FORMATION OF STRUCTURAL UNITS OF LOCAL BODIES OF STATE EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY ON ISSUES OF COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC

Abstract

The article examines the process of forming structural units of regional state administrations, which are tasked with ensuring communication with the public. Based on the results of the study of regulatory legal acts of the government and local regulatory legal acts of a number of regional state administrations, it was stated that this was a long process. It is noted that its result was the formation of a complex structural unit, the work of which includes interaction with the press, analytics on domestic policy in the region and interaction with the public. It is noted that only over time, public authorities in their work refused to separate public organizations of national minorities and religious communities, which allowed the creation of a single communication space with the public. It is emphasized that in the process of developing structural units of regional state administrations, they underwent a significant transformation, which was also reflected in the change of name. It is suggested that the previous formulation of “public relations” in the name of the relevant structural units reflects the influence on public opinion and its management. Instead, the concept of “communication” significantly expands the boundaries and horizons of interaction and cooperation between public authorities and civil society. According to the results of the analysis of information on the official websites of a number of regional state administrations regarding the structure of the Department of Information Activities and Public Communications, it was found that at the level of the names of departments and divisions, the option “public relations” remains. The opinion was expressed that this does not reflect all the tasks that objectively face public administration bodies in establishing communication with the public for the construction of a modern democratic state based on the rule of law.