The lobbying institution is a major political and legal phenomenon, which has a significant impact on democratic governance in society. As guarantor of the representation and protection of multiple social groups’ and business community’s interests, lobbying is designed to solve a range of public-interest challenges.

The application of an advanced lobbying toolkit in public governance allows for the consideration of different, even opposite interests of individuals and their associations in decision-making processes. In this regard, the lobbying institution fosters the self-organization of civil society and mutually beneficial dialogue between its representatives and public authorities.

Successful interaction with government bodies, recently, has become an essential prerequisite for the development of businesses and NGOs. The execution of major commercial projects, social responsibility programs, and long-term investment strategies is unattainable without establishing effective communications that align with the state interests. Furthermore, there is a growing demand for representing business and NGO interests not only with federal and regional authorities but also in supranational frameworks, inter alia, in the agencies of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). GR and lobbying mechanisms can secure strategic alignment between member states and mitigate regulatory risks in unified markets.

GR and lobbying technique can mitigate negative effects of governmental operations, namely, heavily bureaucratic decision-making, abuse of official authority, and similar issues. Consequently, the tools can be effectively employed both to combat corruption and to cultivate high standards of legal culture in society.

Effectively addressing these objectives through transparent legal tools ultimately enhances the efficacy of legal regulation and ensures sustained functioning of a political system that integrates diverse interests of population groups across social, economic, and cultural spheres of public life.

In this context, it is not only the client that can be the beneficiary of lobbying services. The government also needs to build dialogue with businesses and civil society organizations to develop most efficient approaches both for addressing specific challenges and for advancing democratic values overall.

Lobbying is a complex activity encompassing multiple functions, including communications, analytics, legal affairs, crisis management, and more.

It resides on two fundamental principles: the legitimacy of the interest being advocated and the use of transparent legal tools.

First and foremost, it involves a comprehensive, high-quality expertise. This includes legislative and regulatory analysis, risk assessment, effective strategy formulation, and outcome forecasting. It is precisely this expert evaluation, rather than the potential for informal, closed-door resolution of socio-political issues (as is commonly perceived), that constitutes the true value of lobbying and GR techniques.

In theory, the GR (Government Relations) function implies establishing and maintaining interaction with government authorities at the federal, regional, and local levels. Lobbying, on the other hand, is aimed at influencing political and administrative decision-making on behalf of specific interest groups.

In individual cases, however, these competencies overlap and are often implemented in an integrated manner. Therefore, in practice, the distinction between GR and lobbying is most evident in the organizational structure of the service market. It consists of in-house specialists working within corporate GR departments, and external consultants—lobbyists—who manage diverse projects portfolios. Today, the CEO of any large corporation typically recognizes the importance of the GR function and establishes a dedicated department that oversees Government Relations. At the same time, GR and lobbying consultants often possess broader expertise and more versatile experience. Therefore, internal and external specialists frequently work together at implementing joint lobbying projects tackling industry-specific issues and strategic objectives.

To date, Russia’s lobbying service market is at its fledgling stage. This relates to the historical peculiarities of the socio-political system development, the absence of specialized educational programs in lobbying and GR, and a certain lack of public trust toward the lobbying profession. As a result, the limited number of industry experts have to face misperceptions about the essence of lobbying, whilst companies suffer from the deficit of professionals who could bring in necessary competencies and effectively manage lobbying projects. Therefore, in light of an immense potential and growing demand of the lobbying profession, it is vital to develop and advance both the lobbying market and the professional image of a lobbyist.

Lobbying integrates a wide range of functions, thus, a modern lobbyist should possess specialized knowledge and competencies in communications, rulemaking, economics, political processes, and state governance. These competencies include a systematic approach to problem-solving, strategic and project-driven thinking, analytical skills, interpersonal and cross-cultural communications, knowledge of legislation and regulatory processes in basic economic sectors, understanding of decision-making rationale and mechanism in executive and legislative branches, as well as of the political system structure in Russia and the EAEU (EU, etc.) countries.

The success in the lobbying profession depends on the ability to effectively engage with clients and stakeholders, complete a comprehensive market analysis and a through legal assessment of legislative regulation, evaluate risks, make forecasts for the shifts in the state policy and their impact on specific economic sectors, and based on these findings, generate relevant lobbying and GR strategies.

The market currently faces a significant shortage of educational programs in GR and lobbying both at postgraduate level and within university curricula. For thi«GR и лоббистская деятельность в бизнесе и НКО» of Baikal Lobridge missions is to advance the lobbying profession and promote appropriate professional training.

To this end, in partnership with the MGIMO Business School, Baikal Communications Group conducts a professional development course titled "GR and Lobbying for Business and NGOs" twice a year. It is based on the principle “practitioners for practitioners”, featuring instruction given by GR and lobbying specialists from leading Russian and international companies operating in the real economic sector.

Nevertheless, it is still necessary to integrate similar courses into master-level university curricula, so that students could learn and potentially choose lobbying as a career. Such dedicated course would, first, serve as professional orientation tool and educate public, and, second, would enhance the positive image of the profession.

The National Anti-Corruption Plan, enacted by Presidential Decree on July 31, 2008, identifies potential legal regulation of lobbying practices as a possible tool to fight corruption. This means that the development of the lobbying institution can mitigate negative effects of governmental operations, inter alia, when corruption scams are deployed in political and regulatory decision-making processes.

Despite the common stereotype of illicit, “shadowy” leverages used by lobbyists, corruption itself is an obstacle for companies that operate within the legal frameworks and respect stringent ethical principles, to effectively employ lobbying tools. Being a threat to national security and a destabilizing factor to the political system, corruption devalues the role of expert analysis – the cornerstone of lobbying services. Therefore, combating corruption must be a primary objective, both in the executing specific lobbying projects and in advancing the lobbying institution. Other critical goals include promoting transparent lobbying practices, fostering a positive public perception of the profession, and ensuring a balanced consideration of state, public, and business interests.

By alleviating the bureaucratic burden on decision-making in socio-economic issues and thus, striking a necessary democratic balance, the application of GR and lobbying techniques contributes to a more organized civil society, sustains mutually beneficial dialogue with government, and cultivates a healthy legal and business climate.

Currently Russian legislation has no separate legal act regulating lobbying practices. However, discussions about the need to develop a relevant legal framework have been going on for decades.

The first attempt to legally formalize the institution of lobbying occurred in 1992, with a draft law "On Regulating Lobbying Activity in the Russian Federation" developed by the State Duma. Similar legislative initiatives followed in 1996, 1997, 2003, and 2013. These draft laws contained provisions on the scope, methods, and subjects of lobbying, their professional and legal status, a system for registering lobbyists, and restrictions on foreign influence over decision-making by Russian state authorities. None of these bills were ultimately enacted.

The attempts to pass lobbying legislation failed, primarily owing to their conceptual shortcomings. Crucially, none of the drafts adequately reflected the very essence of lobbying, which extends beyond direct interaction between private actors and government. Lobbying is intrinsically linked—both directly and indirectly—to numerous spheres of public life (e.g., media activity, citizens' right to petition, funding campaigns for elected positions, political participation through public associations, etc.). These aspects of lobbying fell outside the proposed regulatory scope. Furthermore, the drafts were largely based on the American approach to lobbying regulation. Given the substantial differences between American and Russian political realities, the direct transplantation of foreign legal norms was not the most effective legislative solution. Moreover, these regulatory attempts were premature, emerging alongside the initial interest in lobbying as a political phenomenon. Lobbying is a complex socio-political institution that requires a period of its maturation and development before a sustainable model for lobbying tools application can be chosen. Otherwise, the choice is likely to fall short of a solid foundation.

Nevertheless, the absence of a dedicated legal act does not place lobbying "outside the law" today. Lobbying operates, to varying extent, within the frameworks of the Federal Laws "On Public Civil Service in the Russian Federation," "On Public-Private Partnership and Municipal-Private Partnership in the Russian Federation and on Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation", the Law "On Mass Media," and others. Therefore, the mechanisms for public-private interaction and the very possibility of balancing interests through legal means have a legal basis.

Regarding the adoption of a separate lobbying law, the core challenge lies in defining the optimal scope of legal regulation. Resolving this requires establishing an effective and mutually beneficial dialogue between professional lobbyists, government bodies, businesses, public associations, and the academic community. Only by reaching a conceptual consensus on the regulatory approach can the idea of a lobbying law achieve effective and coherent implementation.