RIF 2026 featured a plenary session titled Runet as an Ecosystem: Global Challenges – National Responses.
The plenary session marked the 30th anniversary of the Russian Internet Forum (RIF) and the 20th anniversary of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications. The participants discussed the evolution of the Runet from the first computers to the contemporary self-sufficient ecosystem, issues of digital independence, cybersecurity and the role of human capital in the artificial intelligence era.
Head of the Presidential Department for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies and the Communications Infrastructure, Tatiana Matveyeva, read out a message of greetings from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The President emphasized the practical significance of work conducted by the Russian Association of Electronic Communications and singled out a survey titled The Economics of Runet whose results help companies adopt decisions on long-term development and to promptly respond to market fluctuations.
Session moderator Roman Plyusov invited experts to discuss global challenges now facing Runet and measures for establishing a sustained and safe digital environment. Experts discussed international dialogue regarding the digital environment’s rules of the game during cyberwars, the need to consolidate national positions and the role of “white hackers” in testing the stability of the infrastructure, as well as measures to bolster confidence in national top-level domains.
Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, Andrey Vorobyev, noted that rising cybercrime levels in Russia and the world required a clearer and compulsory regulation of the domain industry, and that the year 2026 highlighted a conversion to state regulation of the domain names’ market.
“A law stipulating the mandatory registration of domain administrators via the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA) shall enter into force from September 1. The law’s main idea is to prevent fraudsters from registering domain names using fake data. However, this requires a combination of measures, and this law is just one element in a system of measures aiming to combat phishing and internet frauds. All of them will boost trust in national domain zones,” he added.
Attending the plenary session were Director of the Ecosystem and Innovations Development Department at Wildberries & Russ Yevgeny Etin, Director for Artificial Intelligence Technologies Development at Yandex Alexander Krainov, VK Vice President for Strategic Projects Rustam Khaibullov, Vympel Com PLC General Director Sergei Anokhin, Co-Founder of the Cyberus Foundation and Positive Technologies Yury Maximov, and Co-Founder and Director of 1C Boris Nuraliyev.
The Founding Fathers and Architects of Modern Runet awards ceremony was held during the plenary session. Director of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ, Andrey Vorobyev received the Architects of Modern Runet award.
Prior to the awards ceremony, General Director of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications, Dmitry Gulyayev, took the floor and noted the importance of mentorship and continuity in the industry.
“Runet is about people and communities behind it,” Dmitry Gulyayev noted.
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