Strategic Planning in Russia: From National to Local Government Approaches

Abstract

This chapter provides information on the origin, establishment and development of strategic planning in the Russian Federation (Russia). St. Petersburg was the first city in Russia to adopt a strategic plan, in 1997, after which strategic planning found its way to other Russian cities and regions. Strategic planning was first initiated at the grassroots level rather than at the top levels of public authority. It was only in 2014 that strategic planning processes were standardised and formalised in Russian legislation. In Russia, strategic planning has become an important tool of state and municipal governance. Not only public authorities, but also scientific, community-based and political organisations, as well as the business community and civic activists all, contribute to the development and implementation of strategic planning documents. Strategic planning involves coordinating the interests of the key stakeholders in the development territory and it has a number of complex problems. These are largely due to lack of consistency, firstly between strategic planning documents adopted at different levels of public authority, and secondly between the provisions and parameters of documents relating to different types of planning. The final part of the chapter presents the main findings regarding the improvement of approaches to strategic planning in Russia.