On the night of 12 to 13 May entry on the Cyrillic country-code top-level domain .РФ was inserted in the DNS root zone. Technically, the National domain represents the symbol combination “.xn--p1ai” and the majority of browsers are ready to operate Cyrillic domain addresses. Mr. Rod Beckstrom, CEO and President of the ICANN, announced this at the opening of the First Russian Internet Governance Forum.
ANO “Coordination Center for ccTLD .RU” has officially become the administrator of the new root domain.
The Cyrillic ccTLD .РФ project has been completed by the Coordination Center for ccTLD .RU with a vigorous participation of the RF Ministry for Telecom and Mass Media, as well as with the personal support of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Interaction of major stakeholders, including government, the Internet community and business, has once again demonstrated its efficiency in addressing the Internet governance issues.
The Application for the Cyrillic domain was submitted to the CANN on 16 November 2009. The application had been endorsed and supported by the RF Ministry of Telecom and Mass Media, the Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. and a number of non-government organizations.
“We were looking forward to this moment and by all means it should be noted that it is the result of team-work of the whole Internet community. Russia, together with some other nations, has become a pioneer in receiving a non-Latin top-level domain, and the first country that has received a Cyrillic domain. The Russian language and the Cyrillic script represent an integral part of life not only of Russian citizens but of many Russian speaking population all over the world. I have already repeatedly noted that we speak, write, think and dream in Russian.” Andrey Kolesnikov, Director of the Coordination Center for ccTLD .RU, said as quoted
Rod Beckstrom, CEO and the President of the ICANN has also emphasized the critical importance of top-level domains in national languages: “ICANN is an international corporation and Internet is a global network which should become accessible to everyone. This is the best way to provide access to information to the people. Introduction of non-Latin domains is the best opportunity for everyone to become part of the global network. I am also glad that Russia turned out to be one of the first countries striving to obtain a non- Latin top-level domain. Russia’s voice is heard distinctly throughout the Internet and ICANN will only benefit from your country and its original culture’s contribution.
From 12 through 16 September 2010 the priority registration of second-level domain names for exclusive holderscof trademarks and service trademarks will continue in ccTLD .РФ. From 15 July through 16 September 2010 second-level domain names in ccTLD .РФ will be allocated for exclusive holders of rights on brand names, appellations of origin, not-for-profit organizations and mass media.
In autumn 2010, upon expiration of the priority registration period, domain name registration in ccTLD .РФ will be open for all applicants.
