Tula Region to Introduce a Digital Family Passport
Through a chatbot, residents will be able to access government services through a one-stop shop. Similar technologies could later be introduced in other regions across Russia.
The idea of introducing a digital family passport called Moya Semya-71 (My Family 71) received support at a meeting with Tula Region Governor Dmitry Milyaev. The system will help residents find out which social assistance programs they are eligible for and access government services through a one-stop shop. It will tailor available services, benefits and payments to each family's individual circumstances. The idea originated at the Transformers: Service to the Motherland educational forum. The digital passport is also expected to use a chatbot called SotsioKalkulyator 71 (SocioCalculator 71), which will operate in the MAX messaging app. The regional Ministry of Social Protection is currently developing the bot, with the Territory of Happiness project team participating in its testing. The chatbot is scheduled to launch by November 15.
The Tula Region is moving toward digital services that eliminate the need for residents to search for relevant information themselves. Such solutions are expected to drive demand for Russian software, chatbot platforms, interagency data exchange systems and tools for automating government services.
AI and Proactive Services
To become a fully functional information service, the chatbot will need to be integrated over the next few years with the region's existing social protection infrastructure, particularly the Semya 71 (Family 71) portal. It will also need to connect to federal infrastructure, including the Unified Centralized Digital Platform for the Social Sphere, developed by the Social Fund of Russia. These integrations would pave the way for proactive services. AI technologies could also be used to understand questions submitted by residents in ordinary conversational language. However, decisions on granting social assistance must still be reviewed by people and comply with applicable laws.
If the Tula project proves successful, it could attract interest from other Russian regions, which would be able to adopt individual components, such as software modules and configuration settings. Its export potential, however, is more limited: the product is designed around Russian legislation and domestic state information systems. Even so, Russian platform solutions for social protection could eventually be offered to customers abroad, particularly in other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. For now, developers will need to address all potential risks, including ensuring robust protection of personal data and keeping it up to date. Otherwise, the system could generate inaccurate recommendations.
One-Stop Government Services
Automated systems for notifying residents about benefits and payments they may be entitled to are continually evolving. Back in 2022, residents were informed about how to check their eligibility for benefits through the Gosuslugi (Public Services) portal, which introduced a proactive notification system. At the same time, the legal and technological foundations for a unified digital social protection platform were taking shape. In July 2023, Federal Law No. 293-FZ, providing for the creation of such a platform, was adopted. In December of that year, the Russian government approved the regulations governing its operation. The Social Fund of Russia became the platform's operator.
Meanwhile, Gosuslugi began introducing more one-stop services. In 2024, for example, it launched a Life Situation service for families with multiple children. The Unified Digital Platform also brought together information from various government agencies, including the Federal Tax Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Rosreestr, the Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography. Regional services began to emerge later, in 2026. The Republic of Tuva launched a social support chatbot in MAX, while Primorsky Krai introduced a unified information navigator for families with children. At the federal level, families also began receiving assistance from a chatbot.
Similar initiatives are emerging in other countries. Kazakhstan, for example, has introduced a Digital Family Card to automate the assignment of social assistance.
One Solution for All Regions
The main priority for the coming years is to develop the SotsioKalkulyator 71 chatbot and integrate it into the region's digital government services ecosystem. If its recommendations prove accurate and the service is convenient and easy to use, it could become the foundation for further development of the digital family passport. The next steps could include extending the service to other population groups, integrating it with government information systems and introducing proactive notifications about available assistance programs.
If other Russian regions can use shared software components to build family profiles, configure social programs and automate administrative processes, they will not need to develop separate information systems from scratch. This would make it possible to replicate the solutions across all Russian regions.
