Problems are far from always unraveled by the authorities. To resolve the resonant case, the intervention of the common people is necessary. But how to come to him? With the development of the Internet, the consolidation of society has become more real. There are many resources by which society can voice opinions and solve problems. The largest initiative platform in Russia is the ROI - the Russian public initiative. The creation and principles of this system will be described in our material.
How does the public initiative system work?
For a long time, Russians used the Change.org platform, created by the Americans in 2007. The system was popular, but did not have a special effect on power. A large number of petitions were simply ignored. It was decided to create a similar platform.
In 2012, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed creating an online platform for domestic production. Her goal would be to consider civic initiatives. The principle of operation of such a system is very simple: a single initiative should collect 100 thousand signatures for its consideration in the State Duma.
How to vote on ROI?
There was a good reason for the authorities to ignore the Chang.org petitions. There, allegedly possible cheating of votes. You can register on the American platform several times from different accounts. In the case of ROI, everything is somewhat different. Entrance to the site is possible only with a passport. If the Russian has an account on the State Services portal, then the data from there can be transported to the ROI.
The principle of voting for public initiatives is quite simple. The site has a list of offers. For each of them, you can vote for or against. If the initiative gains 35 thousand votes, then it automatically gets deposited in the State Duma. With a set of 100 thousand votes, the initiative will be definitely considered.
How many initiatives have been submitted?
Calculating the number of public initiatives filed since 2012 will not be so simple. At the beginning of 2017, the creators of the site announced 9.5 thousand petitions. Of these, 8.3 thousand were federal, the rest regional. 2 thousand were under coordination, the rest were sent to the archive.
Most of the petitions come from residents of Moscow and the Moscow region. In second place is the northern capital - St. Petersburg. Next are the Rostov and Sverdlovsk regions, followed by the Perm Territory.
It is known that by 2017 only 14 projects were able to gain the required 100 thousand votes, and only one initiative was implemented. For many, this is puzzling. Some users claim that the authorities are confidently circumventing "uncomfortable" issues, and sometimes even remove them from the site. So, the first petition to get the right number of votes was the initiative of the Russian opposition and the head of the FBK, Alexei Navalny. The politician advocated for "freedom of the Internet." Oddly enough, it was this public initiative that was removed from the site. The Anti-Corruption Fund filed another petition, which also disappeared in an unknown way.
Next, you should consider the most sensational initiatives that have been seen in the ROI system.
Initiatives taken
"To prohibit officials and employees of state-owned companies from purchasing cars worth over 1.5 million rubles." That is how the first initiative at the ROI sounded, gaining the necessary 100 thousand votes. The petition was made by the founder of FBK, Alexei Navalny. The expert group found the initiative inappropriate and removed the petition. However, after a year, the Government nevertheless reacted. Officials were limited in purchasing cars worth over 2.5 million rubles. Thus, the system of the Russian public initiative initially discredited itself. Many citizens refused to interact with the portal and returned to Change.org. But such a step is unlikely to have at least some effect.
In 2013, the initiative "My home is my castle" was adopted. The petitioners proposed to legalize any self-defense actions committed by citizens in their own home. The initiative was approved, but the corresponding law was never adopted.
In 2014, Navalny “surfaced” again. He suggested punishing officials for illegal enrichment, which would be consistent with Article 20 of the UN Convention on Corruption. Members of the Federation Council rejected the initiative, calling its possible implementation "illegal."
The only project brought to life was the proposal to organize a green shield around Moscow. The authors of the project proposed to limit deforestation. The relevant law was adopted in 2016.
Critique of the ROI system
The Russian analogue of Change.org has been criticized by many. The society recalled possible fraud, technological flaws, and, finally, zero support for public initiative. Over the five years of the platform’s existence, almost no project has been implemented. The scandal of what was happening was added by the authorities’ unwillingness to fight corruption.
The development of public initiative at the regional level is not worth mentioning at all. If only 0.3% of federal projects get to the goal, then what can change in the subjects?
It is possible to optimize the ROI system, but decisive action is required for this. Firstly, it is worth lowering the bar of the minimum number of votes. Secondly, cases of rejection of large projects should automatically be considered by federal courts of general jurisdiction. Finally, it would be fair to refer regional projects to local governments. Any such actions could cool the platform, make it more accessible and effective.