Exclusive Interview with Andrei Kolsenikov on the .РФ Launch

Andrei Kolsenikov, the director of ccTLD .RU, sat down with IDNBlog to exclusively discuss the recent .РФ launch, along with its successes and the potential legal issues on the horizon. Enjoy.

Q: How many .РФ domains are registered as of now?

A: Over 650 thousand domain names

Q: Are you surprised by this very enthusiastic response to register .РФ names? What do you attribute to the success of the launch?

A: Yes, we all were a little bit surprised. According to our forecast, about 100,000 domain names were supposed to have been registered in ccTLD .РФ by spring 2011. Within the first week of the open registration in ccTLD .РФ some 500,000 domain names were registered and this number keeps growing consistently. We have demonstrated to the whole world the level of demand for domains in national languages.


Q: How does an IDN.РФ compare to an IDN.com? What specifically are the advantages of owning an IDN.РФ?

A: The obvious advantage vis-à-vis domain names like “IDN.com” lies in the fact that with the rise of IDN TLDs the need to switch between languages has gone.

Q: I have seen that in some NIC.ru auctions, bids for .РФ names exceeded a million dollars. Is this a reflection of the value of .РФ?

A: Zone .РФ has just opened. It is not surprising that there is demand for “nice” domains. However, there are two aspects. First, the Coordination Center for ccTLD .RU does not set auctions in the national domain .РФ (http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=917). That is to say, we stick to the first come, first serve principle. On its part the CC has guaranteed equal access to the registry for all registrars who yet could compete by their proper technical capacities and the speed of applications processing. Second, in no way the CC can approve “air” deals which in reality took place when registrars began collecting applications beforehand, prior to the launch of the open registration but announced bids. However, I’d like to draw special attention to the fact that vending of a place in the queue of provisional applications for domain names registration in zone goes contrary to the effective practice. In other words, in case you are offered to participate in an auction for purchase of a nice domain name, you are forced to pay for the unwarranted service and at the same time nobody will be able to ensure that your application will be approved

The system of domain names registration operates in such a way that from similar applications only that will win which will be the first to be registered in the main registry of ccTLD .РФ. Currently 20 registrars have been accredited to operate in ccTLD .РФ. The chance that your application will compete with a similar one but submitted by a different registrar is rather high. That is why setting auctions and vending queue with one registrar constitutes a shady activity for which nobody is held responsible, nor this multiply chances for a successful bid.

http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=1161

http://cctld.ru/en/news/news_detail.php?ID=1170

Q: Are you aware of any specific .РФ domains that were sold for over $100,000? If so what domains?

A: The Coordination has several times warned the registrars on this issue and currently we are aware just of auctions run by RU-CENTER. The CC and the FAC are to confirm whether these activities are consistent with, or contradict the registration Terms and Conditions in ccTLD Currently 20 registrars have been accredited to operate in ccTLD .РФ. The chance that your application will compete with a similar one but submitted by a different registrar is rather high. That is why setting auctions and vending queue within one registrar represents a shady activity for which nobody is held responsible, nor this multiply chances for a successful bid.


Q: What is your reaction to the allegations of anti-monopolistic practices by NIC.ru? Do you believe that any rules were violated, and if so, what were they?

A: The question of a lawsuit to be filed by the Federal Antimonopoly Service should be asked to the antimonopoly service. However, I can say that the Coordination Center’s rights were infringed by conducting these types of auctions. The auctions contradict Terms and Conditions of domain names registration in ccTLD .РФ and the Accreditation Agreement, and the CC highly recommends refraining from participating in them. One of the fundamental rules of domain names registration has been violated –that is, the first come, the first served principle. That’s why an ad-hoc commission, which is being formed now, will deal with each case of domain name auction.

Q: How many .РФ domains were registered by NIC.ru during the first day of general registration? Of those names, how many were sold to NIC.ru registrants and how many are held by the registrar itself?

A: In the first day of the open registration, RU-CENTER registered 70,138 domain names, or some 34% of the overall number of registrations. However, it should be noted that by implementation of various partner schemes RU-Center was able to use quotas of other registrars, thereby staking out as much as 56% of the total number registrations. This enabled it to become the administrator of 63,699 domain names in total.

Q: If the allegations are true, how will NIC.ru be penalized? Will individual domain registrants who used NIC.ru suffer the consequences and have their .РФ names seized or frozen?

A: The Coordination Center recently lifted the blockage of the domain names set for an auction by RU-CENTER. The CC did it exclusively in the interests of end users, the majority of whom acted in good faith and in no way should suffer due to the registrar’s malpractices.

In compliance with recent agreements, RU-CENTER is to submit to the Coordination Center information on queuing and auction details. All documents associated with registration of disputable domains and the registrar’s activities which have resulted in a domain names auction will be examined by an ad-hoc commission which will include representatives from the CC, the Internet community, MPs, representatives of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, and the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications.

Q: Are there any limitations on transferring .РФ names? If so what are the limitations?

A: In order to avoid a surge in cybersquatting we made registration in the new ccTLD available solely to both Russian citizens and legal entities registered in Russia. Moreover, the ban on the change of the domain name administrator will be effective for one year. However, both restrictions are provisional and will be lifted subsequently.


Q: How important is it for U.S. companies to register .РФ domains if they want to reach Russian consumers?

A: In case an American company is interested in the Russian market, it, as a rule, already has a Russian legal entity which automatically allows it to register domain name in ccTLD .РФ as a resident without any restrictions. Where American companies are solely aware of their interest in the Russian market, they may hire an agent of order a domain name on trust agreement with any of the CC’s accredited registrars.

Q: China took the unpopular step of changing its registration policy to only allow Chinese companies to own .CN. Many fear that .РФ could implement similar restrictions at some point in the future. Do you believe that .РФ will remain friendly to foreign registrants?

A: Russia has always demonstrated a rather friendly policy towards the Internet and we do not see any evidence why it should change. Even now, with certain restrictions effective over the first year, you can see they are not intrusive. In fact, they are not even restrictions for foreigners but an attempt to create slight preferences for Russians. J

Q: Thank you so much for your time.

A: Thank you for the questions.