PR Instruments of the Yaroslavl Municipality: Experience of Special Events

Abstract

The article considers the experience of the Yaroslavl Municipality in public relations within the frame of special events related to anniversaries in the history of the Yaroslavl City Duma and Municipality. Every year, since 2013, on April 21 Russia celebrates the Day of Local Government which recalls the Charter to Cities of the Russian Empire adopted by Catherine II in 1785. Thanks to research conducted by scientists of the P.G. Demidov Yaroslavl State University the date when the Yaroslavl City Duma started its work was set on 11 November, 1785. It created the basis for the implementation of the Yaroslavl Municipality’s PR projects. The article reveals the important role of special events as instruments of PR activity through the example of professional anniversaries of the Yaroslavl City Duma and Yaroslavl Municipality. PR instruments are not a self-promotion but a path to the development of democracy and openness of local authorities. The focus on mutual cooperation, respect and dialogue deserves development in comparison with traditional exercise of power through rigid bureaucratic mechanisms and procedures. The results of state and political activity depend largely on the well-organized communication, applying modern PR technologies, consideration of the time-tested traditions and current realities. The author emphasizes the importance of continuous dialogue between municipal authorities and the public for the effective solution of urban problems.