Information Technology Access in the FSU (through December 1999)
A considerable obstacle facing the increased utilization of electronic communication as a means of promoting government transparency is the limited access that many citizens have to IT resources. Comparing host counts across the states of the Former Soviet Union gives us some insight into variation in access.
A host is a computer that is connected to the Internet. The Domain Name System (DNS) entry identifies the host computer. There is a hierarchy within each name. The code on the far right indicates the type of organization or the country of origin. For instance, the site for the Kazakhstan Central Electoral Commission is http://www.election.kz. The "kz" identifies this as a site within the Kazakhstan domain. The figure below compares the number of hosts per ten thousand adults from January 1995 until January 1999 in all of the states of the region.
Figure 1: Number of Hosts (Logged) per 10,000 Adults (click
on the thumbnail to see a full-size version)
Source of data: RipeNet
The data have undergone a log transformation in order to fit all of the countries on one figure. There is actually a substantial gap between many of the former Soviet republics in the host count. Estonia is a substantial outlier when we evaluate the number of hosts. In January 1999, there were 183.8 hosts for every ten thousand Estonian adults. This far eclipses Latvia (50.2 per ten thousand) and the rest of the post-Soviet region. While Kyrgyzstan has an unexpectedly high number of hosts for its population, the rank-order of the list is generally what we would expect. The Baltic states provide the widest access to the Internet, followed by Russia and the rest of the former Soviet states. The bottom of the list is occupied by Central Asian states, Belarus and Azerbaijan (see my article in the July/August 1999 issue of Problems of Post-Communism for a discussion of how IT relates to democratization).
Host counts are not a perfect proxy to measure local access. The existence of a large number of hosts per capita does not in itself demonstrate that individuals have access to on-line services. In addition, hosts in a particular geographic domain are not necessarily physically located in that country. Also, all sites physically located in a particular country may not use the geographic domain name. The site for Sever Press (the press agency of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Russia), is located at http://www.yamal.org. Although it is physically situated in Russia, its domain name does not reflect its location. The use of geographic domain names outside of the country of origin likely explains the substantial rise in the host count for Turkmenistan (whose tm domain is perfect for "trademark").
There is no technique to precisely assess the number of individuals accessing the Internet. Counting the number of log-ins to ISPs is not an accurate measure because a single person may log in multiple times in one day. In addition, stations that are permanently connected to the Internet may have multiple users.
In October 1999, I spoke with a specialist in Ukraine who attended a roundtable discussion about on-line access in the country. The participants in the meeting estimated that the number of personal computers in Ukraine was between 600,000 and 1,000,000. They further calculated that the number of internet ready computers was about 500,000. The group agreed that there were around 700,000 internet users in Ukraine at the end of 1999. The group defined the term “user” rather loosely, indicating that a "user" is someone who has gotten some information off the internet. Thus, this quantity includes casual and regular users.
The number of Internet users in Russia is also difficult to calculate. According to data posted at Head Count, 1.3 million households in Russia have Internet access (as of mid-1999), compared to 79.4 million in the United States. A Radio Mayak report on November 26, 1999 indicated that approximately 2 million Russian households regularly use on-line information. Other experts suggest that the number of households in Russia connected to the Internet is substantially lower (Shraiberg 1999).
Access to electronic communication is complicated by a number of factors. Potential Internet users in both Russia and Ukraine are confronted by many challenges, particularly if they live outside of the major industrial and educational centers of the country. There are problems with access to telephone lines and poor quality lines; access to ISPs; as well as expensive and limited local access to hardware.
The availability of phone lines is improving in Russia, but is still quite low compared with Western states. There are approximately 21 million telephones installed in Russia, placing it 33rd in the world and 21st in Europe in per capita phone access (there are approximately 14 lines per 100 people). Of the 270,000 channels in Russia, 65% are standard metal lines, 30% are radio and 3% are satellite (Курушин и Минаев 1998). The installation of fiber optic cables is considered to be a top priority for the improvement of telephony in Russia.
Ukraine's telecommunication situation is more problematic. Because Moscow was the hub of international telecommunication in the Soviet Union, Ukraine was left with no direct international connections after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The pace of improvement has been slow, prompting two deputies in the Verkhovna Rada to write an open letter to the prime minister, complaining about inadequate funding and support for communications (Алехин и Довганчин 1999). The number of telephones per capita is comparable to Russia, with 19.6 phones for every 100 Ukrainians. International phone lines have been installed by the phone company, Ukrtelecom, as well as local ISPs. The country's single fiber optic line (as of fall 1999) connected the Verkhovna Rada with Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University.
In my experience, local phone lines are noisy and sometimes unavailable. Phone traffic at the local telephone station often overloads the circuits, prompting a busy signal or dead line. In addition, many people choose to have party lines in order to economize on phone bills. This can restrict access to forms of electronic communication. The economic collapse of Asian economies in summer 1998 also affected the former Soviet Union. ISP rates are generally quoted in dollars because US currency is more stable than rubles or grivnyas. While many ISPs lowered their rates after the economic crisis in order to retain subscribers, Internet access is out of reach for many citizens.
However, a local Moscow NGO representative related an interesting anecdote to me, suggesting that Internet access is not completely unobtainable for working-class citizens. He was traveling in a small town in the Komi Republic (the Russia Far North). He took a cab and struck up a conversation with the driver. The driver began to complain: "I heard some news on the Net recently. They said that safety belts are no longer necessary in cars. When I met a policeman and had to pay big bucks, I realized it was somebody's stupid joke! I hate Internet chat rooms!" He indicated to me that what struck him was that a cab driver in a remote town was talking about the Internet as a regular part of everyday life.
Just as telephones are not available to all, there is limited choice in ISPs in some cities. In the capitals, there is substantial freedom of choice for Internet users. Choices outside the capital vary from city to city. El Visti publishes a rather complete listing of local Ukrainian ISPs. I have not located a comparable list for Russia. While prices were somewhat higher in Kyiv for Internet access than in Moscow in late 1999, they were comparable to Western ISP rates. The primary difference between the cost for access to Western ISPs and those found in the former Soviet Union is that actual user time tends to be charged. That is, while many Western ISPs charge a flat rate for unlimited access, ISPs in Kyiv and Moscow tend to charge the user for all on-line time. Given the limited number of phone lines and modems in some ISPs, this policy is practical in the short-term. The cost of access prevents many citizens from using IT at home, however.
Many "cyber-cafes" have appeared in both Russia and Ukraine. The cafes resolve the problem of ISP access, but can still be costly. Moreover, they tend to cater only to the young (who have generally embraced IT). The manager of a Kyivan cyber cafe told me that their customers tend to be in their late teens through thirties and that most activity takes place at night. She indicated that it is not only a place for young people to access the Internet, but it doubles as a singles club.
The cost and availability of hardware can also be problematic. While computer equipment can be found easily in the capital cities, it is more difficult to access in the regions. I met with the director of a regional on-line press agency in Moscow during his visit to the capital. He was in Moscow for two reasons: to sign a contract and to buy a printer for the agency. He traveled three hours by plane in order to obtain needed hardware for his agency. Moreover, his budget did not allow him to purchase the hardware; he used personal monies to buy the equipment.
While access to IT is improving, Russia, Ukraine and the other states of the post-Soviet region face substantial barriers in improving telecommunication infrastructure and providing affordable Internet services for citizens.
Document posted 1/15/00
Sources in English:
Shraiberg, Yakov. 1999. “Russian Electronic Resources of Legal and Legislative Information,” Paper presented at the International Library and Analytical Center Conference: Russian and CIS Electronic Resources, (March 11-12, 1999).
Sources in Russian:
Алехин, Владимир и Григорий Довганчин. 1999. "Депутатский запрос." Голос Украины. 4 сентября, 1999.
Жданенко, Ирина. 1999. "Проблемы отрасли связи: Вопросы и ответыю." Зеркало недели. 18 сентября, 1999.
Курушин, В.Д. и В.А. Минаев. 1998. Компьютерные преступления и информационная безопасность. Москва: Новый Юрист.