Reform in the media

Online State

The idea of an inter-agency website for managing state property was conceived long five years ago, says Alexei Uvarov, director of a department at the Ministry of Economic Development. Last year, the portal went on a trial run when a presidential decree on the reduction of the list of strategic enterprises was drafted. “It turned out to the functioning. This was reported [to First Vice-Prime Minister Igor] Shuvalov, and he liked the idea.” Shuvalov then ordered the project to be developed further (Vedomosti has the relevant document of April 8 signed by him).
The portal (ca.rosim.ru/mpugs) has been working publicly since February. At this point it is used for gathering and summarizing information on state-owned enterprises, says a Rosimushchestvo spokesman (he is not aware of any plans to develop the portal). The ministries and agencies will interact through the portal on the majority of matters related to the management of state property. This will accelerate document processing, a Ministry of Economic Development official said. In particular, it will serve as a place for coordinating directives to government representatives. Currently, such coordination is possible only on paper, and electronic coordination has yet to be legalized, Vedomosti’s source said. He admitted that the website has to be effectively protected in order to guarantee a secure electronic document flow.
The full text is available at:  http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/2010/05/07/233624