Abstract. Inequality in access to medical services traditionally considered as a main barrier for the development of healthcare system of any country. In Russia, the absence or lack of doctors or medical institutions in remote settlements becomes a mighty source of such inequality. Therefore, one of the aims of government regulation is to reduce these inequalities and to ensure healthy lifestyles and promote well-being for all at all ages. Telemedicine is expected to increase the availability of medical services and reduce regional differentiation in the provision of medical services. Thereby, the research question that we are trying to answer in this article is following: What are the barriers for the development of telemedicine in the Russian Federation? Accordingly, the aim of this article is to identify the barriers to the development of telemedicine in the Russian Federation. An analysis of the primary empirical data collected during our survey showed that currently there are several barriers to the development of telemedicine in Russia, including: the availability of modern technologies for residents; readiness of doctors to use telemedicine technologies; informational security; people’s attitude towards telemedicine. Another barrier is the underdevelopment of legislation that institutionalizes digital telemedicine consultations — these consultations are available only after in-person visit to the doctor. Thus, some improvements need to be made to reduce inequality in access to digital telemedicine consultations. These improvements should include permission for the provision of initial digital telemedicine consultations without the need for prior in person visit to doctor in some certain cases; enable physicians to make diagnoses based on certified data provided through digital technologies.