On May 12, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation served as a venue for marking the .РФ Cyrillic domain’s 15th anniversary, which included the signing of a Memorandum to Offer Expanded Support for Internet Addressing in the State Language of the Russian Federation. This document reaffirms the commitment by major internet industry players to focusing on promotion of Russian-language domains and email addresses when creating software and developing domains within Russia’s country-code zone, including the .РФ domain and email addresses in Russian, the state language of the Russian Federation.
The parties to this Memorandum included TLD registries: the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ (.RU and .РФ domains), the Foundation for Assistance for Internet Technologies and Infrastructure Development (.МОСКВА and .MOSCOW domains), Smart Internet Foundation (.ДЕТИ domain), the Russian Institute for Public Networks (.SU domain), Rusnames (.РУС). The signatories also included domain name registrars Ru-Center and Reg.Ru, technology companies Technical Center of Internet and MSK-IX, as well as domestic software companies like MBK Lab, and universities involved in developing and promoting the Russian language online, including the Moscow State Linguistics University and the People’s Friendship University of Russia. There were also civil society associations which joined the effort, such as the Regional Public Center for Internet Technology (ROCIT). The Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC) and the Association of Documentary Telecommunications are also expected to join the Memorandum.
During the May 12 event, Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, Alexander Shoitov, took the floor to inform the audience about the fact that his ministry is working on a draft resolution aimed at amending Resolution No. 325 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 23, 2017, and titled “Setting additional requirements for computer programs and databases listed in the registry of Russian software, as well as amending the rules for creating and updating a single registry for Russian computer software and databases.” These amendments will include additional requirements for supporting Cyrillic IP addressing solutions.
“We have been proactive in working on this directive. Once adopted, it will serve as a serious impetus for promoting universal acceptance so that at least all Russian software becomes compatible with Cyrillic domains and email addresses,” Alexander Shoitov pointed out.
Andrey Kuzmichyov, Director General at Ru-Center and President of the Foundation for Assistance for Internet Technologies and Infrastructure Development, emphasized the internet’s prominent role in preserving the cultural heritage and promoting knowledge sharing. “We could call internet the biggest achievement of our time. This makes universal acceptance for domain names and email addresses a natural and important step forward in terms of achieving our objective, which consists of enabling the internet’s multicultural spirit to spill over into the technical domain,” he noted.
“Since its launch, the .РФ domain has not only come to symbolize the Russian-language segment of the internet, but also emerged as a major platform for carrying out a plethora of ideas and projects that reflect Russia’s cultural and entrepreneurial diversity. It has also served as an effective marketing tool for businesses. Today, it is essential that we not only preserve this asset but also enable it to become a growth driver by undertaking new initiatives and offering new tools to support Cyrillic resources. The way the .РФ domain has been developing over the past 15 years results from the combined effort by the industry, state, and the expert community. Therefore, I have every right to refer to the .РФ domain as our national pride. RAEC has been proactively involved in the dialogue to support the internet’s Cyrillic segment. Today, we stand ready to step up our efforts by working with software developers, content platforms, and educational projects. Moving forward, we will have to integrate Cyrillic domains into major online platforms and web accessibility tools, while also promoting digital literacy among Russian-speaking users,” RAEC Executive Director Yekaterina Dyomkina said.
RusNames, a company behind the .РУС Cyrillic domain, said in its statement that the Russian-language internet would benefit from the state and civil society supporting its development. “.РУС is not an alternative; it has evolved into a digital norm, shaping our cultural code,” Deputy Director for Public Communications Maxim Sozonov pointed out. The company’s current portfolio includes such projects as мир.рус, я.рус, рци.рус and чаты.рф – businesses, educational and cultural institutions already use them. “We can see that young people want to surf the web in their mother tongue, which means simplicity, pride and better understanding,” he added.
Other Russian entities willing to contribute to developing the Russian-language internet and undertaking initiatives to expand support for Russian-language domain names and email addresses in their software are free to join this Memorandum. The Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ will operate as the document’s custodian.
