DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION: ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Today, researchers are paying more and more attention to the relationship between digital and social inequality, the impact of digital opportunities on a person’s position in society, his/her self-realization and more active participation in society. In the article, this problem is studied on the example of the Republic of Tatarstan using the theory of three levels of digital inequality, which allows not only analyzing in detail the digital split in a particular region, but also considering the complex nature of this technological and social phenomenon. In the Republic of Tatarstan, which pays great attention to digital technology and innovation, the digital divide is at a fairly low border. This is indicated by data on the development level of the information society in Tatarstan, the growth of fixed high-speed Internet access in the republic and mobile communications, the high popularity of electronic services in the republic, the active work of egovernment and other factors. An important role was also played by the federal program on elimination digital inequality, as a result of which the Internet and digital technologies became available to citizens of Tatarstan, regardless of the settlement area. At the same time, there are rather low indicators of the digital literacy index, as well as the Internet openness index of the Republic of Tatarstan in comparison with other regions. Testing an integrated approach to the consideration of digital inequality in the Republic of Tatarstan using the theory of three levels of digital inequality will make it possible to use this approach in the study of other regions of Russia and the preparation of a comprehensive comparative analysis of the digital divide on an inter-regional scale, the relevance of which, in our opinion, is high today.