Support The Moscow Times!

Russia Establishes New Profession to Teach Retirees How to Use the Internet

Sergei Kiselyov / Moskva News Agency

Elderly Russians without grandchildren to guide them can now count on paid gurus to help them navigate the vast expanses of the online world.

The newly created “digital curators” job will focus on teaching retirees how to pay their bills and maintain their documents online, according to the Labor and Social Protection Ministry’s “VNII Truda” labor institute.

“The new profession’s creation is tied to life in a digital economy,” the institute said in a press release Friday.

In addition to knowing how to use the internet, the curators’ needed skills include “engaging in dialogue while taking into account the interlocutor’s age,” according to a job description on the government’s legal portal.

Vocational centers to train the “digital curators” will be established by mid-December, VNII Truda quoted senior professional qualifications official Yury Gertsy as saying.

“There’s demand for such a profession. It’s confirmed by research that we’d commissioned from  [state-funded pollster] VTsIOM,” State Duma deputy Lyubov Dukhanina was quoted as saying.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more