What is .ru?
The .ru domain is the country code TLD for the Russian Federation. With approximately 5 million registrations, it serves Russia's 130+ million internet users — the largest online population in Europe in the world of domains.
A Brief History
The .ru domain was established on April 7, 1994, replacing the older .su (Soviet Union) domain. It is managed by the Coordination Center for TLD RU. Russia also operates .рф, a Cyrillic internationalized domain name.
Why Choose .ru?
- Russian market access — Essential for reaching Russian-speaking internet users.
- No residency requirement — International registrants can obtain .ru domains.
- Large user base — Russia has over 130 million internet users.
- Affordable — Registration costs are among the lowest for ccTLDs.
Did You Know?
- As of 2026, approximately 5 million .ru domains are registered.
- The old Soviet domain .su still exists and has over 100,000 active registrations.
- Russia also has a Cyrillic TLD: .рф (for Российская Федерация).
Registration & Pricing
.ru domains are very affordable, typically under $10 per year through DomainWorld. DomainWorld offers fast registration and DNS setup of .ru — you can get a domain up and running in minutes.
The Future of .ru
Despite geopolitical complexities, .ru remains one of Europe's most important country code domains in the world of domains.