Digital Consultants to Help St. Petersburg Seniors Learn to Use Gosuslugi
The program teaching older adults to use electronic services could expand nationwide, making digital services more accessible.
Multifunctional public service centers (MFCs) across St. Petersburg have launched the Tsifrovye konsultanty Sankt-Peterburga (Digital Consultants of St. Petersburg) project. Specially trained staff will help older residents learn to use computers and smartphones, access city and federal digital services, and follow cybersecurity practices. The service will assist with electronic utility payments and meter readings, ordering groceries and tickets, making medical appointments, using medical portals, applying for benefits and allowances, placing credit self-exclusion requests, and checking registered SIM cards. The project presentation also demonstrated applicant identification through MAX ID, the digital identifier of the MAX messenger.
The project is expected to remove a barrier between older residents and digital services. Seniors will be able to use digital services more safely, addressing a problem that has become increasingly important in recent years: insufficient digital literacy. In turn, the program could expand the audience for electronic government services while giving government agencies and developers feedback from a group of users for whom digital formats have proved particularly difficult.
Consultants to Help With “Life Situations”
St. Petersburg’s user-support model relies on Russian digital infrastructure, making it unlikely that the project could be exported directly to other countries. Within Russia, however, it could spread to other regions. Its functions are also likely to expand: rather than simply explaining how individual services work, consultants could move toward providing digital assistance with broader “life situations.” The project’s knowledge base already contains about 300 guides covering different services tied to significant events in people’s lives. The database is expected to be updated continuously as well.
Another likely development is a closer connection between digital literacy and cybersecurity. Consultants are expected to devote more attention to protecting personal data, recognizing manipulation and fake information, and using AI safely. That body of guidance will also expand as new digital technologies and new fraud schemes emerge.
A Systemic Problem Worldwide
Guidance on using digital services has been gaining momentum for several years. In 2021, during the national population census, Rosstat recruited digital volunteers who also worked at MFCs. They helped people who had difficulty completing the electronic census form through Gosuslugi (Public Services). Demand for such assistance grew each year, and by 2024 the Azbuka interneta (Internet ABC's) federal program, jointly run by the Social Fund of Russia and Rostelecom, had surpassed 500,000 people trained.
Regional initiatives have also emerged alongside federal programs. In Kirov Oblast, for example, 372 seniors completed financial and computer-literacy training between July and September 2025. At the Tsentry obshcheniya starshego pokoleniya (Senior Generation Community Centers), established with support from the regional Social Fund, participants learned to use Gosuslugi, smartphones and messaging apps, protect personal data, and recognize fraud schemes.
At a 2024 International Telecommunication Union forum in Bahrain, the widespread lack of basic skills for using digital devices and services was described as a systemic problem. Similar programs are therefore emerging in other countries as well. In Singapore’s Seniors Go Digital program, older adults receive hands-on training from “digital ambassadors” at community digital centers.
The Future: Digital Inclusion
By making digital services easier to access, the St. Petersburg project could give a strong boost to the use of services that already exist. Training materials and information-security guidance are likely to be brought under a common standard. The federal regulatory framework for this is already in place, while demand for training older people to use Gosuslugi and smartphones safely has become widespread.
If St. Petersburg later publishes statistics on consultations and training outcomes, researchers will be able to compare its model with the Social Fund of Russia’s community centers, Azbuka interneta, and international digital-mentor programs. The project’s effectiveness can be assessed only through measurable data, including the number of consultations, repeat requests for assistance, and the share of users who complete training. If those indicators rise, the service could become a functioning mechanism for digital inclusion.
