Digital drug: 55 regions of the Russian Federation began to use AI to create "smart cities"

55 Russian regions have begun to successfully implement artificial intelligence technologies, creating "smart cities," the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia. The use of AI helps to reduce the number of accidents and traffic jams, combat violations, promptly eliminate utility accidents and call doctors at home. The Ministry of Transport supports the introduction of artificial intelligence in regional transport and is working to increase unmanned trucks, said the head of the department Andrey Nikitin. About how the use of AI makes life easier for Russians and in which other countries "smart cities" are being created — in the Izvestia article.

The number of regions using AI is growing in the Russian Federation

In November 2025, at the Sbera conference, Vladimir Putin instructed the government to update the requirements for the rating of digital transformation of regions, taking into account the pace of implementation of AI technologies. This set the course for the subjects to actively use artificial intelligence in their work.

In a few months, the number of Russian regions using AI to improve their services and reduce incidents has more than doubled. In October 2025, there were 26 such regions, and by the beginning of 2026, there were already 55, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia.

With the help of artificial intelligence, regions reduce the number of road accidents, prevent utility accidents, combat offenses, and improve the efficiency of doctors, police, and officials. The technologies are best implemented in the Moscow, Sakhalin and Chelyabinsk regions, as well as in the Yamalo‑Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District).

— The large-scale implementation of AI in Russia requires the active involvement of regions in this process. Today, most of them are already using the technology. Given the high efficiency of the technology, the government encourages regions and departments to implement AI in key areas of work. We not only set requirements, but also help the regions exchange practices," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko told Izvestia.

Artificial intelligence is gradually entering the daily lives of Russians. In the Yamalo‑Nenets Autonomous District, for example, a smart video surveillance system with a speaker has been installed. She "sees" dangerous situations: if someone starts a fight, tries to break glass, threatens others, or doesn't move for a long time, the system sends a signal through a loudspeaker. As a result, violations decreased by 35%, and complaints from residents decreased by as much as 75%.

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In the future, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District is going to use artificial intelligence to scare away stray animals. Alexey Kirichenko from the regional department of information Technology told Izvestia that special devices will be installed in places where it is especially important, for example, near schools and kindergartens.

"Smart video analytics will also allow us to count visitors to sports facilities in order to assess their workload and optimize the work of institutions," he added.

Another example of using AI was offered by the Belgorod Region, a region where artificial intelligence helps the population alleviate the hardships of UAV raids. In September, AI technology was introduced into the water supply system to predict planned and emergency water shutdowns.

If an accident occurs, the AI helps to quickly identify the nearest device for blocking the site and create a list of addresses of those houses to which the water supply will temporarily stop. This allows you to respond more quickly to incidents and eliminate accidents. In the first three months, the number of cases when repairs took more than eight hours decreased by almost a quarter (23%), and in total it was possible to save more than 9 million rubles from the regional budget.

The use of AI by the operational assistance service for citizens "122" made it easier for residents of Belgorod to call a doctor at home, Lilia Konstantinevskaya, an employee of the Ministry of Finance of the Belgorod region, told Izvestia. Now users call the doctor, bypassing the long recording procedure. The AI automatically distributes calls, appoints doctors, and generates electronic patient records. The time to call a doctor at home has been reduced to two minutes, and an appointment with a doctor takes no more than four minutes.

How AI is used on roads and in transport

Roads and the transport system are like blood vessels connecting Russian regions and republics. The use of AI in this area in the regions is considered one of the main tasks for achieving the technological sovereignty of the country, the head of the Ministry of Transport, Andrey Nikitin, told Izvestia.

— Artificial intelligence is rapidly being introduced in transport, and the Ministry actively supports this initiative. For example, we use it in cargo transportation. This year, we plan to launch the movement of unmanned trucks along the M-12 highway. In this way, we will connect two major cities — Kazan and St. Petersburg - making logistics and delivery much faster. I would like to note that AI follows the rules of the road and eliminates the risk of a human factor," explained Andrey Nikitin.

The head of the Ministry of Transport recalled that at the end of 2025, the government extended the validity of the pilot project "Unmanned logistics Corridors". Now highly automated vehicles (VATS) can be used without a driver in 13 regions. "During the entire period of operation, there has not been a single accident involving the VATS," Nikitin stressed.

The Chelyabinsk Region is a leader in the implementation of AI technologies ‑ adaptive traffic control in Magnitogorsk is a prime example of this, Stepan Bazarov, chief specialist of the ITS and Information Security department, told Izvestia.

Special detectors monitor the traffic flow in each direction and automatically calculate the optimal duration of the green traffic signal. As a result, the average time in traffic was reduced 2.5 times — from 13 to 5 minutes, and the number of accidents decreased by 25% (from 161 to 122 cases per month). During the year, the system is planned to be extended to the entire city and region.

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How AI is used in cities around the world

The use of artificial intelligence and the creation of "smart cities" has long been a global trend. According to the UN, AI can be used to improve the quality of life, manage construction, water supply, medicine, transport and security.

Most of the foreign practices are identical to Russian ones. For example, in Hangzhou, China, traffic jams were radically reduced, Elena Zinovieva, professor at the MGIMO Department of World Political Processes, told Izvestia.

"The City Brain system collects traffic data from street cameras throughout the city and from GPS transmitters of cars and buses, based on which a decision is made to unload certain highways to increase the overall speed of movement of all city drivers using traffic lights connected to the system," the expert said.

In the field of security, the example of the UAE is illustrative — the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Sensors and sensors are installed in water supply systems, street lighting and transport network, which allows for rapid response and prevention of accidents.

So far, Russia is inferior to the world's leading countries in terms of the number of artificial intelligence practices in smart cities. While in China AI systems control the transport of entire megacities (City Brain), and in the USA the most complex digital counterparts of entire cities are being created, our country focuses on point-based, albeit very effective, solutions, Maxim Mironenko, managing director of the Center for AI Development and Security at the Skolkovo Foundation, explained to Izvestia.

At the same time, according to the Kept 2025 study, Moscow became one of the world leaders in smart cities, taking second place (53.9 points) after Singapore (54 points). London, Beijing and Shanghai were included in the top 5. Kazan joined the group with "potential for development" along with Astana, Baku, Minsk, Mumbai, Istanbul and Tashkent, and St. Petersburg, along with Dubai and New York, joined the middle group.

Of course, using AI is not without its drawbacks, the main one of which is security. Digital systems with AI are vulnerable to cyber attacks, the number of which is growing in the context of geopolitical turbulence, noted Elena Zinovieva.

"The more closely the infrastructure solutions of smart cities are linked to digital services and AI solutions, the higher the risk of cascading failure, when a cyberattack can lead to unpredictable consequences," she said.

In these conditions, the urgency of developing international rules for information security is growing, which Russian diplomats have long insisted on, the expert concluded.