RUSSIAN 'CIVILIZED' LOBBYING

Civilized lobbying for Russians means any activity that excludes corruption. The Russian Economic News Agency Nezavisimaya Gazeta publishes regular surveys of the country’s most influential lobbyists. The objective of the surveys is to determine the effectiveness of the work of the representatives of commercial and government agencies, parliamentarians in lobbying for projects that reflect the interests of certain entities, industries, regions. Civilized lobbing is defined as protecting one's own interests and does not imply bribery of officials or deputies. In addition to regional leaders, the rating includes members of the government of the Russian Federation, heads of federal agencies, state Duma deputies and the CEOs of major companies who manage to get their projects approved. In June 2013, the first place was awarded to the Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin followed by the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov in the list “Regional leaders” showing strong performance.

Professional lobbyists in the usual Western sense are conspicuous by their absence.

The professional community of lobbyists who is interested in promoting the standards of ethical lobbying in Russia is still relatively small and weak. The present state of affairs looks pretty much like a vicious circle in which none of the parties involved – providers of lobbying services, clients (business) and their counterparts in government - are able to change the situation for the better even if they want to. Civilized lobbying needs to be supported at the state level. What Russia needs is a legal basis for the representation of private interests (including access to government information and participation in preliminary consultations, allocating some state resources for supporting the activities of business associations and investments for training Russian specialists in lobbying.

As the Russian lobbying industry matures, companies will want to work with public affairs consultancies and lobbying firms that are ethical and transparent. Gradually, changes will  affect public officials as well. Civilized lobbying is the specific value of mature and well-established political cultures, in which representatives of authority are less inclined to engage in ‘adventures’ and trading their status and influence for cash.