Communications Minister: Majority of Russians Have No Access to Information Technologies

Last Saturday, speaking at a press conference in the Tauric Palace in St. Petersburg, Leonid Reiman, Russia's Minister of Communication, stated that the situation existing in Russia around information technologies was paradoxical.

On the one had, the minister said that there were advanced communications technologies in Russia. Yet on the other hand, general public's access to them was very limited. One third of all Russia's towns and villages have no adequate means of communications, which greatly limits the spread of information technologies. The minister asserted that, at this time, information technologies should not only be further developed but also made accessible to the people.

Mr. Reiman reminded of the Cyber-Mail programme now underway. Under this project, about 3,000 computers with access to electronic mail have been installed at 2,000 post offices in Russia. Over 250,000 people used this service in October alone. The minister is sure that the further extension of this programme will help popularise information technologies among Russia's population.