463 8.13 VERTICAL CROWDSOURCING (RUSSIA) 463 nüüdel and many even take it for granted. Those involved in tsartsaani nüüdel schemes by their bosses rarely complain or resist. This is often due to the instability of the job market in Mongolia: employees rarely take action that might put them at risk of losing their jobs. It may also reveal deep-rooted concepts of hierarchy that infuse many spheres of Mongolian society. In a darker sense, taking tsartsaani nüüdel for granted and feeling unwilling or unable to extricate oneself from such schemes may point to a generalised apathy towards the democratic process and even the rule of law in Mongolia (Sneath 2006; Reeves 2011: 177–9). In a context of economic stagnation and of stark and rapidly growing socio-economic inequality (Rossabi 2005: 248; Højer 2007), tsartsaani nüüdel is often spoken about in the disappointed tones of those who feel left out of the beneits of moving ‘locusts’ from one place to another. Likewise, being involved as a ‘locust’ in such schemes may lead to confusion and insecurity regarding a central tenet of the democratic process: the secret ballot. Many who are instructed to vote for a particular candidate by their superiors feel that they can- not be sure of the privacy of their vote. Just as they do not resist being moved from place to place for fear of losing a precious job, likewise voters may not take the risk of voting for any other than the ‘suggested’ candidate in case they are found out. In some cases, tsartsaani nüüdel may also be used to refer to the movement of candidates. If, for example, a political party feels that a member of parliament’s success has reached ‘saturation point’ in a par- ticular district, s/he may be moved to ‘fresh pastures’ in another constitu- ency. The assigning of candidates to constituencies is a complex process tightly controlled by political parties and rife with intense internal poli- ticking. Both forms of tsartsaani nüüdel may provoke feelings of margin- alisation among those who ind themselves cast as locust pawns in the migratory games of the rich and powerful. 8.13 Vertical crowdsourcing (Russia) Gregory Asmolov King’s College London, UK ‘Vertical crowdsourcing’ refers to the ways in which digital technologies can be harnessed by state institutions to create a semblance of openness and participation, while in practice neutralising citizens’ activity and exerting control over them. ‘Crowdsourcing’ in its regular sense refers to ‘the practice of obtaining information or services by soliciting input from a large number of people, typically via the Internet and often without