Tatarstan outlines digital development priorities for 2026 and summarizes the results of 2025

At an expanded summing up meeting, Tatarstan Ministry of Digitalization emphasized the Breakthrough IT Projects programme, digitalization of the social sphere, modernization of post offices and expansion of IT solutions exports.

Communication and Digital Infrastructure

Tatarstan Minister of Digitalization Ilya Nachvin reported at the meeting:

"The development of mobile communications remains one of our key priorities. In 2025, telecom operators installed 1,082 base stations. In 2026, it is planned to install more than 1,100 base stations to meet the growing demand for digital service traffic."

Under the federal programme "Elimination of the Digital Divide," Rostelecom and T-Mobile provided mobile communications and internet to 159 villages in 2025. However, there are still some settlements in the republic with populations of fewer than 500 people without mobile internet, requiring accelerated infrastructure construction.

Particular attention is being paid to federal highways. In 2025, MTS and Megafon, together with MIG, installed 54 base stations on the M-7 highway and the new Naberezhnye Chelny bypass. Meanwhile, eight sections of the highway leading to Yoshkar-Ola and Buinsk remain without reliable service, which are planned to be closed in 2026.

Safety and Alerts

A new alert system has been deployed to respond to emergency situations. By 2028, 1,600 sirens are planned to be installed on communication poles across the republic's regions, of which 320 sets have already been installed.

At the end of 2025, the first stage of developing a domestic video surveillance system with facial recognition was completed in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan. The system core was developed, and 100 smart cameras were connected. The number of cameras and functionality are planned to be expanded in 2026.

Cybersecurity threats have increased. In 2025, the number of cyberattacks on government resources doubled, reaching 1.5 million attacks. The implementation of certified security tools, audits and enhanced remote access controls are planned for 2026.

Postal Infrastructure

In 2025, 30 rural post offices were renovated in the republic, 15 of which were funded by the regional budget. However, 480 post offices remain in unsatisfactory condition. An additional 100 post offices are planned for renovation in 2026.

Staff shortages remain a continuing challenge in the industry. Over the past two years, 2,323 rural postal workers have received regional subsidies, but staff shortages persist, including in urban areas.

Breakthrough IT Projects and Social Digitalization

In 2025, Tatarstan adopted a regional programme for Breakthrough IT Projects with annual funding of 1 billion roubles. This programme is unique in Russia's regions. It includes five basic and 10 sectoral projects, prioritizing the digitalization of education, healthcare and public administration.

In healthcare, plans are underway to scale up the digitalization experience of the Regional Clinical Hospital using the HIMSS standard. ICL has supplied 15,000 computers to medical organizations and plans to purchase an additional 4,000 automated workstations and 2,500 multifunctional devices in 2026.

In education, basic tasks related to providing teachers with equipment have been addressed. Schools have received 36,000 laptops and technical colleges 4,291 laptops. In 2026, 1,324 teachers are planned to be provided with tablets through the "Data Economy" national project, with over 360 million roubles in federal funds allocated over three years.

In the social sector, a new information system for social payments was implemented at the end of 2025. In 2026, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health of Tatarstan are planned to be connected to the federal platform with a register of SVO participants to automate the provision of benefits without collecting additional documents.

Human Resources and IT Solution Export

"Every year, our universities and colleges graduate approximately 4,000 IT specialists, which, among other things, allows Tatarstan to remain one of the leaders in IT development in the country. Our total revenue has reached 8 billion roubles. Tatarstan is also among the top three regions for preferential IT mortgages, with loans issued totaling 42 billion roubles," the Minister of Digitalization of Tatarstan noted in his speech.

The republic's IT solutions are entering foreign markets. The ICL Med telemedicine system is being supplied to Uzbekistan and the Tatarstan-Qatar IT center has become a gateway to the Middle East, bringing together 15 partners and initial projects, including an analytical system for the Qatari hippodrome.

Kazan Digital Week remains an international platform for promotion, bringing together representatives from 75 countries, 18 foreign delegations and 160 applications from 29 countries as part of the first international acceleration program in 2025. At least three joint projects between international and Tatarstan IT residents are planned for 2026.