AI to Help Russian Officials Process Citizen Requests

Researchers say the system can analyze 10,000 appeals in just 40 minutes, dramatically cutting through government paperwork.

Scientists at South Ural State University in Chelyabinsk have developed an AI-powered program that automates the processing of citizen requests sent to government agencies. The system, already being piloted in the regional government, can analyze up to 10,000 appeals in just 40 minutes.

The technology was designed to handle the surge of electronic submissions that local officials face. In Chelyabinsk Region, the number of appeals grew from 3,600 in 2012 to 124,000 in 2020. Many of these—such as complaints about heating failures—require urgent attention. The AI automatically registers submissions, classifies them with 99 percent accuracy, and routes them to the right officials.

Developers achieved this performance by using machine learning and natural language processing to parse text at scale. The system is currently being tested by the Office for Citizen Requests and the Project Office for Business Climate Improvement in Chelyabinsk Region.

It is the first system in Russia to combine this range of functions, and officials note that citizen feedback processing plays a key role in evaluating the performance of regional and municipal governments nationwide.