AI Testbed: Bashkortostan to Deploy AI Services Across Regional Government
By the end of the year, the Government of Bashkortostan plans to launch its first pilot AI services across regional executive agencies. Human officials, however, will continue to make all final decisions.
The Government of Bashkortostan has begun a structured program to introduce artificial intelligence into the work of the republic's executive agencies. The initiative starts with two initial phases: assessing each ministry's and agency's readiness to use AI, followed by identifying administrative processes where AI can deliver the greatest value. The government then plans to launch one pilot AI service in each executive agency, prepare the required datasets and train civil servants. The goal is to complete these steps before the end of the year.
As AI services are introduced, citizen requests and government documents are expected to be processed more quickly. A substantial share of routine administrative work will be automated, while budget planning should become more accurate. Though, residents are unlikely to notice immediate changes until specific services are launched. For now, the priority is building the organizational and technological foundation needed to support them. In that respect, Bashkortostan could become a testing ground for standardized AI solutions that can later be adopted across multiple agencies and regions.
Bashkortostan's Experience With AI
Once deployed across regional government, AI services could support request classification and routing, document preparation, information retrieval, analytics and forecasting, as well as voice and text assistants for both residents and public employees. Similar applications already exist at the federal level, where AI has become part of monitoring national projects and government programs.
Russia is also developing the federal Dashboard gubernatora (Governor's Dashboard) digital platform, which has already been connected to every region in the country. In the future, AI tools developed in Bashkortostan could enhance the platform with automated data analysis and decision-support recommendations.
From Citizen Engagement to National Project Oversight
The Russian government has been building experience with AI in public administration for several years. In 2022, Moscow formally adopted AI across healthcare, transportation, public safety, government services and resident engagement. A year later, a study by the National AI Development Center found that 13% of regional executive authorities were already using AI technologies, while another 32% planned to adopt them. During the same period, AI also began monitoring the performance of Moscow's public contact centers.
In 2024, the Russian government instructed the regions to prepare updated digital transformation programs. In 2025, AI was introduced into the monitoring of national projects and government programs. That same year, Russian regions also connected to the Dashboard gubernatora platform.
AI Supports Decisions – It Does Not Make Them
Bashkortostan is now moving toward a unified regional framework for introducing AI into public administration. A comprehensive implementation strategy is likely to become one of the project's greatest strengths, beginning with process audits, data assessments, workforce preparation and the identification of priority use cases. The first pilot deployments will most likely focus on document management, message processing, reporting and tracking the execution of government directives. Healthcare, transportation, housing and utilities, construction and social services are expected to follow.
The work of public officials will also evolve. AI systems will take over data retrieval, initial document processing and preparation of analytical materials, while responsibility for final decisions will remain with people. The project's success will ultimately be measured through tangible improvements: fewer errors, lower costs and faster public services.
