18:07, 04 January 2026

Russian Regions Deploy Advanced Technologies Across Public Services

The Orenburg Region is rolling out a suite of homegrown IT solutions in healthcare, education, and social welfare.

The Orenburg Region is actively developing its own system of digital services designed to improve residents’ quality of life. Built with regional specifics in mind, these solutions automate processes and fundamentally reshape how citizens interact with the state, making that interaction faster and simpler. Ivan Gorlov, deputy minister of digital development of the Orenburg Region, outlined the initiatives to IT-Russia.

Medical Assistant and Virtual Aide

Healthcare has become one of the key priorities of the region’s digital transformation. Among the flagship services is the Elektronny Retzept system (Electronic Prescription), now used by more than 3,000 residents of the Orenburg Region. It allows patients to obtain subsidized and paid medications via a QR code, eliminating the need for paper documents. Another widely used tool is the Medical Assistant chatbot in the MAX messenger, which patients use to book doctor appointments or request home visits.

Special attention has also been given to the Virtual Assistant of the Orenburg Region. This intelligent system processed more than 223,000 requests last year. The assistant handles phone calls and written inquiries, helping residents quickly obtain information or schedule appointments with officials. Where possible, parts of these interactions are conducted automatically.

“Our goal is to create a seamless and user-friendly digital environment. We are moving from fragmented automation toward building an integrated ecosystem where technology addresses everyday needs. For example, booking a doctor’s appointment now requires only a call to the short number 122 or a message to the assistant on the website. This is a real simplification of daily life,” Gorlov said.

Rethinking Processes

Digital transformation is also extending into other critical areas. The regional Tsifrovoe Obrazovanie system (Digital Education) has been integrated with the federal Moya Shkola platform (My School). Parents now have access to a unified electronic gradebook and can enroll their children in schools remotely.

Thanks to upgrades to the Electronic Social Register, benefit payments are now assigned more quickly and government support has become easier to obtain. Meanwhile, the Children’s Recreation and Wellness module has enabled the issuance of more than 3,000 electronic certificates, sparing parents the need to visit multiple offices to collect paperwork.

“We are not simply transferring paper forms into apps – we are rethinking processes. The Ya Shagayu! service, which already brings together 12,000 users and encourages physical activity through the Sportivnyi Aktiv Orenburzhya project, is a vivid example of how technology can improve lifestyles,” Gorlov said.

This approach, in which one digital service reinforces another, represents an advanced model of public administration.

Public administration and services for citizens