TYUMEN (Realist English). Russia is entering a new stage of artificial intelligence (AI) deployment across its regions, Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff Dmitry Grigorenko said during the 18th Tyumen Digital Forum “Infotech”, the country’s leading regional event dedicated to AI and digital governance.
Speaking at a panel session on the use of AI in regional public administration, Grigorenko said that the government had moved from piloting technologies to system-wide scaling of AI solutions and from counting the number of implementations to evaluating their quality and effectiveness.
“The question of whether AI should be introduced in the regions is no longer relevant — we have already moved to systemic scaling,” Grigorenko said. “The focus is now on ensuring that solutions are efficient, secure, and deliver measurable results.”
Since early 2025, integrating AI has become a mandatory requirement for the approval and funding of federal and regional digital transformation programs. The presence of AI systems is also a key performance indicator for regional digital transformation leaders, assessed by the availability of data infrastructure, data centers, and verified AI applications.
From September 2025, only verified AI solutions are officially recognized as implemented. These verified tools are published on the Digital Region platform, developed with the support of the Government’s Center for AI Development. Each system undergoes evaluation for deployment readiness, efficiency, and compliance with cybersecurity standards. Currently, 149 AI solutions from 26 Russian regions have been published, with Moscow, Belgorod, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, and Tatarstan among the leaders.
Grigorenko emphasized the importance of balancing federal coordination and regional initiative in scaling up AI technologies:
“Our goal is to find balance between promoting digital leadership and ensuring digital equality. We’re providing federal-level, ready-to-use AI solutions so that even regions with limited resources can test and deploy them. At the same time, we’re encouraging initiative through transformation rankings that reward regional innovation,” he said.
According to Grigorenko, the first measurable effects of AI adoption are already visible. In Tatarstan, an AI-based urban monitoring system has improved the efficiency of public services — enabling authorities to clean streets 50% faster after snowfalls and identify road defects 48 times quicker than before (within one hour instead of two days).
In Novosibirsk region, AI assistants have been integrated into administrative workflows to process citizen inquiries, generate meeting reports, and manage documentation — freeing up up to 60% of civil servants’ working time for more strategic tasks.
The Tyumen region, which annually hosts the Infotech forum, is also among the most active adopters of AI. Its transport monitoring system uses AI to detect traffic accidents with 70% accuracy, optimize bus routes, and reduce road incidents. AI-driven systems now help register and categorize citizen requests, cutting processing time by 25%, and a smart video analytics platform has already helped police solve over 20 crimes and detain around 60 wanted suspects in the first half of 2025 alone.
Despite the growing use of AI, Grigorenko underscored that the technology is intended to assist, not replace, human specialists. “AI serves as a tool for automating routine operations and processing large data sets, allowing people to focus on analysis, decision-making, and strategic development,” he said.
