Safer Runet Week, Russia’s national campaign to promote the safe and constructive use of the internet and digital technology, traditionally kicks off on the second Tuesday of February – marking International Safer Internet Day. Now in its 19th year, the Week will run from February 10 to 22, with events hosted across all Russian regions.
The initiative is led by the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, with expert support from Russia’s Safer Internet Center (the NeDopusti! [Stave Off!] project).
The program features dozens of awareness-raising events covering a broad range of digital security topics: roundtables, webinars, expert panels, competitions, project pitches, guided tours, challenges, quizzes, podcasts, and workshops. These events engage diverse audiences – children, teens, parents, teachers and broader education professionals, the tech industry, researchers, bloggers, journalists, and law enforcement. Particular attention is given to the online safety of children and adolescents.
Over its 19-year history, Safer Runet Week has only grown in relevance. Its importance continues to rise amid accelerating digitalization and the evolution of cyber threats. Today’s digital landscape is rapidly shifting, with attackers integrating artificial intelligence into phishing schemes and launching more targeted strikes against DNS infrastructure. Data from 2025 illustrates the scope of the challenge: the Coordination Center’s Domain Patrol project processed over 62,000 requests concerning malicious domains, and in 98 percent of cases, delegation was promptly revoked. While the total number of malware-related incidents fell (77,600 in 2025 vs. 167,000 in 2024), the threat landscape has transformed: 55,000 phishing incidents and 22,000 malware distribution cases still pose serious risks. Although phishing’s share dropped from 82.6 percent in 2024 to 67.9 percent in 2025, the number of blocked domains in the .RU and .РФ zones reached 60,500, and requests from organizations grew by 11.7 percent.
These figures show that even with some metrics stabilizing, cyberspace remains a high-risk environment. It demands sustained educational outreach, practical digital safety skills, effective technological responses, and interagency cooperation – precisely the objectives Safer Runet Week is designed to advance.
Coordination Center Director Andrey Vorobyev commented on the Week’s significance:
“In 2026, the Russian domain industry will undergo major changes aimed at strengthening security and trust in the Runet. These include mandatory identification of domain name administrators via the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA), set to launch this fall. This measure will significantly curb illegal use of .RU and .РФ domains, close loopholes for attackers, and enhance transparency across Russia’s digital space. In this context, Safer Runet Week is not just a tradition – it is an opportunity. An opportunity to bring together experts, government officials, business leaders, and the public to discuss current threats, craft joint solutions, and launch new initiatives that may form tomorrow’s legislation. The scale of the Week reflects the scale of the challenge. Only by joining forces can we make the Runet a safer place for everyone.”
The main events of the 19th Safer Runet Week will take place in Moscow, with many of them accessible online to participants across the regions. Highlights include a series of roundtables on child and adolescent digital safety at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (February 10); the national video conference “Together for a Safer Internet” at the Russian State Children’s Library (February 12); and the academic-practical conference “Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: Challenges, Ethics, and Resilience” at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis (February 17-18). Another major conference, “Dialogue Online,” will be held at the Vladimir Institute for Education Development (February 19).
All Runet users can also take part in a range of online activities: the Likee awareness-raising campaign and challenge “Bloggers to Subscribers: Fakes, Deepfakes, and Other AI Tricks”; the Likee Live session “Digital Security: A No-Panic Guide to Staying Safe”; a cybersecurity quiz from CODDY; a creative marathon and digital literacy bingo on the VK platform “That’s the Spirit”; special episodes of the “Digital Reality” podcast; and webinars hosted on the “Safe Information Environment for Children” community platform.
The Week will also feature the Secure Programming Championship at the Chelyabinsk IT Cube; a guided tour and lecture on safe online shopping at the Avito office; the opening of an Information Security Center in Pyatigorsk; digital literacy lessons; and meetings with information security experts at educational and cultural institutions nationwide.
The full program for the 19th Safer Runet Week, along with broadcast links and registration details for in-person events, is available on the event’s official page: неделя-безопасного-рунета.рф.
In 2026, the following organizations have joined as partners of Safer Runet Week: F6, Avito, Kaspersky Lab, Shakhulov Lab, Likee, CODDY Programming School, IP CLUB, the Russian State Children’s Library, Moscow State University of Culture, the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, the Vladimir Institute for Education Development, the Moscow Palace of Pioneers, the House of the Deaf-Blind Charitable Foundation, the Integral Research Institute, and others. The Smart Internet Foundation (.DETI domain) serves as the Week’s media partner.
