Russia Losing Positions in Readiness for Digital Economy - Russian Minister

Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolay Nikiforov urged to change the Russian government's stance on the issue of digital economy and increase spending on digital technologies, which currently amounted to some 100 billion rubles ($1.6 billion), or just 0.6 percent of the total state budget.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has been losing its positions in world rankings of readiness for the digital economy due to the low budget, Russian Minister of Communications and Mass Media Nikolai Nikiforov said Tuesday.

"The Russian Federation… is beginning to lose its positions in different rankings of state's readiness for introducing digital economy. These are the rating of the United Nations, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and others," Nikiforov told reporters during the WEF Moscow Meeting.

He urged to change the Russian government's stance on the issue and increase spending on digital technologies, which currently amounted to some 100 billion rubles ($1.6 billion), or just 0.6 percent of the total state budget.

On December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested launching a large-scale program aimed at developing digital economy, while delivering his annual Federal Assembly address.

He stressed that it was "a matter of national security, technological independence of Russia, our common future."