Infrastructural and social aspects of ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine in juxtaposition with other post-transition countries: State of play and prospects for rural development

Synowiec, Aleksandra Article Infrastructural and social aspects of ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine in juxtaposition with other post-transition countries: State of play and prospects for rural development Journal of Risk and Financial Management Provided in Cooperation with: MDPI – Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, Basel Suggested Citation: Synowiec, Aleksandra (2021) : Infrastructural and social aspects of ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine in juxtaposition with other post-transition countries: State of play and prospects for rural development, Journal of Risk and Financial Management, ISSN 1911-8074, MDPI, Basel, Vol. 14, Iss. 1, pp. 1-23, https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14010016 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/239433 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Journal of Risk and Financial Management Article Infrastructural and Social Aspects of ICT Dissemination in Rural Areas in Ukraine in Juxtaposition with Other Post-Transition Countries—State of Play and Prospects for Rural Development Aleksandra Synowiec   Citation: Synowiec, Aleksandra. 2021. Infrastructural and Social Aspects of ICT Dissemination in Rural Areas in Ukraine in Juxtaposition with Other Post-Transition Countries—State of Play and Prospects for Rural Development. Journal of Risk and Financial Management 14: 16. https:// doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14010016 Received: 8 November 2020 Accepted: 22 December 2020 Published: 1 January 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Copyright: © 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Department of Applied Social Sciences, Faculty of Organization and Management, Silesian University of Technology, 41-800 Zabrze, Poland; [email protected] Abstract: The objective of this study is to identify the current state of, and the prospects for, information and communication technologies (ICT) dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine in juxtaposition with other post-transition countries. The spread of ICT is discussed within the frame of economic, infrastructural, and social factors affecting rural areas in Ukraine since the post-communist transition period. Information and communication technologies may support the socio-economic development of peripheral areas in many ways—including rural ones. Dissemination of ICT contributes to the emergence of sources of income, equalizes education opportunities, and increases the attractiveness of rural areas. However, the rural—urban divide in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and other former USSR countries is still remarkable and, as a type of structural inequality, should be better recognized. The source material is based on secondary data, which consists of selected literature on the subject of rural development in Central and Eastern European Countries, strategic documents, available reports and studies of international institutions, research from agencies, state documents and statistics, and research conducted by international and domestic NGOs. In reference to the paper’s objective, the method of content analysis was employed. Dissemination of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine is influenced by two groups of factors. The infrastructural divide concerning Internet access between rural and urban populations in Ukraine has been diminishing, but the issue of structural exclusion due to place of residence has still not been solved. As far as the social aspects of ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine are concerned, the level of digital literacy among rural dwellers is significantly lower in comparison to urban residents. Rural areas are more exposed to the consequences of various aspects of digital exclusion. Keywords: rural areas; information and communication technologies; socio-economic development; digital divide; social change 1. Introduction Regardless that the core of modernization and development discourse addresses mostly urban areas, it should not be forgotten that, according to the European classification of territorial units standardized in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), rural areas account for over 90% of the area of EU countries and are inhabited by 60% of the total EU population (Kaleta 2016). In 2015, almost one quarter (22.8%) of the EU-28 population was living in a rural area (Eurostat 2018). However, in the social sciences the discourse on progress and development is focused mainly on the analysis and description of dynamically emerging cities (Kaleta 2016, p. 35). Rural areas, likewise, face up to challenges related to the grand societal shift from the productive to the post-productive economy and the spread of information and communication technologies (ICT) is undoubtedly one of the most important aspects of a new paradigm of development. Growing interest both in regional and international policies concerning rural areas indicates the J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm14010016 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jrfm J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 2 of 23 importance of rural development (Grimes 2003;Bogovic and Szanyi 2018; Guzal-Dec 2018; Kaleta 2016;Cowie et al. 2020). The undertaken research question concerning the economic, infrastructural, and social contexts of dissemination of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine in comparison to other post-transition countries is important also from the perspective of expanding knowledge on the social changes taking place in the post-communist states, including the problem of the digital divide. This paper is an attempt to investigate and highlight the impact of infrastructural and social factors on the dissemination of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine. Post-transformation countries are understood as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the countries of the former USSR, which have undergone a structural and economic transition process since the period of 1989–1991. Rural areas in Ukraine cover 90% of the country’s territory with the share of rural population ranging from 50% in western regions to less than 20% in the eastern parts (Prytula et al. 2014, p. 83). Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe with 43 million inhabitants, and currently classified as the poorest country in Europe. The conflict in the east of the country and relations with Russia have a negative impact on the economy, which is largely dependent on international aid. Ukraine is facing many challenges including the implementation of structural and institutional reforms, elimination of the effects of extensive development and ineffective resource management, the provision of tools and mechanisms supporting sustainability, and mitigation of the social effects of economic transition. The choice of rural areas as the subject of research is justified, firstly, by the high percentage of the rural population in Ukraine; secondly, by the importance of reducing development disparities between rural and urban areas both in terms of access and competency gaps. For almost two decades across Europe, building the foundations of the information society in rural areas has been defined in terms of policy making—fair distribution of development opportunities has become a subject of constant concern for the European Commission and individual member states (Kaleta 2016, p. 155) and associated countries. Ukraine, as a country aspiring to become an EU member, has already adopted many solutions concerning reduction of development inequalities. A thriving creative and IT sector in Ukraine has become a significant sphere of the national export structure; accordingly, knowledge transfer should be prioritized to prevent rural areas from lagging behind. Overcoming disparities between rural and urban areas is crucial from the sociological perspective as a factor inhibiting migration from the countryside and, subsequently, depopulation of the rural areas. Rural areas and communities still struggle with the consequences of the socio-economic transition process—unfavorable demographic situation (Moroz 2010;Prytula et al. 2014), lack of employment possibilities (Moroz 2010; Moroz 2015), and decline in living standards and infrastructure deterioration (Dema et al. 2019;Kirieieva and Kostyuchenko 2017). Besides the socio-economic context, the adaptation of rural communities to the changing conditions of economic and political life is hampered by spatial and social distance (Borodina and Rykovska 2020). The objective of this paper is to discuss the infrastructural and social aspects of dissemination of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine in order to identify its current state and indicate prospects for future rural development. The condition of ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine is analyzed by referring to a broad background of other posttransition countries, serving as a point of juxtaposition. In general, availability of new information and communication technologies— particularly the Internet—is a factor that nowadays differentiates rural areas, and other regions to a lesser extent, than before (Jaska 2015, p. 110). In the European Union, the digital distance between large and small settlement units is constantly getting smaller; however, the question of spread and use of ICT in rural areas has become more complex. Modern discourse on digital connectivity emphasizes not only the issue of accessibility but mostly focuses on different usage patterns and the actual adoption of digital technology (Salemink et al. 2017). Yet the infrastructural aspect of rural-urban digital inequalities is worth noting: even in developed economies, the territorial factor affects the level of con- J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 3 of 23 nectivity (Philip and Williams 2019). Rural areas are more likely to be digitally excluded in comparison to urban ones in terms of insufficient infrastructure such as lack of fixed broadband, slow connections resulting in lower involvement in a digital society, or underserved rural premises (Philip and Williams 2019). An important factor influencing the development of ICT is the level of wealth of a given country (Janc and Czapniewski 2013). Estimations of the International Communication Union included in the annual report International Communication Union 2020 demonstrate that two regions are struggling with the biggest digital divide—Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), “where respectively 23 and 11% of the population have no access to a mobile broadband network”. In the case of ICT dissemination in the CEE countries, available statistics show disparities between rural and urban areas occurring in the region (Akca et al. 2007; Janc and Czapniewski 2013). Recognition of the causes of the digital gap between rural and urban areas in Ukraine includes several factors influencing dissemination and use of ICT among rural dwellers. The analysis is focused on infrastructural and social aspects, mostly inherited from the USRR, which slow down the process of ICT diffusion in rural areas in Ukraine. The paper makes a theoretical contribution with an applicable value. 2. ICT and Rural Development—Literature Overview According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Glossary, information and communication technologies are defined as a “Diverse set of technological tools and resources which use storage devices to transmit, store, create, share or exchange information. These technological tools and resources include computers, the Internet (websites, blogs and emails), live broadcasting technologies (radio, television and webcasting), recorded broadcasting technologies (podcasting, audio and video players and storage devices) and telephony (fixed or mobile, satellite, visio/video-conferencing, etc.)” (Uis.unesco.org). This definition addresses the broad sense of ICT. “The term information and communication technologies is often used as a synonym for information technologies (IT), although ICT is a more general term that emphasizes the role of unified technologies and the integration of telecommunications (phone lines and wireless connections), computers, middleware, software, storage and audiovisual systems that allow users to create and obtain access to information, and store, transmit and edit it. In other words, ICT consists of IT, as well as telecommunications, media broadcasts, all types of audio and video processing, transmission, and the network functions of management and monitoring” (Kuzior and Lobanova 2020, p. 6). Development of ICT contributes to socio-economic development (Kitchin 2015), supports sources of income (Jorgenson 2005;Delponte et al. 2015;Kaleta 2016;Novak et al. 2020), changes employment patterns (Janc and Czapniewski 2013), expands capabilities to mobilize internal resources (Shah et al. 2001;Campbell and Kwak 2010), equalizes educational opportunities (Delgado García and Chalmeta 2016), increases the attractiveness of rural areas (Stratigea 2011;Bajer 2012;Jaska 2015), contributes to knowledge exchange, and stimulates business networks (Wojnicka-Sycz 2013;Kuzior and Lobanova 2020). Contemporary economic performance goes far beyond hard skills or investment volume (Murdoch 2000); the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) together with the transfer of creativity and innovation, and the institutional aspect such as management policies and practices, are the features of intelligent space (Nam and Pardo 2011; Kuzior 2010;Fernandez-Portillo et al. 2019) or, broadly, smart territory. Smart or intelligent space is described from the perspective of the significant influence of information technologies on the overall functioning of particular territorial structures (Jopek 2019, p. 7). In turn, the concept of smart territory may refer to many different spatial contexts, including rural areas, and refers to the use of ICT instruments in order to improve, for example, performance in agriculture, environmental protection, waste management. etc. (Navío-Marco et al. 2020). The idea of smartness assumes more effective—i.e., more intelligent—use of resources (Kuzior and Sobotka 2019). Respectively, smart development J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 4 of 23 in the context of rural areas means searching for ways to implement solutions addressing problems of the countryside such as depopulation of rural areas and challenges related to climate change (Guzal-Dec 2018, p. 33). The question of depopulation of rural areas as one of the most important problems affecting rural areas in Ukraine will be described further. Despite the strong representation of the “smartness” concept applied to non-urban spaces in contemporary scientific discourse (Grimes 2003;Akca et al. 2007;Spoor 2011; Kitchin 2015;Navío-Marco et al. 2020), it is worth underlining that the threat of digital exclusion affects mainly rural inhabitants (Kaleta 2016). Industrial society has brought economic development but has not counteracted the historical inequalities in access to such resources as education, health care, culture, work and participation in power, which negatively affects the quality of life (Kaleta 2016). Nevertheless, in post-industrial society, development inequalities have not disappeared—with the development of information society, a new kind of inequality has emerged (van Dijk 2010;Dragulanescu 2002;Boje and Dragulanescu 2003;Spoor 2011;Kos-Łab˛edowicz 2017). Differences in access to new media due to structural inequalities are defined as the digital divide (van Dijk 2010). Information and communication technologies are one of the essential future technologies that can be employed in every sector of the economy, but despite the unquestionable boost in ICT, rural areas still remain a challenge in terms of their spread (Akca et al. 2007). As noted by Grimes, “peripheral rural areas by nature have always suffered from serious infrastructure disadvantages” (Grimes 2003, p. 175) and the gap in living standards between rural and urban population is remarkable (Meijere and Tambovceva 2017). Digital inequalities resulting from geographic factors, correlated with education level and unemployment rate, were analyzed, for example, by Park (2017). According to the International Communication Union report Measuring digital development: Facts and Figures (International Communication Union 2020), in developing countries access to the Internet in rural areas was 2.3 times lower in comparison to urban areas. The dominant discourse concerning rural areas still remains far from the issues of smart development. The social construct of the countryside includes clichés of peripherality, conservatism and backwardness (Shuldiner 2020), underserved or economically disadvantaged areas (Akca et al. 2007), “forgotten” places without access to culture (Rakowski 2016), or countryside idyll as opposed to technology ( Cowie et al. 2020). Countryside and rural areas cannot remain discounted from both the worldwide and nationwide discussions on smart development—“Without making the village smarter, the nation cannot grow and be progressive” (Fajrillah et al. 2018, p. 5). Analyzing the problems of rural areas within the framework of intelligent development is associated with a broad economic, social and cultural context. A literature overview allows us to enumerate the reasons for the noticeable decline in interest in rural areas as a research area. These include mostly demographic factors, such as the growing role of cities and predictions of an increase in the urban population (Action Program Agenda 21); and economic reasons—mainly a decrease in the importance of agriculture as a sector of the economy (Wójcik 2009). Yet, concerning the discussed issues, social aspects should also be taken into account. The degree and dynamics of change in rural areas is significantly different—as noted by Murdoch (2000): “rural issues have a life of its own. ( . . . ) rural areas continue to follow their own stubborn logic ( . . . )” (p. 407). One of the most common features of countryside dwellers is a higher level of conservatism and resistance to innovation (Kaleta 2016). As underlined by a number of scholars (Grimes 2003;Akca et al. 2007;Kitchin 2015;Yin et al. 2019; Cowie et al. 2020), the discourse of “smart technology as a solution to 21st century city problems acts to marginalize rural areas which do not suffer from these specific urban problems but instead face their own distinct challenges” ( Cowie et al. 2020, p. 170). Among the consequences of unequal access to ICT, a lower involvement in important social areas should be noted. An interconnection between Internet use and civic engagement has been recognized: the Internet is used for informational purposes, for entertainment, but also for maintaining connections and establishing virtual communities—what contributes to the individual-level production of J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 5 of 23 social capital (Shah et al. 2001). The positive role of mobile communication in civil society was highlighted for example by Campbell and Kwak (2010). In turn, access to ICT is indicated as an important factor in career development or running a private business (van Dijk 2010) —the role of ICT in this area can be defined in terms of a tool to explore and acquire information or technical solutions reshaping the concept of work. According to sociologists, farmers’ households are most at risk of structural exclusion including digital and informational exclusion, related to low level of education and place of residence (Guzal-Dec 2018). Access to the whole range of opportunities offered by the Internet is not only the ability to connect to the network: structural factors such as age, economic status, education or social capital have significant impact on difference in Internet use between the rural and urban population (Janc and Czapiewski 2014). In order to prevent digital and information exclusion, the information needs of the recipients, as well as the ability to obtain, use and combine different kinds of information, should be recognized (Jaska 2015). Disparities in access to ICT between rural and urban territories are constantly decreasing; however, the level of awareness of the role that ICT plays in economic growth and development among rural inhabitants in not sufficient. Thus, activities encouraging continuous education in this field are strongly recommended—both for individuals and social groups (Janc and Czapiewski 2014;Jaska 2015;Kaleta 2016). Possibilities arising from ICT require not only physical possession of the device; van Dijk has already distinguished four different dimensions of access to digital technology: (1) motivational; (2) material-based; (3) competence-based; (4) utilitarian (van Dijk 2010). In the case of rural dwellers competence-based access seems to be of great importance. As noted by Kaleta (2016): “lower readiness to accept modern technological solutions, including new work, study or other types of life activities could appear in the countryside in terms of ICT dissemination” (p. 39). Competency access consists of the following skills: operational (ability to use hardware and software), informational (ability to search, select and process the obtained information) and strategic (ability to use ICT in order to achieve personal goals or improve social position) (van Dijk 2010). Rural areas, if they develop in the smart direction, can become smarter than cities, Shuldiner (2020) claims. Intelligent development in the context of EU rural areas means “searching for ways to implement the concept of sustainable development regarding the problems of rural development, in particular peripheral areas (such as depopulation of rural areas and outflow of youth) and challenges related to climate change” (Guzal-Dec 2018, p. 33). The vision of a smart village appeared almost at the same time at the level of academic debate and in the process of policy making at EU level—the main source is the Cork 2.0 declaration of 2016 (Visvizi et al. 2019). The concept of the smart village is associated with the value of digital technologies, knowledge and innovations affecting the improvement of the quality of life, better use of resources, support for entrepreneurship, or offering benefits of natural environment protection. The idea of the smart village does not provide a universal solution—it is a regionally sensitive approach, based on deep analysis of the needs and development strategies of the region, supported by new or existing territorial strategies (Fajrillah et al. 2018). Local and regional development is defined by the features of the specific place—cultural specificity, natural conditions, social organization, diversity, resilience or susceptibility to external factors (Wójcik 2018, pp. 6–7). Therefore, overcoming social inequalities and development barriers (Kuzior 2010), or increasing social involvement at the local level requires the establishment of development opportunities based on local resources and supported by ICT (Fernandez-Portillo et al. 2019). 3. Materials and Methods To achieve the objectives of this paper, the method of content analysis was mainly employed. The source material is based on already existing data, which consists of selected literature on the subject of rural development in the EU and beyond, strategic documents, available reports and studies of international institutions, work from research agencies, state documents and statistics, and research conducted by international and domestic J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 6 of 23 NGOs. The information sources of the data being researched in order to compare indicators for Ukraine with such countries as Poland or the Slovak Republic included World Bank data, Statistics Poland Service, and Eurostat database. The course of study represents the nomothetic approach in social and management sciences (Dzwigoł and Dzwigoł-Barosz 2018) with the focus on the framework of economic, infrastructural, and social factors affecting rural development in Ukraine since the postcommunist transition period. The sections are as follows: Firstly, an analysis of the scientific literature was used in order to define the concept of ICT and its contribution to rural development. In the literature overview we looked at the terms smart space, smart territory, smart development, and structural inequalities in the access to resources including ICT. In the second step, economic and social factors of rural development in Ukraine were identified, with regard to the perspective of transition studies. Rural issues in Ukraine were briefly described in reference to the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Ukraine—as a lower-middle income country—was contrasted with the other countries of the region, such as Russia and those within the European Union (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic) and other former USSR countries like Kazakhstan (in order to show the divide between the CIS and the other post-communist countries). The arguments in favor of such a juxtaposition are as follows: (1) the comparison with countries starting transition in 1989–1991 and already belonging to the EU outlines European priorities in the sphere of research and development (R & D) and serves as indicator of progress in this area; (2) on the other hand, the Russian Federation as the heir of the USSR is important as a point of reference for the post-soviet countries. Comparing different lower-middle income countries enables us to reveal the performance of Ukraine in the sphere of technology upgrading. The next step of the study involved recognizing challenges in ICT diffusion in rural areas, highlighting the infrastructural and social aspects, and referring to the available data on horizontal divisions (the urban—rural digital divide). The keystones of analysis involved (1) outline of the area of research; (2) selection of literature; (3) collection of available data and indicators relevant for comparison of chosen rural issues in Ukraine and CEE countries; (4) description of key determinants for ICT dissemination in Ukraine; (5) justification and conclusion. 4. Research Results 4.1. Socio-Economic Factors in Rural Areas’ Development in Ukraine During the post-communist transition period taking place from the 1990s, rural areas have been at high risk of exclusion from the benefits of the socio-economic shift (Spoor 2011; GFK Hungary 2015) and rural dwellers have often escaped in resentment (Buchowski 2004). The new reality for many social groups was associated with loss of status, pauperization, and degradation. A Polish sociologist characterized this phenomenon as a “trauma of a great social change”, i.e., an experience disorganizing previous social life and initiating new patterns of behavior (Sztompka 2000,2004). The symbolic end of the post-communist transition period for the countries of Central and Eastern Europe is determined by accession to the EU. However, other countries of the region—including Ukraine have remained at this stage (Magosci 2017, p. 929). Rural areas in Ukraine are still struggling with the post-socialist inheritance such as: lack of work, labor migration to the cities, depopulation, loss of morale (Keyzar et al. 2013; Dema et al. 2019;Kirieieva and Kostyuchenko 2017). Since 1991, Ukrainian agriculture has been exposed to serious upheaval, including the loss of traditional markets, deterioration of trade conditions, and limited access to international loans (von Cramon-Taubadel and Zorya 2001;Sarna 2014). Social infrastructure as well as housing conditions in many rural settlements in Ukraine have been neglected: rural inhabitants do not often have access to health facilities, kindergartens, cultural activities; rural housing often lack running water, appropriate heating and sewer lines (Skryzhevska and Karacsony 2012;McKee et al. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 7 of 23 2006). In Soviet times, about 12,000 state farms operated in Ukraine on over 35 million hectares of land. Individual farms appeared in Ukraine as a result of the law adopted in 1993, under which the collective state farm assets were privatized. State farms provided not only employment, but supplied local communities with social facilities, organized transport, housing and even cultural life (Keyzar et al. 2013). The other side of the rapid industrialization and urbanization in the Soviet Union was underinvestment in the housing sector—“In rural areas that had historically been disadvantaged the situation was even worse, as many of them still had extremely limited access to water when the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991” (Roberts et al. 2012, p. 353). In 2004 82% of rural areas had no access to a public water pipeline, 98% were deprived of a sewage system, and 85% were not connected to a gas pipeline (Pantyley 2009, p. 50). The contemporary divide in quality of housing and infrastructure between suburban and rural areas is still not covered— “only 31.5% of the rural housing stock is connected to centralized water supply systems” (Kirieieva and Kostyuchenko 2017, p. 124). According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine (2015), the poverty rate in rural areas is 1.7 times higher than in urban areas and, in terms of living conditions, the percentage of poor rural and urban households is respectively 39% and 19% (Single and Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015–2020). Higher rural poverty figures and drawbacks in access to social services apply to other transition countries—according to the Transition Report 2007: People in Transition (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development 2007), in 2006 piped tap water was available for only 12.9% rural dwellers in Kazakhstan, 16.8% in Moldova and 33.8% in Kyrgyzstan (Spoor et al. 2014, p. 2006). In Ukraine, access to public piped tap water in rural areas reached 43.8% in 2006 and 53% in 2010 (Spoor et al. 2014, p. 2006). Insufficient infrastructure still remains a challenge in the countries of the former Soviet Union, especially in Central Asia (Spoor 2018)—for example, as far as water supply is concerned, in Kazakhstan only 28% of rural inhabitants have access to piped water (Tussupova et al. 2016). In comparison, in Poland disparities in water supply between rural and urban areas have decreased significantly—71% of the rural population in Poland had access to public piped tap water in 2004 and 72.5% in 2006 (Berkowska et al. 2010, p. 189). According to Statistics Poland, in 2016 there were 173 communities with percentage of flats connected to the water supply below 80%, including two local units with a share of less than 50% (Komorowski and Monika 2019, p. 785). The Polish countryside is getting better equipped with water and sewage infrastructure; however, there are still disproportions between rural and urban areas in terms of technical infrastructure, especially sewage system (Berkowska et al. 2010, p. 188). In Ukraine, poor housing conditions and insufficient level of communal infrastructure are indicated as one of the drivers of out-migration: “the larger the city, the better its infrastructure is” (Nefedova et al. 2016, p. 136). The change of the migration vector in favor of the countryside was observed at the beginning of the socio-economic transformation (1991–1993). It was related to the decrease in living standards and the inability to obtain a free dwelling in the city, yet data collected in the period 1993–1996 shows a ten-fold increase of movement from the village to the city (Pantyley 2009, p. 47). Regarding rural and semirural areas in Ukraine, the main development barriers result from the decrease in production and, as a consequence, the reduction in the number of workplaces, which was most noticeable in areas where one production branch dominated. One of the unwanted effects of these processes was the rise of unemployment, and the other a lack of revenues in the budgets of local governments, which affected the deterioration and even degradation of social and road infrastructure (Synowiec 2018). High unemployment rates affected rural areas in Ukraine in the period 1997–2003 and as a result the share of informal labor has increased, particularly in agricultural activities (Moroz 2015;Chrenekováet al. 2016). Domestic researchers dealing with the issue of the forming of a middle class in Ukraine indicate that almost one third of the country’s population belongs to the lower class—these are mainly inhabitants of rural areas in the western oblasts J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 8 of 23 (Razumkov Center 2014). The standard of living of rural dwellers tended to gradually decline if compared with the average level in the country (Moroz 2010). A noticeable change in migration patterns is also worth mentioning. Commuting between small settlements and cities for education or work purposes is gradually being replaced by permanent migration, and thus the concentration of population in cities and district centers (Sustainable Development Goals: Ukraine 2017, p. 85). “Employment is also associated with the size of cities. Analysis ( . . . ) shows that the average salary decreases with decreasing city size, while the proportion of unemployed working-age population increases” (Nefedova et al. 2016, p. 135). As a result, the countryside was affected by the process of depopulation (Pantyley 2009). The number of rural residents fell by 1.7 million from 2001 to 2013 (Single and Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015–2020). The rural-urban gap in equal access to social services in Ukraine remains noticeable. According to official estimations, “most rural residents do not have access to high quality healthcare or educational services. As little as 26 percent of rural children attend kindergartens. Graduates of rural secondary schools have much worse results in external independent tests than their urban counterparts” (Single and Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015–2020). However, in the CEE countries there is still a remarkable percentage of rural population in relation to urban residents. The actual share of the rural population (% of total population) in Ukraine is 31%, while in Poland the rate is 40% and in Slovak Republic this indicator reaches 46% (World Bank Indicators 2018). In some areas, quality of life prospects make rural areas an increasingly attractive and desirable place to live. For example, in Poland, there is a decrease in the urban population in favor of the countryside—in 2015, the share of the rural population in the total population was close to 40%, reaching its highest level since the socio-economic transition in 1989 (Statistics Poland 2017). However, the dynamics of the downshifting process (the tendency to move backward from cities to countryside) relates not only to remote rural areas but also to suburban areas that are defined as rural only due to the conventional description. In the case of Ukraine, the phenomenon of downshifting is not relevant due to the current economic situation (Maksymenko and Roman 2015)—“the tendency for the young active part of the rural population to move to cities has strengthened” (Kuczabski and Michalski 2013, p. 83). Furthermore, one of the long-term consequences of the transition process in Ukraine is depopulation of rural areas. According to the estimations, the rural population of Ukraine reduced by 147,000 people every year; the number of villages also decreases: for the period from 1990 to 2017, 468 villages disappeared from the map of Ukraine, i.e., an average of 18 villages annually (Agroportal.ua 2018). As far as the economic sources of livelihood in the countryside are concerned, 28% of rural inhabitants in Ukraine indicated agriculture as the main income opportunity—as reported in a nationwide survey conducted in 2013 (Gorshenin Institute 2013;Moroz 2015). In turn, in Poland agriculture remains the main source of income for about 10% of the rural inhabitants (Wilkin and Nurzy´nska 2018). The share of women and men employed in agriculture in Ukraine in comparison to other countries of the region is presented in Figure 1. The relatively high rate of Ukrainians working in agriculture indicates the important position of this industry in the structure of the national economy. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 15 of 23 impaired digital literacy that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic was identified as one of the triggers hindering development (UNDP Ukraine 2020). In this context, the first nationwide Report on digital literacy of the population of Ukraine (Ministry of Digital Infrastructure of Ukraine 2019) is worth referring to, as it shows that 53% of Ukrainians are below the average mark according to the digital skills assessment methodology used by the European Commission (Ministry of Digital Infrastructure of Ukraine 2019). As far as rural areas are concerned, almost 60% of interviewees declare their level of digital skills as “low” or “no skills”. The same study discovers that connection to the Internet for the vast majority of Ukrainians is provided by mobile phone: telephone is the main device used to access the Internet for 93.4% of youth (age 18–29), for 85% of people aged 30–59 and for 64.5% in the group 60–70 years old. As far as the indicators of financial inclusion are concerned, here Ukraine has lower rates mainly in the aspects of having a bank account and making payments or purchases online (Figure 5). J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021, 14, x FOR PEER REVIEW 15 of 23 methodology used by the European Commission (Ministry of Digital Infrastructure of Ukraine 2019). As far as rural areas are concerned, almost 60% of interviewees declare their level of digital skills as “low” or “no skills”. The same study discovers that connection to the Internet for the vast majority of Ukrainians is provided by mobile phone: telephone is the main device used to access the Internet for 93.4% of youth (age 18–29), for 85% of people aged 30–59 and for 64.5% in the group 60–70 years old. As far as the indicators of financial inclusion are concerned, here Ukraine has lower rates mainly in the aspects of having a bank account and making payments or purchases online (Figure 5). Figure 5. Internet and financial inclusion factors in chosen Central and Eastern European countries 2018. Source: developed by author based on We Are Social: Global Digital 2018. Diversification of the rural economy was recognized as one of the key priorities in the Single and Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015–2020. The strategy for rural areas development includes: development of the rural economy by stimulating non-agricultural operations, introducing innovative products, development of business networks, and increasing tourist potential for rural tourism development. 4.5. Prospects of ICT for Rural Development in Ukraine Advantages of ICT for rural stakeholders are recapitulated in the list of six main benefits: (1) e-trade of inputs and outputs; (2) extension and training activities for rural dwellers; (3) advertisement of rural tourism products; (4) knowledge transfer from urban to rural and vice versa; (5) official procedures; (6) geographic information system for management of natural resources (Akca et al. 2007, pp. 406–7). 82% 78% 77% 67% 53% 26% 17% 17% 21% 27% 46% 43% 37% 18% 13% 21% 14% 17% 20% 26% 30% 19% 17% 22% 30% 44% 9% 39% 17% 10% 48% 47% 34% 18% 18% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Czech Republic Poland Slovak Republic Russian Federation Ukraine percentage of men making Internet payments percentage of women making Internet payments percentage of men with a credit card percentage of women with a credit card makes online purchase and /or pays bills online has a credit card has a bank account Figure 5. Internet and financial inclusion factors in chosen Central and Eastern European countries 2018. Source: developed by author based on We Are Social: Global Digital 2018. Diversification of the rural economy was recognized as one of the key priorities in the Single and Comprehensive Strategy and Action Plan for Agriculture and Rural Development in Ukraine for 2015–2020. The strategy for rural areas development includes: development of the rural economy by stimulating non-agricultural operations, introducing innovative products, development of business networks, and increasing tourist potential for rural tourism development. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 16 of 23 4.5. Prospects of ICT for Rural Development in Ukraine Advantages of ICT for rural stakeholders are recapitulated in the list of six main benefits: (1) e-trade of inputs and outputs; (2) extension and training activities for rural dwellers; (3) advertisement of rural tourism products; (4) knowledge transfer from urban to rural and vice versa; (5) official procedures; (6) geographic information system for management of natural resources (Akca et al. 2007, pp. 406–7). E-trade of inputs and outputs in the case of agrarian business is considered to be problematic both in buying and selling (Akca et al. 2007). Ukraine’s position in world agricultural production demands the application of modern development tools (Novak et al. 2020). However, ICT contributes to other sectors of economic growth and becomes essential for an innovative rural enterprise. Digitalization is an efficient tool supporting productivity increase in different branches of the economy, and digitalization of industry and business remains one of the keystones indicated in the strategy Digital Agenda for Ukraine 2020 (Novak et al. 2020). Extension and training activities targeted at rural areas coincide with another key component of the Digital Agenda. Digital competence and skills help to constitute the knowledge-based society. The question of education and development is still the most important in terms of the formation of an information society. Information literacy, media literacy and technology literacy are listed among ten skills of the future (Synowiec 2020). ICT becomes an important factor in the process of equaling educational opportunities and helps to overcome the information gap. An example is the “Bibliomist” project—an initiative of Irex (global development and education organization operating in Ukraine in order to overcome digital and informational divides) together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, to help local communities in Ukraine by modernizing access to information in public libraries, providing 1500 libraries with equipment and training more than 1000 librarians to use modern technology tools and enabling them to assist citizens in obtaining information. The project was introduced in the period 2009–2014 with the aim of constituting the basis of digital culture in peripheral areas. Rural inhabitants can benefit from the advertising of rural tourism products with a global reach (Akca et al. 2007). Digital marketing in Ukraine has been constantly evolving. A remarkable increase in social media users nationwide can be noticed—in 2020 the number of active social media users reached 19 million, which is 43% of the total population; according to estimates, 1.5 million new social media users have appeared since April 2019 and the number of people that can be reached with adverts on Facebook is evaluated as 13 million (Global Digital 2020). The increasing popularity of social networks implies potential for tourist product advertisement. The leader in terms of rural tourism development in Ukraine is the western region (Volyn, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Rivne and Chernivtsi regions), where the largest number of farmsteads offering touristic services is located. Rural tourism may contribute to rural areas’ development in the following ways: (1) increasing income and employment rate in the rural population, (2) improving living conditions in the countryside, (3) establishing a positive image of Ukraine, (4) improving the infrastructure of villages, (5) supporting preservation of historical and cultural heritage (Diuk and Burlaka 2018). However, this issue of ICT’s role in development of rural tourism in Ukraine has not been deeply recognized. ICT in the urban—rural and rural—urban vectors of knowledge transfer can provide a solution to structural disparities. It is worth noting that public discourse is predominately constructed from the position of the cities—both in theory and practice (Wójcik 2009). Internet space allows the building of a bridge between rural and urban perspectives, which is important taking into account the development of human resources (Akca et al. 2007). As for official procedures, the development of e-government in Ukraine was approved by the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2017 (Volik et al. 2019). E-government as a result of modernization of public administration provides access to public information and contributes to citizens’ involvement in decision-making processes (Volik et al. 2019). In the case of rural dwellers, the question of digital competence is J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 17 of 23 still relevant. The issues of information safety, cyber security, and data protection are prerequisite for cyber culture development (Novak et al. 2020). The last dimension of ICT benefits for rural dwellers is the geographic information system (GIS) that can be applied to management of natural resources (Akca et al. 2007), wildlife protection or in culture heritage tourism. Disseminating knowledge by means of GIS may contribute to local and regional development. Digitalization contributes to economic growth, productivity and efficiency increase (Kitchin 2015;Novak et al. 2020). As this results from discussing the social aspects of ICT in rural areas, the process of digitalization in Ukraine should be supported by “new forms of solidarity, partnership and cooperation” (Novak et al. 2020, p. 3432). Information and communication technologies are expected to provide equal opportunities in access to resources such as information and knowledge in order to improve life quality in peripheral areas. “Rural regions, although rich in natural and cultural resources, they are often seen as regions with certain deficits in knowledge capacity that constrain efficient exploitation of these resources” (Stratigea 2011). With reference to the documents and analysis covering the role of ITC in rural development, the policy recommendations for rural areas in Ukraine are as follows: (1) the recognition of the importance of knowledge as the most important factor in development and the integration of issues of knowledge distribution into national strategies (World Bank 1999;Scheerder et al. 2017); (2) to consider the geographical context within the priority of developing space-oriented rather than sector-oriented policies (Chapman and Slaymaker 2002); to introduce a regionally sensitive perspective, based on the analysis of the needs and development strategy of the region, supported by new or already existing territorial strategies (Fajrillah et al. 2018); (3) to develop tools to build human potential and synergy between some of the technological achievements, such as precision farming, the implementation of social services through digital platforms, circular economy, renewable energy, rural tourism and innovations in services and entrepreneurship (Bogovic and Szanyi 2018). (4) the reduction of the knowledge gap in order to overcome underdevelopment—ICTs have the potential to address barriers to economic development by improving access to knowledge and information exchange (Chapman and Slaymaker 2002, p. 5); (5) to develop “user-oriented knowledge and exchange strategies, targeted to address current and emerging needs of rural regions in transition” (Stratigea 2011); (6) to mobilize local resources in order to solve encountered problems and take advantage of opportunities based on digital technologies, strengthen local community and improve partnerships (European Network for Rural Development 2017); (7) the emergence of effective management tools and creating an environment that prevents corruption as a phenomenon (Digital Agenda for Ukraine 2020). 5. Conclusions The aim of this study was to indicate and analyze the infrastructural and social aspects of dissemination of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine in comparison to other posttransition countries, in order to identify the current situation and the possibilities resulting from the spread of information and communication technologies for rural development. As emphasized by a number of scholars, the challenges arising from the shift from industrial to post-industrial paradigm apply likewise to rural areas (in terms of the improvement of economic performance or equalizing education opportunities and knowledge exchange, etc.). As far as information and communication technologies are considered an important factor of economic growth, their spread is unquestionably one of the conditions of smart development. The concept of smart or intelligent development may be applied to various types of spatial units, including rural areas. However, rural areas within the context of CEE and other former USSR countries are still more exposed to the consequences of different types of social exclusion due to geographical remoteness and infrastructural disadvantages. J. Risk Financial Manag. 2021,14, 16 18 of 23 The course of study and collected materials revealed that dissemination of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine is influenced by two groups of factors—infrastructural and social. Both aspects were analyzed within the framework of socio-economic consequences of the post-communist transition period, regarding the measures chosen in other post-transition countries. Infrastructure still remains a sensitive area slowing down the use of ICT in rural areas in Ukraine. The digital divide concerning Internet access between rural and urban populations in Ukraine has been diminishing, but the issue of structural exclusion due to place of residence is current. Most of the available statistics on access to information and communication technologies indicate disparities between rural areas and cities. According to the estimations delivered by the largest country’s provider, in Ukraine there are still 217,000 villages without access to the Internet. At the same time, the patterns of Internet consumption among urban and rural residents who have access to the Internet tend to be similar—rural residents use social networks, service platforms and make online payments. As pointed out by one of the domestic scholars, the problem is not a lack of need, but a lack of opportunity (Myskevych 2019). It is worth underlining that the infrastructural aspect concerning ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine should be analyzed in a broader context: the rural-urban gap in Ukraine applies also to the question of healthcare access and educational services. Although the Ukrainian information technology industry has become an important branch in the structure of national export, the country is ranked in the lowest position among peer countries in terms of access to new technologies. The social aspects of ICT dissemination in rural areas in Ukraine are no less important, since the level of digital literacy among rural residents is significantly lower in comparison to the urban population. Nationwide Ukrainian research conducted on digital literacy revealed that almost 60% of rural interviewees estimated their level of digital skills as “low” or “now skills”. The structure of employment in rural areas should also be taken into account. Data obtained in a nationwide survey (2013) shows that 28% of rural inhabitants in Ukraine indicate agriculture as the main source of income. Therefore, developing tools to build human potential by means of the technological achievements and implementation of social services through digital platforms seems to be important for the further development of rural areas. The reduction of the knowledge gap in order to overcome underdevelopment, as well as in mobilizing local resources due to strengthening local communities, may contribute to the overcoming of the socio-cultural patterns inherited from the USRR. Discussion concerning rural areas in post-Soviet countries is multidimensional. An outline of complex demographic, economic, and socio-cultural processes taking place in rural areas in Ukraine may contribute to establishing an interpretative framework for the question of smart development in former Soviet countries. The main prospects for further research with regard to the presented results may involve research both on socio-economic performance in rural areas (entrepreneurship, rural tourism, heritage tourism) and on social aspects (reduction of the knowledge gap, increasing the level of digital literacy). Funding: This research received funding upon the project run by the Department of Applied Social Sciences: “Interdisciplinary research on the impact of cognitive technologies and artificial intelligence on the areas of Smart Human, Smart City, Smart Economy, Smart University, Smart Factory and Industry 4.0, Smart Management, Smart Crisis Management” (13/020/BK_20/0056). Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable. Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable. Data Availability Statement: Data available in a publicly accessible repository. Conflicts of Interest: The author declares no conflict of interest. References Agroportal.ua. 2018. 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