Abstract. The article analyses special features and the prospects of E-Democracy (in particular E-Government) mechanisms development in Russia in the context of world trends. Two parallel processes are being thoroughly examined. The official state E-Democracy development policy (E-Democracy “from above”) covers objections, statements, official documents and institutions created by the Russian Government in the described field. These achievements reflect Russia’s positions in international ratings. As concluded, the Russian Government mostly focuses on E-Government development, though also declares the implementation of the real E-Democracy mechanisms (like E-Elections, E-Participation in political decision-making) in the future. The so called E-Demoracy "from below” consists of the civil society initiatives in forcing political and financial transparency of the state affairs, fighting corruption. Individuals and civic organizations in Russia develop the network of related Internet-sites focusing on different e-democratic mechanisms. It compensates and sometimes replaces the official state policy in this field. The future of E-Democracy in Russia depends not only on technical progress, but also on successful integration of the official and civic initiatives.