The first issue of the Information Society Journal for 2026 is published. The main theme of the issue is Accelerated development of modern technologies. The articles in this issue cover, among others, the following topics:
Virtual reality as an information phenomenon
Creating value from data
Regulating the data sphere in public administration
The phenomenon of “information warfare”
National cybersecurity system
Algorithms as a subject of communication
Evolution of blockchain technology
Land resource management technologies
Smart technologies in the hospitality industry
Digital transformation of the Russian Arctic
In her address to readers “Science for the defense of the Fatherland,” the journal’s editor-in-chief Tatiana Ershova wrote:
This issue of the journal was published during a period when our country celebrates two holidays: Russian Science Day on February 8 and Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23. The connection between science and defense is especially important now, when we are essentially in a state of a formidable military confrontation with the high-tech West through its Ukrainian testing ground.
As the weekly “Zvezda” rightly points out, in the scientific “trenches,” delay is tantamount to death, so the combat lines of the Special Military Operation have become a testing ground for Russian military technologies and defense research. From the first days of the SMO, our troops were confronted with the realities of network-centric warfare, which is being actively implemented in NATO structures and has thoroughly penetrated the training system of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It links command posts and endpoints of specific combat units into a single network, and there are ongoing attempts to transform digital and scientific-technical advantages into military superiority. This cannot be allowed to happen, so there is an uncompromising struggle to preempt the enemy’s acquisition of intelligence, its rapid processing, and the transmission of information to alert combat assets and units.
Today, Russian scientists are working in many areas to defend the Fatherland. Let’s name just a few. At the forefront is the development of electronic warfare systems. This method helps neutralize the enemy’s ability to gather intelligence and coordinate its forces and is used to achieve a tactical advantage in both defensive and offensive missions. Another area is the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, which are used for border patrols, detection of potential threats, reconnaissance operations, strikes, and much more. Another key area is the development of nuclear power plants, such as low-power plants and floating power units, which can solve energy shortages.
Scientists, engineers, and researchers are behind technological progress in the military-industrial complex, the modernization of existing weapons, and the creation of new ones. Today, their ranks are being swelled by bright and talented representatives of the younger generation. One of them is Konstantin Titov, an associate professor at Voronezh State University, a PhD candidate in physics and mathematics, and a laureate of the Russian Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation. He noted: “We are essentially developing the technology of the future, meaning we have to analyze trends in the development of modern technologies, determine and make forecasts, and calculate the probabilities of using certain technologies. And then, based on this data, we conduct our analytical and experimental research, develop the technology, test it, and deploy it.” On behalf of the editorial board, I would like to congratulate all scientists working for Russia’s defense on two important holidays and wish them breakthrough achievements in the use of information society technologies to defend the Fatherland.
The full text of the issue can be found on the journal’s website.