Yakutia-Built AI Assistant Reaches the Donetsk People's Republic
The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) is continuing to expand the use of artificial intelligence tools across government agencies. The Obrashchaysya (Request It!) AI assistant, now in use by the Donetsk city administration, has been verified by Russia's Ministry of Digital Development and added to the federal Digital Region catalog.
The Obrashchaysya digital assistant has been confirmed as meeting all the ministry's requirements. The platform was originally developed by SAKHAVISION, an IT company based in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), using Sber's GigaChat language model. In summer 2026, the DPR received a standardized version of the solution that could be adapted to local needs.
The AI legal assistant was first tested at the region's Ministry of Digital Development before being deployed by the Donetsk city administration. The Obrashchaysya system is expected to be introduced in Mariupol and Snezhnoye in the near future.
What sets the AI assistant apart is its primary focus on municipal government. Its main purpose is to speed up the processing of requests submitted to local administrations through multiple channels, from official email accounts to social media. For municipal employees, the platform works like a personal dashboard, bringing together incoming requests that have already been processed by AI. The assistant analyzes each request, identifies the agency or official who may be responsible for handling it, suggests possible solutions and drafts a response. The final decision remains with a human employee.
The system's developers set a three-minute target for response times. Donetsk has not yet reached that benchmark. However, according to Kirill Makarov, the DPR's First Deputy Prime Minister, the time needed to prepare a draft document has fallen from two hours to 40 minutes. Since the system went live, it has been used to prepare 579 responses and documents and provide 174 legal consultations.
Deploying the Obrashchaysya AI assistant can reduce the administrative workload on local government employees while helping residents receive faster responses to their requests.
Scaling Up and Expanding Capabilities
The further development of the Obrashchaysya platform aligns with the goals of the Data Economy and Digital Transformation of the State national project. One of the project's priorities is to introduce artificial intelligence technologies into public administration. As of October 2026, the Digital Region portal had registered 509 AI solutions from regions across Russia.
The Obrashchaysya AI assistant is already being rolled out across multiple regions. It has been tested in 20 regions and deployed in 11. The DPR also plans to extend the experience gained in Donetsk to other municipalities across the republic. Meanwhile, developers are working to expand the platform's capabilities. Planned upgrades include integration with both regional and federal ministries and government agencies.
From Yakutia to Regions Across Russia
The system was first launched on a trial basis in 2022. Initially, it combined features of a messaging app, social network and email service with tools for processing public requests. By 2024, the platform had evolved into a specialized neural-network-based tool for municipal governments. Its capabilities were expanded to include an AI legal assistant that works with documents and regulatory materials.
In 2025, more than 1,000 companies and institutions in Yakutia were using the system. The AI legal assistant was adopted by 32 executive government agencies and 287 municipalities. Expansion into other regions had begun as early as 2023. Buryatia was the first to adopt Obrashchaysya, followed by the Amur Region, Zabaykalskiy Kray and Primorye.
Adopting Proven Solutions Instead of Building From Scratch
The deployment of Obrashchaysya in the DPR and its inclusion in the federal catalog demonstrate how successful regional technology projects can be adopted across Russia. Municipalities and regional governments no longer need to commit substantial resources to developing their own systems. The flexibility of existing platforms makes it possible to adapt them quickly to local requirements.
Since municipal governments handle the largest share of public requests, AI assistants can significantly reduce the routine workload on their staff. This is particularly important in the DPR, where there is a shortage of legal professionals. The most important benefit is not simply AI's ability to draft a well-written response, but its potential to help government agencies resolve residents' problems faster.
