The 21st century is justly called the age of information and information technology. The rapid development of the worldwide computer network has made possible instant access to vast amounts of information. The downside of the widened access is the lessening of the depth of perception of information. In this situation, the task for compilers of data, especially the government bodies, is to skilfully navigate users across the information field, employing all possible methods of providing access to official information and making it possible to segregate and analyse the necessary mass of data for a more profound understanding of reality. This understanding is particularly important for central banks, as it makes it possible to secure the public accountability of the central bank and increase confidence in the policy it pursues.
The Bank of Russia is a relatively young compiler of official statistics. The modern set of statistical indicators that meet the requirements of the international statistical standards relating to the compiling of the balance of payments and monetary, banking and payment system statistics has been put together in the last 15 years. The history of the Bank of Russia site on the Internet dates back to April 1997 and the present-day image and content of the Bank of Russia official publications and the principles of its communication policy became established in 1998-1999.
The paper analyses the Bank of Russia approaches to the dissemination of statistical data, the assessment of the Bank of Russia information policy by external users and the outlook for its creative development and the contribution of banking statistics to the development of the modern information space.
Keywords: Statistics dissemination; Communication; Users
Biography: Ekaterina Prokunina is Deputy Director of General Economic Department of the Bank of Russia, responsible for statistical work in the Bank of Russia.