Information technologies in Belarus

High Technology Park (HTP)

Main article: High-Tech Park (HTP)

"High Technology Park" is a key base for the development of information technologies in Belarus.

2023: Belarus obliges Yandex.Taxi to place servers in the republic

In November 2023, the Minister of Transport and Communications of Belarus Alexei Lyakhnovich spoke about the requirement for Yandex.Taxi to place its servers on the territory of the republic. Read more here.

2020

Launch of Poland Business Harbor - a state project to lure Belarusian IT specialists to Poland

On September 11, 2020, the Polish government launched the Poland Business Harbor state program aimed at luring Belarusian IT specialists. The initiative is a set of measures aimed at simplifying the move to Poland. Read more here.

Belarusian IT companies ask to stop violence

In August 2020, the founders, managers and employees of Belarusian IT companies published an open letter urging the authorities to stop violence in the country. More than 500 people left their signature under the appeal.

In their opinion, the results of the presidential elections in Belarus were falsified. Representatives of the IT industry indicate that in recent months in Belarus there has been a "unwinding spiral of violence," and it is painful to look at the situation in the country "any sane person," it is extremely difficult to work.

We are not experts in politics, but we are experts in technology business. Conditions are being formed in the country in which a technological business will not be able to function. Startups are not born in an atmosphere of fear and violence. Startups are born in an atmosphere of freedom and openness, the letter says.

IT companies in Belarus ask to stop violence

It contains four main appeals made to government agencies:

• stop violence against civilians and remove the climate of fear from the streets;
• release all political prisoners and detainees;
• hold new transparent elections of the President of the Republic of Belarus;
• provide citizens of the Republic of Belarus with free access to information.

Among the signatories of the letter are the co Sports.ru founder of sports media Dmitry Navosha, the co-founder of the PandaDoc document management service Sergey Borisyuk, employees of the Wargaming game developer and others.

By August 13, 2020, mass protests in Belarus continue for the fifth day. Citizens oppose the official results of the presidential election. Residents complain of problems with the Internet, as a result of which many companies were forced to stop work. The state-owned telecom operator Beltelecom explained the failures by a "significant increase in traffic" from abroad.^[1]

Information on the construction of 5 technology parks

On January 21, 2020, it became known about the government's intentions to Belarus build five more technology parks throughout the country. They are planned to be created in Baranovichi,,, Borisov Babruysk Orsha and Molodechno, Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology Alexander Shumilin said at a press conference.

According to him, by January 21, 16 technology parks and nine technology transfer centers are operating in Belarus. Technoparks have been created in all regional centers, as well as in Pinsk, Novopolotsk, Gorki and Lyakhovichi district.

It became known about the intentions of the Government of Belarus to build five more technoparks throughout the country

In addition, in January 2020, it was decided to assign the status of a subject of innovative infrastructure as a technology transfer center to Baranavichy State University.

At the end of 2019, more than 500 jobs were created in Belarusian technology parks. The total number of workers there exceeded 2.5 thousand people.

The launch of the National Children's Technopark is scheduled for January 2021. It is planned that it will work year-round, but in its main programs and areas - from September to June, director of the Republican Center for Innovative and Technical Creativity Sergey Sachko told BelTA.

Training in the technopark will be carried out mainly by students of grades 9-11 in groups from 7 to 10 people. Shift - up to 24 days.

The selection will take place in three stages. The first is remote. Schoolchildren send an application to the technopark website and in the future their creative work or project. The work will be evaluated by the expert council at the technopark. At the second stage - testing. Immediately to the second stage, the winners of various olympiads, republican and international competitions will be allowed. In the third phase, students will be interviewed to determine which direction and laboratory each will work in.^[2]

See also: Technoparks of Russia

2023: IT salaries decline in Belarus

In July 2023, the average salary of IT specialists in Belarus amounted to approximately 6,600 Belarusian rubles (approximately 252 thousand Russian rubles at the exchange rate as of September 1, 2023). Such figures at the end of August 2023 were published by the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus (Belstat).

It is said that compared to June 2023, the earnings of IT specialists rose by 2%, and compared to July 2022 - by 10%. During May-July 2023, the salary of local IT specialists ranges from 6540-6650 Belarusian rubles (250-254 thousand Russian rubles). At the same time, in general, in the first seven months of 2023, the salary decreased compared to the same period in 2022: it amounted to 6549.3 Belarusian rubles (250 thousand Russian rubles were estimated) against 6770.5 Belarusian rubles a year earlier. Thus, the fall was at the level of 4%.

It is noted that the largest average salary in the IT sector was in March - over 7,200 Belarusian rubles (approximately 275 thousand Russian rubles). This is primarily due to payments by companies of annual bonuses. In the absence of additional payments, the average salary of IT specialists in April-July returned to its usual values. The growth of the dollar and the euro did not have a noticeable impact on the level of wages.

Belstat's study notes that the average salary in foreign currency (in terms of the exchange rate of the National Bank) has been falling since the beginning of 2023 (March was the exception). In total, for seven months of 2023, the average salary of Belarusian IT specialists was $2,285, which is 10% less than in the previous year.

In the segment of information and telecommunication technologies as a whole, the average salary of specialists in July 2023 amounted to 5052.7 Belarusian rubles (about 193 thousand Russian rubles).^[3]

2019

Belarus returns IT specialists who left

In December 2019, the Financial Times (FT) published an article on the Belarusian information technology market . The publication says that the country managed not only to stop the leakage of IT personnel abroad, but also to return the specialists who left 10-15 years ago. This is largely due to the launch of the High Technology Park (PVT , an analogue of the Russian Skolkovo) in 2005.

After 14 years, we do not have a brain drain as such, "says Kirill Zalessky, head of the public information and international cooperation department of the administration of the High Technology Park (an analogue of the Russian Skolkovo). - People come back with a huge baggage of knowledge and experience that they have gained in international companies in other countries. Such specialists are now in great demand. They often set up their own companies in the Park.

The Financial Times (FT) has published an article on the Belarusian information technology market. The publication says that the country managed not only to stop the leakage of IT personnel abroad, but also to return specialists

An example of such a return is Vera Artamonova, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, who by December 2019 works as a product manager at OneSo (an agrotech startup whose developments are helped by 127 thousand farmers around the world).

Now it is much easier to find yourself and realize myself in the IT field than 10 years ago when I entered university. A lot has changed... I like Minsk and Belarus. That is why I am here, and not because I have nowhere to go, - said Artamonova in a conversation with the FT.

According to her, the Belarusians who left and returned now give out "what we did not have before."

The article says that citizens of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan come to work in Belarus, who by December 2019 account for 4% of people working in HTP (the total number of people in the technopark is 55 thousand). They earn about $2,200 a month, which is about four times the average salary in Belarus.

There are about 700 resident companies in the Park - their number has more than tripled since 2017. And the profit of the Park from exports in 2018 reached $1.4 billion - almost 40% more than a year earlier.

Tax breaks, support for cryptocurrencies and blockchain, as well as a simplified procedure for hiring foreign employees in the technopark played a significant role in the development of HTP and the entire Belarusian IT market.

State support for IT companies in Belarus has helped hundreds of local startups succeed. According to the country's Minister of Economy Dmitry Krutoy, the IT sector provided 5.5% of national GDP in 2018, and within four years the figure should increase to 10%.

Epam is the largest Belarusian IT company

However, there are also problems in the Belarusian IT sector. One of them is the lack of investors.

The market is in dire need of investment. There are many business angels in Russia and Ukraine, there are fewer in Belarus. There is not enough funding in the early stages, "said Alexander Chekan, a partner in the Haxus venture fund, which invests in startups at the initial stages.

Another barrier is geopolitical risks, says Damn Ventures partner (invests in startups in startups in the post-Soviet space) Daria Minsky.

The [risky country's] reputation has to do with political instability. No one wants to invest in intellectual property in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, "he explained.

At the same time, Damn Ventures, managed by partners from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, seeks to take advantage of the situation by investing in projects that American investors avoid.

The potential of the Belarusian IT sector still depends on the constant state support and whims of the unstable geopolitical situation, the FT journalist summarizes.^[4]

Running the crypto exchange Currency.com

The Currency.com crypto exchange was created and launched on January 15, 2019 by Belarusian entrepreneur Viktor Prokopenya and the son of Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev Said Gutseriev. Their investment companies VP Capital and Larnabel Ventures have invested in a project immodely called by them "the world's first regulated full-featured platform for tokenized exchange assets," about $10 million^[5]. The exchange, its founders say, will be of interest primarily to those who are already holders of cryptocurrencies, since it provides an opportunity to invest them, and not just sell them for fiat money. Read more here.

2018

Regulation of crypto platforms and ICO entered into force

In November 2018, regulation came into force regarding market participating companies, crypto platform operators, and ICO (initial placement on the digital asset market).

Belarus flashed in the world media. But not in the familiar image of the patrimony of the "last dictator of Europe," posing waist-deep in wheat, then on potatoes, but as a country that made a legislative revolution in the IT sector and was the first in Eastern Europe to legalize everything related to blockchain technology. The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal wrote that the republic claims to be the "Silicon Valley of Eastern Europe."

So it was conceived, does not hide in an interview with Kommersant an informed Belarusian interlocutor: "We chose blockchain as a marketing trigger and got into the bullseye. The decree is a cake, and the blockchain is a cherry.

There was an economic task to "sell" the "High Technology Park." "Sold" the legality of tokens. Haipanuli, announcing that everything is possible. Yes, everything is possible, but only through special PVT operators. They caught monsters on bait in the form of blockchain and drove the harpoon along the gills themselves. "

Before the decree, he continues, "everyone did not care about the" High Technology Park "in some kind of Belarus":

"The Americans called us Bela Cruz. And so they had to figure out where we were on the world map. We have been promoted as a country! "Park" scored a huge number of players. They ran to the PVT, where they were told: for now you will do this, that, but the crypt will soon be. "

In the first 12 years of the existence of PVT, only 188 companies came there, and almost 200 more on crypto-hype in 2018 alone. Kirill Zalessky, head of the public information and international cooperation department of the PVT administration, said that after the regulation of the entire cryptosphere came into force in November 2018, another 70 IT firms were registered in Park: "There are 454 residents in it now. These are Belarusian legal entities, many with foreign capital. "

The volume of exports of the park companies in 2017 amounted to $1.025 billion. The HTP did not rule out that the volume of exports in 2018 will reach $1.4-1.5 billion.

President Lukashenko, keeps the situation in the IT sector under personal control. A participant in the meetings with the president told Kommersant that the Belarusian leader at one of the closed meetings said:

If one of the officials ever demands a bribe from the IT specialist, he will be written down right in the court verdict: "Subject to release when unmanned taxis appear in Minsk."

Earned a decree on the development of the digital economy

On March 28, 2018, the decree of the President of Belarus "On the Development of the Digital Economy" entered into force. The document is designed to contribute to the transformation of the republic into an "IT country" and a "harbor" for the world IT-Business^[6] the^[7].

 In development of the provisions of the decree and in order to conduct transactions with  tokens by banks, amendments were made to the instructions of the National Bank on the requirements for the rules of internal control of banks, non-bank credit and financial organizations in the field of preventing the legalization of proceeds from crime, financing terrorist activities and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Until January 1, 2023 , Belarus will not be taxed for turnover, profit of HTP residents from mining , creation, acquisition, alienation of tokens; income of individuals from  mining activities, acquisition ( including by donation), alienation of tokens for Belarusian rubles, foreign currency, electronic money and (or) exchange for other tokens. In addition, during this period , turnover in the alienation of tokens, including foreign organizations that do not have permanent representative offices in Belarus and are not   registered with the tax authorities of the republic, as well as proceeds from the alienation of tokens by exchanging them for other tokens, will not be taxed.

The Ministry of Finance approved the national accounting and reporting standard "Digital Signs (Tokens)."

The Council for the Development of the Digital Economy has been

He will coordinate the implementation of state policy in the field of digital transformation of the economy and the development of information and communication technologies^[8] for the ^[9].

"The main tasks of the council are to determine the goals and objectives of the digital transformation of the national economy; setting priorities for the introduction of digital technologies for manufacturing industries, trade and services, the social sphere, taking into account the latest achievements in the field of ICT and the development of the global digital space; formation of a favorable legal and regulatory environment for the development of the national digital economy, "BelTA writes

In addition, the council will stimulate the transition to digital technologies of enterprises in various areas of the economy and public relations. The council is also responsible for international cooperation in this area.

Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov will become the chairman of the council, First Deputy Prime Minister Vasily Matyushevsky has been appointed deputy chairman of the council.

2017

Export of IT residents of High-Tech Park exceeded $1 billion

The total export volume of the Belarusian High-Tech Park in 2017 exceeded $1 billion. This was announced by the deputy director of the HTP administration Alexander Martinkevich.

'About 45% of what is done in PVT goes to. USA This is the largest consumer of IT technology. In second place is the market. European Union These are countries such as Germany,,,. Great Britain Those Ireland Switzerland engaged in construction, "said industry 4.0 Alexander Martinkevich^[10] of^[11]

Digital integration initiatives in the EAEU

Belarus has identified digital transformation as a key priority of national development. The country's strategy is based on three main provisions: the creation of the most attractive conditions for the work of advanced IT companies, the total elimination of barriers to the introduction of the latest technologies, the formation of an ecosystem of innovations. In particular, Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov announced in early February 2018 the creation of an Information Technology Park with preferential conditions for business and the legalization of business based on blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

In this regard, Belarus proposes to consider two initiatives. The first is the integration of the digital infrastructure of the EAEU countries, which involves not only the introduction of uniform standards, but also the general management of physical infrastructure, the formation of full-fledged digital transport corridors in the east-west direction.

A. Lukashenko signs a revolutionary decree on the development of the digital economy

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed Decree No. 8 "On the Development of the Digital Economy" on December 22, 2017, which describes mechanisms to stimulate the development of the IT industry and cryptocurrencies.

The document actually establishes in Belarus a free economic zone for any cryptocurrencies. Bitcoins and other tokens can be freely mined, sold and inherited. Moreover, a tax-free regime has been established for individuals - cryptocurrency mining is not considered entrepreneurial activity. Crypto exchanges, turnover of tokens and cryptocurrencies were legalized, IT companies were endowed with benefits, and elements of British law were introduced into the legislation.

The role of the regulator is played by the Belarusian analogue of the Russian Skolkovo, the High Technology Park (HTP), which is subordinate to the president. Only HTP residents can enjoy all legislative advantages.

Changes have also been made to the main provisions of the High Technology Park (HTP). The list of activities of companies allowed to join the HTP has been significantly expanded^[12].

In addition, visas and bureaucratic formalities were canceled when hiring foreign specialists. The documentary burden on HTP members has decreased, many restrictions have been lifted, which have impeded the work of companies with foreign partners.

The decree has already been called revolutionary in Belarus. However, outsourcing companies that are already members of the HTP do not expect major changes in business. They are confident that the new conditions will not affect profitability, but they do not deny the usefulness of the document for the industry.

The lawyer Denis Aleinikov, who proposed to introduce elements of English law into the decree, still has euphoria from the work done. He is especially proud of the legalization of a smart contract (a computer algorithm for concluding commercial contracts based on blockchain technology).

"This had to be done so that not the United States or anyone else, but Belarus became the first country where the smart contract was legalized. He is still at the prototype stage, but the world will pass to him, and paper contracts will die, "Mr[5], assures Kommersant.

The decree itself, the lawyer is convinced, will go down in history, and with it President Lukashenko:

This is a world milestone. Switching from paper to smart contracts is like inventing a wheel. Here is the first ruler in the history of a country, but there is an inventor of the wheel. One is a person of national level, the second is world level. Alexander Lukashenko will remain in the second category. This is immortality (immortality. - 'b'). "

Even Alexander Sushko, a former employee of the Investigative Committee of Belarus, praises the new legislation. It was he who conducted the high-profile case of Viktor Prokopeni, but in 2018 he left law enforcement and now works for the Russian Group-IB, which deals with information security.

"With the development of technologies, everything that we are used to in the ordinary world is transferred to the virtual environment: everyone understands the turnover of gold and currency, these are subjects of legal regulation. The same applies to crypt. Of course, while we are at the beginning of the journey. But the good news is that a regulatory framework appears in Belarus for this. If the blockchain and cryptocurrency technology were not included in decree No. 8, then they could fall out of the legitimate field. For example, in Russia, the legal regime of cryptocurrencies has not been determined. The need to regulate digital decentralized assets is still being discussed, there are no restrictions on the use of cryptocurrency. And they calmly deal with it. The legal field has been created in Belarus, the rules of the game have been determined, "the mister Sushko argues.

Billionaire M. Gutseriev convinces A. Lukashenko of the importance of adopting a crypto secret

The Gutseriev family, or rather its head, Mikhail Gutseriev whom President Belarus Alexander Lukashenko calls a personal friend, played an important role in the emergence of legislation in Belarus, which at that time is considered almost the most advanced in the world.

Kommersant's interlocutors, familiar with the process of developing decree No. 8, told who captivated Alexander Lukashenko with the idea of ​ ​ a legislative breakthrough in the IT sector. There are three heroes: Mikhail Gutseriev, Viktor Prokopenya and presidential aide Vsevolod Yanchevsky. Legal support was provided by^[5], Managing Partner of Aleinikov & Partners^[5].

According to Viktor Prokopeni, he has long tried to convince the Belarusian authorities to change the rules of the game in the IT sphere in such a way as to shift the focus from the usual outsourcing for local companies to the production of their own software products. The point was that the legislation did not try to catch up with technological progress, as often happens, but outlined a field for activities that are not only not regulated by the state, but are not even carried out in the country.

Back in 2012, Viktor Prokopenya began to go to government agencies with proposals for legislative changes. But this case did not move. But a criminal one appeared: in 2015, the businessman was detained on suspicion of tax evasion, and he spent some time in an isolation ward. In February 2016, questions to the entrepreneur from law enforcement agencies were removed due to the lack of corpus delicti.

The closure of the case was preceded by the acquaintance of Viktor Prokopeni with Mikhail Gutseriev. They were brought together by ex-Foreign Minister of Belarus Sergei Martynov. "He (Sergey Martynov. - 'Kommersant') told me that there is a familiar guy, very talented. "Talk to him," Martynov asked. We talked. So our relations began, "Mr. Gutseriev recalled in an interview with the Belarusian portal tut.by.

Viktor Prokopenya denies the connection between acquaintance and the termination of criminal prosecution. Regardless of whether it is or not, it is obvious that the friendship that has begun, and then the partnership of Messrs. Prokopeni and Gutseriev, significantly changed the Belarusian legal field in the field of IT.

It all started on March 13, 2017, when Alexander Lukashenko, Mikhail Gutseriev, Viktor Prokopenya and Vsevolod Yanchevsky gathered in the Minsk office of VP Capital.

The Belarusian leader came with a box of "President" sweets produced by his order by the Kommunarka factory. The box came in handy: instead of the planned hour, the meeting lasted three. The interlocutors ate candy and discussed what to do with the IT sector.

The essence of the plan was explained to Alexander Lukashenko by Mikhail Gutseriev. Viktor Prokopenya said that his partner "helped convey to the president and other high-ranking Belarusian officials why regulation is in the interests of the state."

Another interlocutor of Kommersant compared the role of Mr. Gutseriev with the work of a translator: "" Fichering is when publishers spoil you from all sides, "Prokopenya speaks such an approximately language. Father would not understand such a language. Gutseriev translated. "

Mikhail Gutseriev modestly attributes all his merits to Alexander Lukashenko.

"It was a brave and ingenious decision of Alexander Grigorievich, and for this he is a low bow. No one in the world has thought of it before. Even America. Today, IT product companies are created in America, and we are sending our money there. We need to create conditions for $10 billion to come to Belarus. So that it is not guest workers who come to Belarus to sweep the streets, but intellectually developed people from the USA, Russia, Ukraine, Canada. My personal goal: As part of this initiative, I plan to create my three to five IT product companies. I don't claim more, "the billionaire explained to the portal tut.by.

After meeting behind a box of sweets, work began on new legislation. Two days later - March 15, 2017 - the leadership of the High Technology Park changed. It was headed by a proven associate of the president, Vsevolod Yanchevsky. He has been in the team of the Belarusian leader since the mid-1990s: in the 1994 presidential election, he handed out leaflets and campaigned for the then opposition candidate Lukashenka, and was not mistaken. When the oppositionist became president, Vsevolod Yanchevsky also came to power. For a long time he headed the Main Ideological Directorate of the Presidential Administration, acquired the hardware weight and trust of the first person.

In April 2017, Alexander Lukashenko announced in a message to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly:

The next stage of development will be the construction of an IT country. Everything that is implemented in the field of high technologies in the world should be used in Belarus: artificial intelligence, augmented reality, unmanned vehicles, blockchain technology, digital currencies. "

In July, a draft presidential decree was ready. Vsevolod Yanchevsky oversaw the interdepartmental coordination of the document. An acquaintance of Mr. Yanchevsky described the work he had done:

"Imagine a train of lots of carriages. To get to the head of the train and tell you how fast to move forward, you need to go through all the cars. In each controller: "Stop, what are you carrying?" If you do not convince the controller, he pulls the stop valve. Yanchevsky was the one who passed all the wagons with a decree in his hands. "

The decree was prepared as quickly as possible. The final version went into the presidential administration at the end of 2017. They were in a hurry for a reason. The world was gripped by cryptocurrency fever: the bitcoin exchange rate beat record after record, and on December 16, 2017 exceeded $20 thousand. And five days later, Alexander Lukashenko put his signature under decree No. 8. And there was a sensation.

1st place among CIS countries in the ICT development ranking

The first place among the CIS countries in terms of the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) is occupied by Belarus. Such data are given in the statistical review of Belstat.

In the ICT development rating among 176 countries of the world, the republic ranks 32nd (Russian Federation - 45th). When creating such a chart, the International Telecommunication Union estimates 11 items, taking into account access to ICT, the number of active Internet users and use skills.

At the beginning of 2017, 11.1 million subscribers (legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and individuals) of all types of data transmission with access to the network were recorded in Belarus. Over the past 5 years, this figure has increased 1.6 times in the republic. The country has 9.5 million broadband access (broadband access) subscribers to the Internet (stationary and wireless), which is 85.4% of their total.

According to state statistical observation data, as of January 1, 2017, 91.8% of organizations (at the beginning of 2016 - 91.1%) use broadband access on the Internet. 20.7% of Internet user organizations used wireless broadband services (17.6% at the beginning of 2016).

The number of mobile subscribers using broadband access at the end of 2016 amounted to 6.4 million, or 79.9% of the total number of mobile subscribers using the Internet. Also, in five years, the number of digital television subscribers has grown more than 10 times in the republic.

Plans for the informatization of health care until 2022

By 2022, the Ministry of Health of Belarus will complete the informatization of the healthcare sector. As Deputy Minister Vyacheslav Shilo said in September 2017, after that, the creation of a single network will begin, with the help of which an integrated database of all hospitals, clinics and outpatient clinics will be created^[13].

Vladimir Lapitsky, Deputy Director General for Research of the Joint Institute of Informatics Problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, noted: "There are no technical problems with the introduction of electronic document management in Belarus - the software has been developed. Health informatization is held back by outdated regulations. In order to move on, for example, to make electronic preferential prescriptions, we need to massively introduce a digital signature. "

capital of Belarus, 80-85% of medical institutions have already switched to electronic document management. The Grodno Regional Hospital has almost completely switched to digital, new technologies are being actively introduced in Brest, Gomel, and the Pinsk region. The Deputy Minister of Health, talking about the process, explains: "We are introducing electronic document flow gradually. First of all, in the registries of polyclinics, then in the accounting department, we translate statistics and immunization program data into electronic form. The computer then appears at the doctor's workplace. Then we move on to the informatization of the hospital - reception departments of hospitals, ambulance stations. "

After the transition of healthcare institutions to electronic document management is completed, a single platform for data exchange will be created in the republic. Shilo clarifies: "All information about the state of health, diagnostic, laboratory studies will follow the patient. This will allow people to receive better quality medical care more quickly, since each doctor will have access to a database with all the necessary information about the patient. Also, the doctor will be able to check with the treatment protocol, the reference book of drugs or medical devices. Patients will also be able to get information about their health - within certain limits. " The data will be recorded on an electronic medical record (now it is an electronic prescription), a personal ID-card, after the introduction of biometric passports in Belarus, will become a kind of key to it.

IT Country Construction Plan

On April 21, 2017, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko sent a message to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly. The Belarusian leader announced the need to actively develop information technologies (IT) in the country.

According to Lukashenko, IT, which by April 2017 are widely used in Belarus in healthcare, education, banking, customs, etc., is another point of economic growth.

Alexander Lukashenko

But the world doesn't stand still. We need to more actively introduce informatization in the field of household services, trade, housing and communal services, transport, reduce paper document circulation due to the widespread use of e-government technologies, the head of state said.

He instructed to involve the High Technology Park (HTP) in the creation of electronic government systems. Lukasheno demanded that the head of the HTP Vsevolod Yanchevsky personally tackle the problem of electronic government, attracting additional resources from the authorities. One of the largest residents of the HTP are EPAM Systems, Game Stream, iBiAi iTiPark, Itransition and Tekhargroup.

Alexander Lukashenko stated the need to create conditions in the country to attract world IT leaders, so that those representative offices, development centers and create a high-value-added product in demand in the world.

Today, our Hi-Tech Park, the IT community are summarizing the best world practice, all ideas are being collected that will remove any obstacles to the development of the IT sphere, the Belarusian leader said.

He also added that new technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, unmanned vehicles, blockchain solutions and digital currencies should find practical application in Belarus.

Lukashenko said that not so long ago he met with the leadership of one of the Belarusian IT companies. Following the conversation, an agreement was reached that the next stage of development will be the construction of an IT country.^[14]

ICT development is one of the goals of the state program of innovative development

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree at the beginning of 2017 approving the State Program for Innovative Development of the Republic for 2016-2020. Active development of the ICT industry in Belarus is one of the goals of the program.

The program of innovative development of Belarus until 2020 was approved by the President of the Republic. Among the main directions of the country's development, special attention is paid to the ICT industry of the republic.

As stated in the program, the republic has highlighted the introduction of advanced technologies in various sectors of the economy, as well as the intensification of innovation. According to the government's plans, 75 projects will be implemented in the republic to create new industries in such areas as mechanical engineering, medicine, petrochemistry, construction, power and transport^[15] by ^[16].

2016: 31st place in the ranking of information technology development

The International Telecommunication Union published in the fall of 2016 the annual report "Measurement of the Information Society - 2016" Information and ^[17]., which includes a rating of the information and communication technology development index in 175 countries of the world. According to the report, the ICT development index of the Republic of Belarus is 7.26, and the country ranks 31st in the ranking. Since 2015, the republic has risen in the ranking by five positions.

The report says that 95% of the world's population is already covered by mobile cellular signals, over 47% of the world's inhabitants are connected to the Internet. Russia ranks 43rd in the ranking, Kazakhstan 52nd, Azerbaijan 55th, Armenia 71st, Moldova 68th, Georgia 72nd, Ukraine 76th. Uzbekistan is in 110th place, Kyrgyzstan - in 113.

The report was published as part of the World Telecommunications/ICT Indicators Symposium (WTIS-2016), held from 21 to 23 November in Gaborone (Botswana).

Social media

Percentage of users Facebook of the total number of Internet users in Europe. Data at the beginning of 2019

Notes