The Development of the Internet in Russian Regions

The paper is devoted to a complex spatiotemporal analysis of the development of the Internet in the Russian Federation. The following quantitative and infrastructural aspects of regional disparities in the spread of the Internet are discussed: the regional distribution of the Internet audience, growth poles, disparities in the penetration level, etc. Changes in the geography of the Internet that took place over the first decade of the 21st century are revealed. Features of Russia’s geographical position and the related significant role of wireless technologies and the mobile Internet in particular are described. The network and organizational structure of the Russian Internet and its development prospects are covered. Qualitative aspects of regional disparities in the spread of the Internet in Russia are analyzed separately (the activity and effectiveness of the population’s use of the Internet). The dynamics and regional disparities in the development of the Internet and e-commerce market in Russia are examined. Conclusions are made about the significant decentralization in the regional distribution of Internet users in Russia in the first decade of the 21st century. The rapid proliferation of mobile communication technologies and mobile Internet penetration, in which Russia is among the world leaders, plays a significant role in smoothing geographical contrasts. However, a sufficiently rapid reduction in quantitative imbalances inside the country is accompanied by retention of significant qualitative gaps in the creation of Internet information resources and the Internet market, where metropolitan areas still have a monopoly.

Investigating Barriers and Drivers of the E-Commerce Market in Russia

Today the competitiveness of the Russian economy is closely dependent on the successful introduction of new digital technologies into the domestic industry. In the study, the authors analysed features of the industrial revolution in Russia and other countries. It was discovered that the industrial Internet is currently underutilized in the Russian market. However, one of its notable characteristics is the dominance of the industrial segment in the Russian Internet of Things, which indicates promising development prospects for the industrial Internet technology in Russia. The authors also analysed readiness of Russian enterprises to introduce Industry 4.0 technologies. Although the enterprises clearly expressed their readiness to implement digital technologies, there are some objective difficulties that set back the process. The main obstacles that prevent the integration of the industrial Internet into the Russian industry are insufficient flexibility of enterprises, a lack of developed digital business models of companies, a shortage of skilled personnel, and limited funding. In the conclusion, the authors set some objectives that need to be addressed in order to facilitate the development of the industrial Internet in Russia based on the findings of the study.

In 2011 cyberspace obtained recognition at the highest level—first and foremost, in terms of its importance for international security. This is evidenced by several events and processes which may l...

A geographer specializing in the emerging information-technology sector of the Russian economy presents an exploratory overview of the "widening" and "deepening" of Internet use in Russia during the 1990s and early years of the 21st century. Separate sections of the paper examine the main stages of Internet development in the country to date, explore regional differences in Internet access and use, and outline progress in the installation of surface telecommunications (including fiber optic) trunklines and intra-city networks. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: L86, L96, O32. 3 tables, 17 references.

The growing importance of e-commerce in the domestic economy actualizes the importance and necessity of studying both its role in the global e-commerce market and its place in the structure of the Russian economy. The article discusses the trends and prospects for the development of the Russian e-commerce market. The purpose of the study was to verify the main vectors of e-commerce development in Russia based on the analysis of the functioning of the key segments of this market. The author of the article assesses the role of the Russian e-commerce market in global e-commerce. By comparing statistical data for 2022–2023, the structure and dynamics of e-commerce in Russia are analyzed in the spectrum of three main sectors — marketplaces, online pharmacies and eGrocery (specialized online stores and delivery services). Based on the results obtained, the key factors determining the further development of the selected segments of the e-commerce market in Russia are identified. Particular attention is paid to the verification of the phenomenon of phygital technologies and the characteristics of the practical use of this as an important factor determining the further growth and development of the e-commerce market in Russia. The results of the study may be useful for teachers, students, postgraduates, specialists interested in e-commerce issues, as well as for forecasting the prospects for further development of this market in Russia.

We have analyzed the market of infocommunication services in Russia. The number of both mobile Internet users and fixed-line Internet subscribers increased in 2011–2017. In 2017, mobile Internet in Russia was used by 124.83 million people, which is 7.7% higher than in 2016, and 47.7% higher than in 2011; 93% of mobile Internet subscribers are users of broadband Internet access with a declared speed of 256 Kbps. However, even though mobile operators still have large revenues from mobile communications, no serious revenue increase can be reported in the sector. For this reason, Russian telecom companies are beginning to follow the path of digital development, namely, developing financial services, system integration, e-commerce and the Internet of things. Active development of this line of business in the near future will lead to a decrease in the share of telecom services in the revenues, but mobile operators will not suffer much as the decrease will be offset by revenue from new activities. Analysis of the status and specifics of the telecom services market has revealed two issues that merit more detailed consideration: (1) finding the capacity of the telecom services market; (2) forecasting the number of mobile Internet users. An existing method for determining the market capacity is an estimate that takes into account the purchasing activity and the level of demand. For the info-communication market, this is the volume of all expected purchases, namely, the charges for using cellular communication, the Internet and the like for a specific audience for the billing period, for example, one year. We have calculated three types of market capacity using the example of the mobile operator MegaFon: the potential, the available and the actual. The estimation of market capacity was performed taking into account the number of consumers of cellular communication services, the average number of services for data transmission per one subscriber and the average cost of one service for a subscriber. The potential of the market (the difference between the potential and available capacity) allows to determine the growth potential. The given data indicate that the telecommunication market is exhausting itself. In order to be successful in the market, the cellular operators need to expand their business by seeking new directions for development. The Gompertz curve was used to determine the predicted number of mobile Internet users. The graph has an S-shape. The number of subscribers is limited. The number is approaching 137 million people. The forecast was carried out up to 2030. Thus, the stage of saturation takes place at present and the Russian market of infocommunications (in terms of the number of subscribers) has already significantly slowed down its growth. Providing high-speed broadband Internet access, fourth (4G) and then fifth (5G) generation mobile communication and introducing digital services can be considered as a strategic objective.

RusNet on the Offensive

The article examines the structure of modern consumer behavior in the context of digitalization of trade. An important consequence of the development of Internet technologies is the digitalization of society, as well as the virtualization of various aspects of economic relations. These aspects include not only the digitalization of money, but also the digitization of markets for goods and services. The paper analyzes statistical data on sales on the Internet, as well as on the dynamics of the growth of the online shopping market in Russia and the world as a whole. Trends in the structure of the use of Internet services are revealed. Analysis of the Internet traffic of Russian citizens revealed an increase in its use as a means of ordering goods and services. There was a pronounced increase in the volume of online purchases, in particular, since 2017, there has been an increase in the number of orders on the Internet in Russia, but more than half of the country's population does not use the Internet to make purchases. The assessment of the behavior of modern consumers is given. The reasons that can influence consumers when choosing a shopping method are identified. The analysis of the terms of transactions in the digital space revealed differences and similarities with the classical theory of economic behavior. Due to psychological aspects, the use of funds on the Internet increases the expenses of the population. Using the example of the use of Internet sites and services, a brief justification of current trends in behavioral economics is given. Various techniques and methods of sales promotion on the Internet are described. Parallels are drawn between the techniques of offline and online stores to attract the attention of customers. The shares of Internet commerce in the GDP of various countries are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of digital and direct trading are revealed. There is a difference in the number of competitors in both cases. Psychological factors affecting the attitude of consumers to sellers are described. With the continuing trend, the modern Russian economy is striving for full digitalization. The use of new Internet technologies has led to a change in the format of interaction between sellers and buyers.

This authoritative research review will be an invaluable source of reference for students, academics and practitioners with an interest in the economics of digitisation and the digital economy.

No doubt that Internet has fundamentally changed the landscapes of the world business perspectives from database management, to daily decision making activities and contributes further to the ideas of Internet marketing which is seen dominant among consumers. Online advertising has grown rapidly in recent years open many possibilities for the marketers to promote their products and services with right platform. The birth of social media as a part of online advertising empowered consumers with knowledge and information related to products and services. Online advertising represent a highly effective method for reaching today’s young generation with Internet-savvy. At the same time, it also gives SMEs an opportunity to develop their branding strategies. However, most of SMEs undervalue the importance of branding. Therefore, SMEs need to shift their paradigm as branding will help them to distinguish their business from rivals. The interest in brand engagement rapidly increasing as the development of the Internet especially the social media which creates special relationship between consumers and the brands. SMEs should take the opportunity to optimise the usage of social media in order to develop brand engagement in their organisation. This purely literature review paper will discuss SMEs’ usage of Internet in general based on brand engagement building via online advertising as a tool to create competitive advantage among them to faced their rivals.

The emergence and rapid development of electronic commerce has greatly changed the original marketing theory and practice to exist. Internet marketing has become an indispensable business as part of integrated marketing. Different stages in the development of the Internet, internet marketing content and tools are constantly progress. Therefore, complies with the time development the tidal current, to the internet marketing innovation is the better promotion enterprise competitive power important channel unceasingly. This article describes internet marketing's change tendency, and try to discuss how to adapt to the new circumstances, as an enterprise owner to make the better segmentation market, uses the advanced marketing method and the tools, and satisfy the consumer demand.

Today, the internet has become a very fragmented research object that can be understood differently depending on contexts, research goals and methods. However, the internet [in this text, we write “internet” with a lower case “i”, following the process of decapitalisation of this term. The logic behind this process is that we understand internet as “computer network connecting a number of smaller networks” rather than as “the global network that evolved out of ARPANET, the early Pentagon network” (Herring S. Should you be capitalizing the word “internet”? Wired, 2015)] of a particular country is often treated by researchers as an umbrella term combining heterogeneous phenomena and practices. In this chapter we propose an alternative way of analysing the internet in Russia’s regions. Contrary to the concept of RuNet as common space, we explore diversity of what the internet is in different localities in Russia. The cases of five cities aim to illustrate the variety of histories and usage patterns of the internet in particular locations, such as in cities in Russia’s regions. Qualitative data consisting of interviews, observations, digital ethnography and archival documents have paved an additional (to more conventional quantitative data) way to explore the internet as a complex phenomenon rooted in previous development, local cultural and societal norms and political and economic situations. In particular, we stress the significance of the early internet, the diversity of basic and alternative platforms, the access and infrastructure divide as objects that are important to understand the development of the internet in a particular location.

The development of the Internet in this day and age is happening rapidly, including the lifestyle of consumers in meeting their daily needs. So that the internet as an advertising medium is based on the aspects of convenience and more benefits offered by the internet, namely the ease of information dissemination, wide reach, and easy access from consumers to advertisements on the internet. The purpose of this study is to examine and analyze the effect of judgment of online advertisement on attitude towards online advertisement, feelings of online advertisement on attitude towards online advertisement, attitude towards online advertisement towards attitude towards brand, and attitude towards brand towards purchase intention. The research method uses a quantitative approach, with the type of causal research. The data used in this study is primary data. The analysis technique used is Partial Least Square (PLS).

Digital transformation of socio-economic processes is the basis for sustainable development of regions in the digital age. The foundation for such a transformation is the information and communication infrastructure and, first of all, the mobile Internet. The technological growth of mobile networks has provided a rapid increase in the number of users around the world, contributing to further digitalization. With the development of digital technologies, research in the field of human geography has received a new impetus. The impact of the Internet on all spheres of life has necessitated a rethinking of the existing geographical approaches to the study of physical space and the emergence of a new object of research — digital space. On the one hand, the latter is closely connected with traditional institutions and systems. On the other hand, it is characterized by its own patterns of construction and functioning. The problem of delimiting the boundaries of cyberspace makes it difficult to manage digital processes taking into account territorially determined needs and interests, while the current socio-economic unevenness of regional development results in the digital divide. Border regions, maneuvering within the dichotomy of ‘frontier — integration bridge’ models, can gain additional benefits from the development of digital infrastructure in the context of realizing their integration potential. This article assesses the geography of the mobile internet in Russia and its connection with the development of border regions. The authors use geo-information, statistical, and econometric analyses to assess the impact of mobile technologies on interregional information transfer, commodity-money flows, and migration. The study demonstrates the diversity in the availability of mobile internet access among residents in various categories of border and interior regions. Furthermore, the research establishes a link between the quantity of transmitted digital data, the import-export of goods and services, international migration, and two key metrics: the accessibility of 4G mobile internet and the number of mobile subscribers. The article pinpoints specific border regions within the Russian Federation, including Krasnodar Krai, Leningrad, Kaliningrad, Novosibirsk, Smolensk, Rostov, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Samara, and Kursk regions. These regions exhibit pronounced potential for executing integration functions through the advancement of digital technologies, particularly under favourable geopolitical conditions.