Published on: 2026-07-20
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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The annual All-Russian contest “Best Municipal Practice” has been held since 2017 and during this time has become one of the important nationwide platforms used to identify, encourage, and disseminate the most effective regional management models. The best solutions set new standards in the field of infrastructure design, construction management, and raise the overall culture of municipal administration. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.
“The All-Russian contest ‘Best Municipal Practice’ is an effective tool for identifying and promoting the best municipal solutions. In five categories, including urban planning policy and housing and communal services development, territory management, branding, smart city, and strengthening interethnic harmony, projects that improve people’s lives are selected. The contest’s prize fund, amounting to 1 billion rubles, will allow the scaling up of useful and rational initiatives. Currently, applications are being accepted for the federal stage of the contest, and I am confident that this year participants will once again demonstrate effective solutions to regional challenges aimed at the comprehensive development of territories. This will largely contribute to improving the quality of living environments in key populated areas by 30% by 2030 within the framework of the national project ‘Infrastructure for Life’,” said Marat Khusnullin.
The competition includes five categories: “Urban planning policy, ensuring a favorable living environment for the population, and development of housing and communal services,” “Modernization of urban economy through the implementation of digital technologies and platform solutions (smart city),” “Strengthening interethnic peace and harmony, implementing other activities in the field of national policy at the municipal level,” “Improving the efficiency of management of the municipal territory,” and “Increasing the recognition of the municipal formation (territory brand).”
The Ministry of Construction oversees two categories – in the field of smart city and urban planning policy.
“The competition raises its status with each season, not only becoming a motivating factor for generating new management ideas and tools but also helping to implement the latest approaches into practice. In the previous season, 314 applications were submitted from 60 regions, which indicates a steady growth of interest in the event and a serious level of preparation of the competitive materials. It is worth noting that the best competitive solutions form a comprehensive database for the regions, contributing to the successful implementation of key federal projects included in the national project ‘Infrastructure for Life.’ For example, today it is very important to synchronize the programs of modernizing utility networks with improvement projects – this eliminates duplication of work and ensures the durability of the objects. Large projects gain additional social value by including elements demanded by residents, and local initiatives are integrated into the system of spatial development of cities,” said Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services Irek Faizullin.
For example, in 2025, the first-category laureates in the category of urban planning and housing and communal services were Borovichi of the Novgorod region with a ring route, where tourist flow increased 7.3 times; Apastovo in Tatarstan with bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure that tripled the number of users; Ruzaevka in Mordovia, which developed the entry zone, transportation, and pedestrian connectivity. Among rural settlements, laureates included Kamensky Village Council of Bashkortostan, which renovated the socio-cultural center, hockey rink, road, and monument; Klyazminskoye settlement of the Vladimir region, which developed a mechanism for ownerless properties and formalized nine of them, bringing more than 2 million rubles to the budget; and the Yakut village Tyungyulyu, which created a craft cluster.
The winning projects receive recognition at the federal level and the opportunity to be replicated in any region.
“The ‘Best Municipal Practice’ competition is an opportunity not only to highlight strong management decisions but also to share successful experiences between regions and municipalities. We see great interest in the updated categories and hope that the best projects will help territories work more effectively with investments, urban environments, and the development of local identity,” noted Deputy Minister of Economic Development Svyatoslav Sorokin.
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