Social-network technologies in the system of regional governance: the example of the Saratov region

At present, we record the increased interest of public authorities in the use of relevant network platforms and resources to carry out communication with society. The authorities of the Saratov region are not an exception in this respect. The Saratov City Administration, the regional RGC, and personally the governor of the Saratov region Roman Busargin are actively building up their presence in the network space, using all available feedback mechanisms and special social-network technologies in the system of regional governance. In this article we consider the duality of the concept of "social network", identify its current socio-political meaning and analyse, using specific examples, how the social-network technologies we have established help the authorities to carry out public communication with the society.