On August 27, 2026, the panel discussion “Law as a Force: From Civic Initiatives to Systemic Change” took place as part of the 6th Strong Ideas for a New Time Forum. The discussion was moderated by Eduard Voytenko, General Director and Managing Partner at Baikal Lobridge.
Organized by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the Roscongress Foundation, the Forum brought together representatives of federal and regional authorities, businesses, development institutions, the academic and expert communities, as well as authors of socially significant initiatives.
The discussion focused on the path from a civic or business idea to concrete changes in legislation.
Participants discussed what enables initiatives to move from the idea stage to functioning legal mechanisms, as well as the roles played in this process by expert organizations, development institutions, businesses, and public authorities. Speakers included Denis Kravchenko, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy; Dmitry Vorona, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy; Denis Abdrakhmanov, Director of the Center for Legal Initiatives at the Agency for Strategic Initiatives; Alexander Emelyanov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Legislation and Comparative Law under the Government of the Russian Federation; Tatiana Medvedeva, Head of the Center for Legislative Development and Legal Initiatives at VEB.RF; and Igor Kozhokar, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The discussion also featured Vadim Zaripov, Partner and Head of the Rulemaking and Regulatory Initiatives Practice at MEF LEGAL, and Maria Porokhnya, Director of Intellectual Property at PROMOMED Group.
As one example, participants discussed the development of legislation governing the creative economy. Around 4.5 million people in Russia are employed in this sector, yet for a long time key concepts and support mechanisms were not formally defined in legislation. Drafting the relevant bill took approximately a year and involved experts at various levels. Following the adoption of the federal framework, work continued at the regional level, with 74 regions adopting their own laws on the creative economy.
Particular attention was also paid to the role of development institutions. Over the past 15 years, 59 legal initiatives across 17 areas of legislation have been implemented with the involvement of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. As participants noted, the idea itself is only the starting point: successful implementation requires consistent work, from clearly defining the problem and the intended outcome to advancing the initiative through the decision-making process.
Among the specific initiatives discussed was “Tax Capital as the Basis for a Government Loyalty Program,” which proposes additional incentives for compliant taxpayers. A separate part of the session focused on intellectual property. Participants discussed how, for technology and pharmaceutical companies, IP protection is increasingly becoming part of business strategy — from safeguarding proprietary developments to generating additional economic value.
Another important part of the discussion focused on engagement between business, society, and government. Advancing an initiative requires more than simply identifying a problem: stakeholders need to explain why change is necessary and demonstrate the practical impact of the proposed solution. In this context, participants addressed professional engagement with public authorities, as well as the role of Government Relations and lobbying in the legislative process.
The development of tourist trails provided another example of how an initiative can move into the legislative arena. The proposal to establish a legal framework for tourist trails emerged following discussions at the Strong Ideas for a New Time forums and was further developed with the involvement of VEB.RF and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives. The proposed amendments would define a tourist trail as a distinct type of tourism facility and establish requirements for its documentation, infrastructure, and management.
At the same time, participants emphasized that adopting legislation is only part of the process. New rules must then be adapted to practical application and regional conditions and, where necessary, further refined.
The discussion demonstrated that the path from an idea to legislation is rarely a quick one. It requires expert analysis, dialogue with public authorities, and continued work on implementation and enforcement once new rules have been adopted. This is what enables civic and business initiatives to develop into systemic change.
Eduard Voytenko’s role as moderator of one of the Forum’s business programme sessions reflects Baikal Lobridge’s continued expert work at the intersection of business and government, including lobbying and Government Relations, regulatory policy, and support for socially significant initiatives.
A recording of the session is available at the link.