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Two-thirds of Russians do not access the Internet from home.

Data released yesterday by the Public Opinion Foundation (POF) indicates that only one-fourth of Russians use the Internet from home.

Meanwhile, the majority of Internet users can traditionally be found in the two metropolises: Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, for Russians living in rural areas, the Internet remains an unaffordable luxury.

POF experts believe that 27% of Russians use the Internet from home. Meanwhile, Internet usage directly depends on the region. The more populated an area is - the more users there are. Thus, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, and Murmansk, the Internet is used by 50% of the population. But in Mordovia, for example, it’s only 11%. Meanwhile, monthly Internet fees amount to approximately 3% of the monthly budget.

Internet usage in remote areas of the country is restricted, mainly due to the service providers’ inflated prices. “In more than 30 regions, our respondents said they could not afford to use the Internet from home,” says Pavel Lebedev, POF analyst.

The All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), where experts believe that the total number of Internet users in Russia is one-third (31%), concluded similar results in their studies. Only 11% use the Internet on a daily basis, 9% of respondents use the Internet just a few times a week, 7% - a few times a month, and 3% - a few times a year.

VTsIOM sociologists believe that most of the Ru-Net users are educated youth. 26% of the daily Internet users are 18 to 24-year-old Russians, a quarter of whom have higher or incomplete higher education degrees.

Approximately 65% of Russians turn to the Internet for work-related or educational purposes. Interestingly, this figure is the same both for the youth as well as middle-aged citizens. And those who are 60 or older often use the Internet to view RSS news feeds - this answer was selected by 64% of respondents. The VTsIOM study concluded that 45% of the population uses the Internet to listen to music and watch movies.

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