneficiaries are also often not obvious.

The State Duma has repeatedly made attempts to introduce regulation of lobbying activities. The first attempt took place in the early 90s, then a corresponding bill was developed. However, until now, the emerging legislative initiatives have not come to fruition.

One of the GR experts, with whom TAdviser spoke, believes that the previously developed Russian bills in the field of lobbying activities were practically written off from the American law.

Large companies in Russia hire GR specialists and maintain authorities relations departments. And for specific tasks to promote their interests, business can hire external GR specialists. Contracts with them are often not advertised and not publicly disclosed.

You can find cases when even biographies of full-time GRs, their previous places of work do not "glow" in the public space. For example, in the biographical certificate of Gleb Vershinin, director of GR SAP CIS (the company suspended work in Russia in March 2022 amid events in Ukraine), the corporate website states that he has experience in the civil service and led public relations structures and interaction with government agencies in private companies and companies with state participation[4], open sources, including his LinkedIn profile, lack the names of the organizations in which he worked before SAP CIS.

However, there is an opinion that with all the questions about the transparency of the Russian GR, one can hardly talk about its full achievement in those countries where this activity is legally regulated: "in the West, everything is not as transparent as it seems, there is" shadow "lobbying always and everywhere," one of the GR specialists is sure in the IT market.

Baikal Communications Group at the end of 2021 conducted a large sociological study of the Russian GR industry in order to determine key trends and functional features of the work of specialists in interaction with government bodies .

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The results of the study showed that Russian companies are dominated by work with legislation, former officials often act as GR specialists, and therefore domestic companies are at a shorter distance from government decisions. Foreign companies that have strict compliance rules are often deprived of such an opportunity. At the same time, analytical work on assessing risks, competitors and stakeholders is organized no less effectively, "says Eduard Voitenko, a professional lobbyist, candidate of political sciences, general director of Baikal Communications Group.
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This can also be attributed to the features of the Russian GR.

Is GR and lobbying the same thing?

Before moving on to a more detailed consideration of GR practices in the Russian IT industry, we will pay attention to professional concepts. In this area, the question of GR identity and lobbying is one of the most frequent.

Among GR experts, there are slightly different opinions on this matter. Thus, the general director of Baikal Communications Group Eduard Voitenko believes that today there is no clear understanding and delineation of these concepts in the industry, and often one replaces another.

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We believe that lobbying represents a comprehensive industry that combines various functions, including GR, says Voitenko. - GR itself is limited to interaction with government agencies. The institution of lobbying is much broader - in addition to building dialogue with the authorities, it includes promoting private interests and influencing political and management decision-making.
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Roman Kletskikh, GR Director of IT company Naumen, believes that lobbying is a technology for promoting the company's interests in authorities, and GR is part of the company's general management.

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GR's challenges are much broader than those facing lobbying. For example, the functions of a GR manager usually include monitoring the activities of authorities and management, media, interaction with specialized industry associations, organizing events, working within various committees and councils, etc. In addition, the GR manager is always on the company's staff, and the lobbyist can be an external expert, says Kletskikh.
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Ilya Verigin, director of work with state customers of Biorg, adheres to the point of view that lobbying is like a lawyer: a lawyer always protects the interests of his clients, as a rule, making money on it. And GR is definitely positive things: it accompanies noble projects, the purpose of which is to change the world for the better, which in the end can be proud and even receive awards. For this, it is worth building long-term relations with the state, with contractors, i.e. to create a community that can solve this issue taking into account legislation, technology and human potential.

Denis Solodovnikov, director of government relations at TalentTech IT holding, believes that GR and lobbying are practically identical concepts.

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Lobbying is thought to be more directly related to business and has negative connotations. But this, rather, is more typical precisely for the Russian market, because, for example, in the United States this activity is regulated, and there is no negative there regarding lobbying. There are rules of the game by which everyone works, there are companies where there are official positions of lobbyists, - notes Solodovnikov.
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IT Industry: Hand in Hand with GR

GR professionals with whom TAdviser spoke agree that the IT industry is one of those where work on interaction with authorities is most important. In the 90s and 2000s. the state did not pay much attention to IT companies, the software was relatively inexpensive. But the situation has changed: now complex and expensive software products, information systems are being introduced in state and commercial organizations, the financial sector, and various processes are being automated in all sectors of the economy.

GR tools are needed, first of all, by companies in the most regulated sectors of the economy - for example, in the tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical industries, since changes in regulation pose risks both for specific companies and for the industry as a whole, says Baikal Communications Group CEO Eduard Voitenko. Communication with public authorities is able to prevent such risks in a timely manner, and, therefore, help companies avoid financial losses.

The IT sphere has also been subjected to persistent legislative reform in recent years and is under the scrutiny of the state.

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The main trend of state policy is import substitution, thanks to which Russian IT companies are forming new opportunities for successful development. The task of the GR function in this case is to integrate the company into the rule-making process and translate its interests at the state level. Foreign companies, on the contrary, face risks and restrictions, and GR tools help these risks minimize and maintain, as far as possible, status quo, "Voitenko notes.
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GR is necessary for IT companies to effectively build interaction with the state - with authorities at various levels. GR affects the regulator, adjusting it to itself, that is, it forms a favorable environment for development, believes GR-Director of Naumen Roman Kletskikh. Companies need this to solve their problems and work more efficiently in the market.

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GR will be useful for the company to open new markets, receive assistance from the state through such tools as grants, subsidies, soft loans, including in the field of software exports, as well as in removing administrative barriers, he added.
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Roman Kletskikh believes that a GR specialist can contribute to sales, but traditionally does this not directly, but through cooperation with the state.

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In some companies, it happens that the functional duties of a GR manager are confused with the functions of a sales manager in the public sector. Sales to the public sector are a purely commercial story: you need to reach people who make decisions, identify needs and offer them your product or service, prepare documents for participation in the competition, etc., - explains Kletskikh. - The GR specialist uses other tools in his work. For example, it affects decisions made by state authorities through participation in various working groups that regularly gather for meetings in ministries and departments.
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I must say that vacancies posted on large recruiting sites indicate that employers often mean a GR manager of an employee who would deal with sales to the public sector. And some companies assign the functions of GR to PR specialists.

Which IT companies need GR

Denis Solodovnikov believes that GR is needed by companies operating in the state market, and simply large companies that occupy a significant market share - they are forced to respond to any challenges, to influence the regulator. And they can afford to organize a dedicated GR unit.

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Probably, it is unlikely that GR is needed by small companies operating in the B2C segment. There, rather, lawyers perform some functions of GRs: they track changes in legislation and at the same time analyze risks. And if necessary, and if small companies are ready to pay membership fees, they can also use such a tool as various industry associations to promote their interests, says Solodovnikov.
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Roman Kletskikh has a similar opinion: GR is still necessary for medium-sized companies and always for large ones.

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-1 XLIFFService: Index was out of range. Must be non-negative and less than the size of the collection.

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In turn, small businesses need to create and develop a product or service, build sales, marketing, attract venture financing, learn how to work with development institutions (for example, with the Bortnik fund). Like large companies, small businesses can be part of various industry associations, and they also use this.

Ilya Verigin believes that GR is a tool for long-term work with the public sector. It is needed by a company that has an ambitious development plan for 3-10 years, including the development of competencies, demanded products for the public sector. GR is one of the drivers of this growth. For example, the idea of ​ ​ some useful project appeared. But how to convey to government agencies its importance and bring it to the realization? You need to be able to analyze the usefulness with them and, if necessary, change something in the legislation, unite like-minded people, and lead through working groups.

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Based on our experience, the GR function is useful to any company, even if its activities are not limited to significant administrative barriers at the current moment. And in the absence of strict state control or regulatory changes, proactive work should be carried out, in particular, monitoring and analysis of the regulatory environment, says Eduard Voitenko. In addition, it is difficult to name an industry that is in complete stagnation, in respect of which no government decisions are made at all, so certain GR tasks always arise. Even companies with government involvement are seeking GR support.
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Obviously, the role of the state is weighing in our economy, says Dmitry Gryzunov, director of corporate communications and client service, RuSat Infrastructure Solutions. In terms of IT, a visible trend has recently been observed, especially against the backdrop of a pandemic. The state does not just formulate the rules of the game, it has become one of the key drivers of digitalization. Today, the state is not just a regulator, but one of the main large customers of digital solutions.

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In connection with all the above, the importance of GR work is difficult to overestimate - for all large companies that somehow work in this market, interaction with government agencies is very important, - said Gryzunov.
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Challenges facing GRs

Almost all IT companies that answered TAdviser's questions for the review reported that they had dedicated authorities Engagement Unit (GR) or individual employee who specialized in such an interaction. However, the tasks that companies set for such departments or individual employees vary somewhat from company to company.

For example, in Rostelecom, the main tasks assigned to its GR direction were formulated in the spirit of the "classic" GR:

  • effective interaction with state bodies, including participation in meetings of working groups under federal executive bodies;
  • representing the interests of the company at various public platforms organized for the interaction of state bodies and the business community;
  • monitoring and analysis of current and planned regulatory legal acts;
  • formation and promotion of the company's positions, including on regulatory legal acts;
  • participation in the development of regulatory legal acts.

For the developer of information security solutions "Security Code," the public sector is one of the key areas of business. To interact with representatives of government agencies, the company formed an appropriate department, which was tasked with the following tasks:

  • interaction with regulatory authorities for timely receipt of information on new requirements for information security products,
  • formation of proposals for relevant ministries to respond to the expansion of the cyber threat landscape,
  • participation in business missions in order to develop partnerships with key players in the international market.

In Sitronics Group, the Department for Interaction with State Authorities has the task of monitoring the activities of state authorities, analyzing regulatory legal acts in the field of digital transformation of industries and active participation in expert events.

In some companies, the tasks of departments for working with the public sector are also related to commercial activities. An example is the "FORCE - Development Center" (FORS GROUP), which specializes in the development, integration and construction of information systems, infrastructure solutions, technical support and training.

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There is no specially allocated direction for GR in our company, since its implementation in the classical sense requires certain conditions and norms of public relations - first of all, their sufficient maturity and transparency, - explained to TAdviser Andrei Burin, head of the department for work with the public sector of the FORS GROUP.
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To a certain extent, the functions of interaction with the authorities in the FORS GROUP are assigned to the department for work with the public sector. This is a commercial block, whose employees ensure the promotion of decisions and services of the company at the federal and regional levels, are responsible for interaction with state customers on a wide range of issues, explained Andrei Burin. But GR functions are not only assigned to him. Depending on the tasks, other specialists of the company may be involved in solving certain issues.

There is a separate person in the ICL group of companies in the product division to work with the authorities, Viktor Dyachkov, head of the ICL group of companies, told TAdviser. In the service direction, it is not necessary.

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The key goal of the GR specialist is the participation of the group of companies as a technological partner in projects for state customers and state corporations. It forms and implements a strategy for the development of a group of companies in the state order market. For successful work in this vein, it is important to increase the recognition of the company, to form the desired image, in general - to increase loyalty to the company from potential customers, "says Viktor Dyachkov. - The tasks of the GR-employee also include the work on attracting complex and technologically end-to-end commercial projects from the target customer sector, as well as involving employees of the group of companies in the implementation of these projects.
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Dmitry Gryzunov, director of corporate communications and client service at RuSat Infrastructure Solutions, notes that since the state is not just a regulator, but also one of the largest IT clients, the key function facing people who somehow interact with it is to inform about the competencies, capabilities that the company has.

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And of course, if possible, prove to the client-state that our solutions will satisfy all his needs in a particular product, and he is the most optimal offer on the market, "says Gryzunov.
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Another example of a priority task is interaction with the state as a regulator. Here it is very important to report initiatives from RuSat Infrastructure Decisions as a market participant on the work of the regulatory framework, on certain decisions that are made at the state level, on how they are reflected in business, on initiatives in changes in legislative acts and harmonization of the regulatory field. This is an important part that the company is also engaged in.

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Another of the goals of the work is not only to use the opportunity to attract co-financing from the state, but also to prove that by investing money in our product or project, it will not lose it, and as a result will receive the solution that will really be in demand by the market. It is very important that the state provides an opportunity for co-financing, - added Dmitry Gryzunov.
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The developer of the office software "MyOffice" believes that the tasks of a reputational nature are also very important for GR - the formation of an image of a socially responsible business, demonstrating the investment attractiveness of the company, receiving quality awards, certification.

In Jet Infosystems, GR is headed by Vadim Shustov, Deputy General Director of the company.

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We do not have a dedicated department with such functions, but in many departments there are employees who interact with government representatives during the implementation of B2G projects and joint initiatives. For example, our innovation center opens the Digital Laboratory of Labor Protection with the support of the Ministry of Labor of Russia and the Skolkovo Foundation. The project involves close interaction of participants, including on the regulation of this area, - said Shustov.
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Vadim Shustov regularly participates in specialized events held by the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, the State Duma of the Russian Federation, ministries and departments. Among the key tasks of this activity is to create favorable conditions for the accelerated digitalization of both the public sector and business. This implies, among other things, the development of the relevant legislative framework in accordance with changes in the IT industry.

Results of GR work in companies: examples

A number of IT companies told TAdviser about the performance of their GR units/employees over the past year with examples.

For example, in Rostelecom, the results of its GR include the fact that over the past year, within the framework of the "regulatory guillotine," many regulatory legal acts have been reprinted that contribute to the development of the communications and IT industry, in the development of which the department took an active part.

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Rostelecom is part of the working groups of the "regulatory guillotine" for communications and IT, the development of competition. Also, within the framework of the federal project Regulatory Regulation of the National Program Digital Economy, representatives of the department also participated in the development and revision of many regulatory legal acts adopted last year, regulating (in particular) the infrastructure of electronic government, a unified biometric system, communication services, data management in the field of state regulation, etc., - told TAdviser in the company.
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Over the past year, Sitronics Group has managed to consolidate its status as a permanent representative in the expert community. We believe that the collaboration of the public sector, educational organizations and business is the key to the success of the digital transformation of industries. Therefore, Sitronics Group participates in the development of educational programs for higher education in terms of digitalization of urban economy, actively interacts with specialized federal and regional universities, "says Olesya Safonova, director of the department for interaction with state authorities Sitronics Group.
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There are local examples - one of them - in 2021 a grant was received from RFRiT for the creation of the Digital Vodokanal product, designed for control, monitoring and dispatching of technological and production processes of water supply enterprises. It is very important that the state provides co-financing opportunities. The result is a good, high-quality, working product. It has already been implemented in Glazov (Udmurt Republic), the project is being implemented in the Belgorod Region, in addition, at the reference meeting, it was highly appreciated by representatives of Russian Utility Systems and other utilities. In addition, Digital Vodokanal is included in the base of effective cases of ANO Digital Economy, "says Dmitry Gryzunov from RuSat Infrastructure Solutions.
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Another example. In order for changes to occur at the system level, it is necessary to develop a consolidated position, a single agreed action plan, approved by all participants in local government.

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Together with the state, we are ready to develop, train employees, and help them more easily go through a period of digital transformation. For these purposes, in 2021, on the basis of our expertise, a center was created that allows you to find and apply best practices - the Center for Professional Management Communities of the Region and Municipality level. At the moment, in the center of 500 municipalities, 3,000 community members, over the past year, 42 events have been held, - added Gryzunov.
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There are results of this activity. This is an increase in requests from state customers, especially on the topic of import substitution, and, accordingly, an increase in sales volumes in this market segment by 30%, "said Viktor Dyachkov, head of the ICL group of companies.
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Expert support and feedback from our company contribute to the productive interaction between the state and the IT industry. A side effect of the activity is also an increase in the recognition of the company in the public sector, "says Vadim Shustov, Deputy General Director of Jet Infosystems.
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Personalities: "monsters" GR of the Russian IT market

The Kommersant newspaper annually publishes a rating of the Top 1000 Russian Managers, one of the blocks of which is the best directors for relations with authorities. The latest ratings from the IT market included GRschiki,,, Google Russia Yandex CIS, Mail.ru Group SAP Abbyy Russia and others. However, in the course of communication with a number of specialists in interaction with government agencies, the opinion was repeatedly voiced that real "monsters" of GR are usually not included in such ratings. The biggest weight in promoting industry and private corporate interests is held by the heads of large companies.

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In any organization of GR functions, the main GRs are the first persons of the company, CEOs and their deputies, "says Dmitry Gryzunov, Director of Corporate Communications and Client Service" RuSat Infrastructure Solutions. " - They are the owners of the largest amount of information, the most status persons, through them the information enters the authorities. The rest of the people perform for the most part technical work - accompanying decisions, letters, proposals.
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GR experts asked by TAdviser most often cite the example of the founder and director of 1C Boris Nuraliev as one of the strongest GRs in the Russian IT market, despite the fact that he is not a GR in the form in which it is usually presented.

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Boris Nuraliev certainly never needed a hired GR in its pure form, except for a GR assistant, "says one of the TAdviser specialists interviewed. - The head of "1C" participates in many working groups, including councils under the president, he has huge weight and recognition.
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For example, within the framework of the "Digital Economy," Nuraliev actively promoted the program "Personnel of the Digital Economy," says another expert.

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Boris Nuraliev actively participated in the preparation of this program, lobbied for it, and this is a huge plus. This is a useful and necessary initiative: the allocation of more budget places for the training, training of programmers. This topic was promoted by chapter "1C" for a long time. He insisted on the control figure for the release of 100 thousand programmers and turned out to be right: now there is a big drawback of programmers, - said the interlocutor of TAdviser.
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Among the other strongest figures in the same sense, experts interviewed by TAdviser named Natalya Kasperskaya, President of InfoWatch Group of Companies, as well as heads of industry associations - President of RUSSOFTValentin Makarov Association and Executive Director of APKITNikolai Komlev.

The name of Ilya Massukh, who was previously a civil servant, Deputy Minister of Communications and Mass Media, when the department was headed by Igor Shchegolev, also sounded.

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Now Ilya Massukh heads, among other things, the Center for Import Substitution Competencies in the ICT field and promotes initiatives related to import substitution. In this sense, he can also be attributed to successful lobbyists of Russian companies, which protects the Russian market from foreign suppliers and even from threats to state security from foreign companies, "one of the TAdviser specialists interviewed explained his opinion.
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However, Ilya Massukh himself does not consider himself a GR. In a conversation with TAdviser, he noted that he did not and is not going to do this function. Speaking about GR activities in general, Ilya Massukh classifies direct lobbying of the interests of individual companies as rather a bad GR, and when it comes to focusing on the breadth of the industry, he considers this a more acceptable option.

Persons and industry associations, whom the professionals interviewed by TAdviser name among the most significant when it comes to representing interests in the authorities

If you look at the people "roaming" between Rostelecom, Voskhod Research Institute, Lanit, Krokom and other major integrators, everyone knows each other in this "party." The directors of all companies in this block - GRschiki of its kind, expressed the opinion of another of the experts in a conversation with TAdviser.

TAdviser also heard the opinion that due to relatively recent appointments to VK, the company now has "unlimited opportunities" to advance its interests in the authorities. The interlocutor was referring to the appointment of Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of the deputy head of the presidential administration Sergei Kiriyenko, the general director of VK and Irina Sirenko, the former vice president for GR of Rostelecom, to a similar position in VK.

GR executives: people with connections and experience in the public sector

If we talk specifically about the heads of GR divisions, then these are usually people who have worked for a long time in the industry. And almost all key GRs of large companies have experience in government agencies, said state Denis Solodovnikov, director of interaction with the bodies of TalentTech IT holding, in a conversation with TAdviser.

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Such professionals have a large number of connections, opportunities and knowledge, where and to whom to turn, in order to reduce the path of solving the task in order to promote the interests of the company. Their knowledge and deep expertise are in great demand: they are often addressed as people who are deep in the topic of industry and regulatory problems, including how it all developed historically, explains Solodovnikov. - They also know the owners and managers of IT companies and state corporations, people who make decisions. After all, you can write an official letter and wait for an answer, or you can call and quickly get the information you need.
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Good specialists with extensive experience in the civil service are in demand in equal positions both in state corporations and in private companies. For example, they are invited to participate in discussions in various working groups, where, among other things, representatives of large businesses are present, so that the state or some ANOs that act as regulators, creating regulatory legal acts, do not make mistakes that can negatively affect the market, explains Denis Solodovnikov.

Ilya Verigin, director of work with state customers of the Biorg company, believes that state corporations and companies founded by immigrants from ministries have the strongest GR. This activity is built on personal communication, on personal contact in the first place. If you are "your own" by default, it is easier to talk with employees of state departments that make decisions, to bring to them the essence of a particular idea that the state and its citizens need.

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Most of the GRs in the largest companies have previous experience in the civil service, or sales experience in the public sector for 15 years. GR needs a good understanding of all processes in government agencies - from the peculiarities of document management to interaction with the media, - notes Ilya Verigin.
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GR salaries

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Even a weak GRschik now does not receive less than 100 thousand rubles a month, the average receives from 150-170 thousand, and more experienced - over 200 thousand rubles, - one of the specialists in interaction with government agencies gave an assessment in a conversation with TAdviser.
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Regardless of industry specifics, these data are close to the proposed salaries in current vacancies on the HH recruiting portal as of mid-April. For example, Synergy Corporation offers a GR manager with little work experience a salary of up to 100 thousand rubles[5]. In early April, SearchInform placed a GR manager vacancy with the required experience of 3-6 years[6]. The company is ready to pay such an employee up to 160 thousand rubles in hand.

Given that most of these vacancies do not openly indicate salary offers, it is difficult to give examples of the salaries of experienced GR directors from recruiting sites. However, some numbers can be found in online publications. One of them, for example, is about a GR director from the FMCG segment with a salary of 600 thousand rubles[7].

GR tools used by IT companies

Speaking about the tools that GR departments/specialists use to promote corporate and industry interests in the authorities, the companies surveyed by TAdviser most often name participation in the composition of public commissions and committees of authorities, participation in meetings, round tables held by the State Duma and various departments, joint introduction of proposals from market participants, etc. Some experts interviewed by TAdviser assign a special role to industry associations. For more information on these, see the box below.

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It is very important to be on the agenda of those changes that are planned at the state level in terms of regulatory, regulatory aspects. It is necessary to take part in the discussions of those bills that are adopted to regulate business. They regularly take place in departments where market participants are invited. This is especially significant, because it allows you to take into account business interests at the initial level, improve, suggest, since we are inside the process and can orient how to make regulatory documentation the most optimal, "said Dmitry Gryzunov, Director of Corporate Communications and Client Service" RuSat Infrastructure Solutions. "
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In FORS GROUP, for example, they give an example that a number of working groups with their participation successfully work within the framework of projects on GEOP, Gostekh, Gosmarket, NSD, etc.

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For us, this is not only important platforms for communication and exchange of experience, but also an arena where we can present our views, experience, competence, which are supported by practical experience and are often implemented in the form of ready-made digital industry platforms, - notes Andrey Burin, head of the department for work with the public sector of the FORS GROUP.
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The Sitronics Group considers participation in public expert councils under authorities, working groups, and competence centers to be the most effective in promoting corporate and industry interests.

The EOS says that their experts, within the framework of the Bank of Russia initiative, developed the concept of electronic document management of financial market participants. Also, the EOS, as part of the ARPP experts, participated in the development of proposals for changing tax legislation, developing priority areas for the development of the IT industry, measures to support it, says Alexey Malkov, First Deputy General Director of EOS Active, Director for Quality Management of EOS Group of Companies.

Strength of Industry Associations

GR professionals are almost unanimous that industry associations in IT are very important and an effective tool to advance their interests.

When it comes to promoting their interests in the authorities, one by one IT companies, even very large ones, can do little. Their "lonely" voice on the information agenda of the authorities may be lost, notes Roman Kletskikh.

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In addition, officials like to work not with any one company and not with any specific GR manager, but with the professional community, for example, with the head of the committee, representing the consolidated opinion of several dozen companies with a common problem. 15-20 companies - the numbers at which officials are usually ready to work with the committee within the association, - the representative of Naumen shared his opinion.
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There are situations when the interests of several industry associations are affected at once. In this case, organizations unite and prepare a single appeal from several hundred IT companies, members of associations to the authority. The regulator cannot but notice such a letter. Especially if information about the problem is distributed through professional media, Kletskikh added.

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The largest associations of IT developers have a lot of weight. Their work is often a success, without it receiving public publicity. But they can be seen when loud, resonant situations happen in the industry - associations know how to unite and prove themselves in an excellent way. The directors of associations, SROs and other associations are those who know everyone who has the most connections. They also perform the functions of GR and are strong in this, says Denis Solodovnikov.
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The most influential associations in the IT industry currently interviewed TAdviser are called ARPP "Domestic Software," RUSSOFT, Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises (APKiT). In the same row, the Association of Manufacturers of Electronic Equipment and Devices (ARPE) and the Computing Technology consortium are mentioned.

Roman Kletskikh considers the Association of National Champions to be one of the most promising business associations, which deals with supporting Russian private high-tech companies, leaders in development rates and export indicators. It is headed by Oleg Fomichev, a former deputy minister of economic development, in the status of chairman of the board. And Roman Kletskikh has been overseeing the IT committee in this association since September 2021.

The association has its origins in the project of the same name, which was previously carried out at the base. Ministry of Economic Development Russia Its supervisory board includes representatives of the leadership of the largest Russian corporations - customers of innovative products, development institutions and those on which the formation of the "rules of the game" depends. Support in GR and PR promotion of national champions is provided by N.V. Popova, public ombudsman in the field of protecting the rights of high-tech leading companies. The association's analytical and advisory support is provided by its representative expert council led by D.C. Medovnikov, director of the Institute of Innovation Management at the Higher School of Economics.

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I expect that soon the Association of National Champions will become one of the key tools for promoting the interests of high-tech companies in the IT industry in general, and Naumen in particular, Roman Kletskikh says.
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In addition to associations and consortia, among the significant platforms for promoting the interests of IT companies in a conversation with TAdviser, the respondents also mentioned ANO Digital Economy, where they discuss and make important decisions in the field of regulating artificial intelligence and other modern technologies, and created several years ago in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Council for the development of IT and digital economy. The latter on its site promotes tasks that concern IT companies, and in the work of which officials from ministries and departments take part.

In one of the IT companies, the person in charge of GR expressed to TAdviser the opinion that the existing largest IT associations are doing useful work, but could do more than now: "they should change at least their working methods for a long time."

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Sometimes in some working group of ASI or ANO "Digital Economy," where business is present, there is more sense than from associations. Living people work there, and in these ANOs, which are established by the state, there is an industry examination. For example, there is Oleg Fomichev. Many ministerial initiatives and changes in state programs are undergoing sectoral examination there. And they could pass it in industry associations, - says the interlocutor of TAdviser. - Sometimes it happens that, united, associations "shoot." It all depends on what influence their heads have on the government, whether they are able to correctly formulate the task and lobby for interests, how timely they come out in defense of the interests of the industry. I believe that at one time the weight of these associations was greater than it is now.
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Bright lobbying victories in the IT market

Experts in authorities interaction can give many examples of successful GR cases that are known on the market.

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As a general successful case for all Russian IT companies, of course, one can note the import substitution trend. Synchronizing with this direction of state policy, domestic companies participate in the legislative process, successfully promoting their interests and creating new opportunities for their development. For example, last year a law was passed banning the sale of electronics without pre-installed Russian software, says Eduard Voitenko.
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Also among the cases is a decrease in the amount of insurance premiums for IT companies to 7.6%, participation in the development of regulatory legal acts on import substitution of software (PP No. 1236 and FZ-188). The ARPP Digital Transformation Committee is now taking an expert part in the development of strategies for the digital transformation of state-owned companies and organizations with state participation. According to his appeal, the Ministry of Digital Engineering made changes to orders regarding methodological recommendations for the transition of state-owned companies and FOIVs to domestic software.

In addition, the committee has developed a compliance method that allows you to correlate products from the register of Russian software with one or more KPIs of the digital transformation of the Ministry of Digital Science. Based on it, a new catalog of solutions was launched in the ARPP, which is formed by the entire community of Russian developers and experts.

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As a result of the joint work of industry IT associations and the Ministry of Digital Industry in February - March 2022, proposals were prepared for measures to support IT companies, including: preferential mortgage for IT specialists, grant support for promising developments, increasing the level of wages, deferral from military service, reducing the total rate on social contributions to 7.6% for accredited IT organizations engaged in the installation, testing and maintenance of domestic solutions in the field of information technology, etc. The consolidated proposals were eventually included in the decree of the President of the Russian Federation (02.03.22 No. 83), - Roman Kletskikh gives an example.
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In the near future, it is planned to develop and adopt federal laws and resolutions of the government of the Russian Federation, which will detail the mechanisms for implementing decisions in the field of supporting the IT industry. Industry IT associations and GR specialists of IT companies plan to actively take part in this work, Kletskikh added.

Ilya Verigin notes that earlier it took a lot of GR work in order to regulate testing of an unmanned taxi on public roads. To obtain permission for such cars to travel along the streets from the traffic police, municipal and regional authorities, law enforcement agencies, it took serious efforts.

Another close example: in Rosreestr there is a large project to create a Unified Information Resource on Land and Real Estate. As part of this large task, combining various information about land, property, including testing AI to identify potentially unregistered objects from space images. But the current legislation allows you to register the object and collect taxes only at the request of the owner.

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We see that the technology is useful, so a lot of preliminary work has been done to change the legislation for its implementation. It is envisaged that municipal bodies will be able to confirm the fact of the presence of a capital construction facility and make changes to the USRN. This is an example of how federal laws have to be changed for a specific technology, - explains Ilya Verigin.
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The topic of digital sandboxes, which was supervised, can also be included in the "piggy bank" of successful GR practices: Ministry of Economic Development the law granted the authorities the right to create "sandboxes," that is, a special legal regime for those companies whose innovative activities have legislative restrictions. To Moscow In adopted a law on their "digital sandboxes," allowing, under certain conditions, to move away from the existing regulation and try to do something within certain limits that goes against the current legislation.

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The initiatives with which the Russian IT industry usually collectively comes out are very competent, so they usually resonate, and the government most often supports them. The IT industry in this sense was lucky, because most of the initiatives have always been supported sooner or later: for example, in terms of benefits, import substitution, and experimental "sandboxes," says Denis Solodovnikov.
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Another example: when the pandemic began, it became clear that IT companies would not be able to fulfill their obligations under the imposed restrictions. If they cannot work and move around the city, then everything can end very badly. For example, servers may collapse, because not everything can be serviced remotely. As a result, even if everyone goes home, the life of the metropolis can be paralyzed. And representatives of the IT industry, when a lockdown was introduced in Moscow, managed to explain to the Moscow government that IT companies should be on the list of exceptions among continuous cycle companies.

Why does a GR need an official?

Companies engage with authorities to advance their corporate interests. But the authorities representing their officials also have interest in interacting with GR specialists. One of the key factors that this interest is associated with, some of the experts surveyed by TAdviser name the industry expertise and analytics that GRs possess.

Officials at all levels need an industry analyst, which they were instructed to regulate, says Roman Kletskikh. For example, an examination of various initiatives that are often "lowered from above." In other words, they need to understand what "pains," problems, administrative barriers are in the industry, which they lack for development. They call and text to find out. As a source of such data, the GR manager is especially interesting to them if he has a "public status": for example, he is a member of the board of an industry association, heads a relevant committee in it, regularly speaks at various events in ministries and departments, gives interviews in the media, or if they just know him well.

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A GR specialist for them is the very beam of light, a channel of reliable, up-to-date and timely information received. Officials understand that only in cooperation with the industry is it possible to achieve win-win and thereby fulfill personal KPIs, says Kletskikh.
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Firstly, no one has canceled human relations: from the fact that someone has changed their place of work, the already established relations do not stop, people continue to communicate, - Denis Solodovnikov explains the reasons for the communication of officials with GRs. - Secondly, GRschikov has an examination. It often happens that when changing the leadership, composition of a state body, industry expertise in it may be lost, and people who previously held it now work in the private sector. But after the transition, they know no less. Therefore, officials turn to them for expertise after changing their place of work.
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It is not prohibited to use such expertise, and moreover, it is necessary to protect the interests of the domestic IT industry. Therefore, of course, officials communicate with representatives of Russian companies and will communicate.

Ilya Verigin believes that over the past decade, the format of officials has changed a lot: if 15 years ago these were mainly people of the "old school," now there are many officials open to everything new, perceiving new values. Now the work of many government agencies is based on a different principle than before - on change management.

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Officials of the new formation think about the needs of the department - how to make the work better from the point of view of the citizen, the department itself, from the point of view of optimizing the state, etc. Tasks often go down to them not "from above," the official has now become more independent, "says Verigin. - He has more authority to initiate something that his department needs, the industry. Therefore, the official is now in a constant search for a new one. If you used to send a letter with a proposal for an idea, and it could go unanswered, now, if you write through an e-mail with a really interesting idea, then you can be called back within a few minutes.
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Ilya Verigin gives his own example of interaction with the Moscow government. He formulated the idea, immediately opened an electronic reception office from his smartphone, turned to a specific deputy head, and 7 minutes later they called back and invited him to a meeting.

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Therefore, from the point of view of a GR official, this is not a person who is immediately trying to sell something to him, but a source of new ideas. And if the idea is reasonable, and GRschik has the expertise to issue the idea, this finds a response, - summed up the director of work with state customers of the Biorg company.
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GR Headache: Unresolved and Difficult to Resolve

Are there any outstanding questions for GRischik, and which are the most difficult? Eduard Voitenko believes that the most difficult are those projects that run counter to the trend of state policy. In this case, it is extremely difficult to influence legislative or political processes, but until a certain point it remains possible to maintain the current position in the industry for as long as possible.

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Unresolved issues are always associated with the inability to overcome the unequivocal political will of an official authorized to make decisions, "Voitenko added.
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Sometimes it happens that the state is conducting some underdeveloped, rather "raw" initiatives that have not been discussed with the industry. And so that the losses of companies because of this were not large, an instant reaction is needed, Denis Solodovnikov believes. The greatest difficulty in such situations is the lack of time and information. If the information is received in a timely manner, if lobbyists learned about the risks in advance, the losses will be less. With little time, it's always harder to work.

The most difficult thing is changes in legislation, because these are lengthy processes, in addition to the mass of bureaucracy, Ilya Verigin believes.

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At the same time, I would not say that there are completely unsolvable issues. Unless the case rests on a position, for example, the FSB, which is extremely difficult to change. The FSB can always write a negative review to the latest version of the bills. For example, a change in the law will not be missed for anti-terrorist security reasons. But even here you can change something on the go, flexibility is required, - Verigin is sure.
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Another difficulty, as in sales, can arise when a decision maker falls out of the team: when it unexpectedly changes, for example, CDTO, which was the initiator of some unique interdepartmental idea. A new person comes who does not perceive this idea. In these cases, you have to do the work again. There are no unresolved issues, says Roman Kletskikh. The question is only in time and in external conditions, which may or may not be favorable for the solution. If a difficult task, which objectively requires a year for execution (the bill is being formed in the State Duma for so long), is given three months, then even for a very experienced GR specialist it will be "unsolvable."

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In addition, sometimes problems that seem unsolvable become solvable when the environment changes. For example, promoting the topic of import substitution of software has been very difficult for many years, until in 2014 at the SPIEF President Vladimir Putin announced a software import substitution program. After that, it became much easier to promote Russian decisions in state authorities and state corporations, "says Kletskikh.
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And the suspension of work and withdrawal from the Russian market of foreign IT companies (Microsoft, SAP, Autodesk, etc.) against the background of events in Ukraine significantly accelerated the transition of state and commercial organizations to domestic software.

Roman Kletskikh cites as an example one of the current difficult problems that, in his opinion, needs to be solved:

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Now one of the pains of "market" IT companies is the IT subsidiaries of state corporations, which begin to compete strongly with market players, using often not market, but administrative methods and resources. There have been a lot of such recently, and there are several reasons for this. Among them are such as: the KPIs that the state "supplied" to them, the orientation towards the production of "civilian" products and partly the tax breaks that the state has provided to all IT companies recently. As a result, state corporations began to withdraw their IT departments to individual companies, register software written "for themselves" in the register of domestic software.
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It is very difficult for market companies to compete with state corporations. GR specialists will have to reasonably and systematically "explain" to the state what threatens this situation in the IT industry and offer solutions that are acceptable to everyone. Such a solution may be, for example, the creation of joint ventures with the participation of state corporations and market IT companies, and such examples of collaboration already exist on the market, says Kletskikh.

GR and bribes: Is there a connection?

There is no connection between the GR instruments and the bribe given to the official, Eduard Voitenko notes. Bribery as one of the manifestations of corruption is a crime for which criminal punishment is provided. The use of GR- and lobbying technologies is exclusively in the legal field and is subordinate to legal and ethical standards, and the main tool for communication with the state is a high-quality comprehensive examination.

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If the company uses illegal methods of interaction with the authorities, including in violation of anti-corruption legislation, such interaction cannot be called GR. In this sense, the corruption component, in addition to being a crime, also devalues the role of expertise, which, as noted, is of key importance in the provision of GR- and lobbying services, - said the CEO of Baikal Communications Group.
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Some GRs risk crossing the line from permitted relationships to prohibited ones, says Denis Solodovnikov. If GR moves to direct bribery - that is, to illegal activities - he will face law enforcement agencies. People who do not know the law sufficiently, who do not know how to work in this market, can substitute both their colleagues in the civil service and forever spoil the reputation of their company.

Ilya Verigin believes that there is no connection between civilized GR and bribery.

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Together with a generation of officials who are result-oriented, the world has improved. They solve problems aimed at development, respond to the request of society. For this reason, there is no need for a qualified GR to bribe someone. It is much easier for him to explain the real benefits of a project for the state and citizens. And if the project is really worthwhile, then it is a priori beneficial to everyone, including the official who helps to implement it, because KPI, career growth and the well-being of a civil servant depend on the success of the enterprise, Verigin notes.
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Judging by what can be seen in the media, bribes exist in nature, and the state punishes them, says Roman Kletskikh. But GR is not about bribes. The satisfaction of industry players from interaction with the state is also needed by the officials themselves:

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IT companies do not have any factories, factories, almost all property is intellectual, and the main asset is people. Even offices are often not owned, but rented. The state is interested in IT companies remaining in Russian jurisdiction. For this, for example, the first and second packages of measures to support the IT industry were developed, the third was on the way. Additional measures have already been taken to support IT companies. Of course, there is something to improve. And industry associations are working on this with the state.
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In addition, the IT industry has other tools of "influence": for example, media reports. After them, an official can be asked "upstairs." Also, officials receive high-quality analytics from the industry and GR managers, which they need.

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Well, and of course, the GR specialist is not engaged in sales, but works with regulation, with a regulatory framework. Offer an official a bribe to rewrite the law? There are other effective tools to achieve what IT companies need for development, - says Roman Kletskikh.
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Review author: Natalia Lavrentieva, deputy editor-in-chief of TAdviser.

Notes