The Use of Unified Procurement System zakupki.gov.ru for the Pricing of Air Ambulance Monopoly Services – Drawbacks and Risks

This paper investigates the implementation of a government decree, which establishes a legal background for the monopolistic pricing of a state-owned company services on the emerging market of air ambulance services in Russia. Being based on firsthand empirical data the research unveils the pitfalls and shortcomings of the Russian unified procurement system zakupki.gov.ru (UPS) both in terms of its design and use. Even though the UPS is one of the most advanced systems in terms of the scope of the data it provides and the declared transparency, being a part of larger contractual system of public procurements, the UPS creates space for distortion and manipulation of data that characterizes the transactions between customers and providers. The latter concerns incomplete and untimely upload of primary documents, vague description of the procurement object, etc. In the construction when the UPS used as a primary source for pricing monopoly services, this may create risks of fraud and consequently - excessive spending of public funds. The empirical sample consists of 3257 entries in the database, which concern air ambulance services throughout Russia. The sample has been collected in the UPS within 2 months of 2019