Political Effects of Digital Transformation of Urban Governance (On the Example of Moscow)

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the study of particular political effects of digitalization of urban governance in the Russian Federation. Based on the concept of «surveillance capitalism» and research on the digital transformation of public administration, the authors analyzes the structure and logic of functioning of the «smart city» model using the example of Moscow. Based on the material of street protests, the political effects of the use of digital infrastructure by the city authorities, in particular, camera systems with face recognition technologies, are examined. The study of the Russian situation correlates with the latest decisions of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and the European Union’s initiatives to control remote biometric recognition technologies.