September 19, 1990
Scientists from the Kurchatov Institute registered the SU domain in an international database, which they planned to use to develop the Soviet Internet. This domain zone, unlike the state, continues to exist to this day.
The initial application for registration included the symbols .ussr. However, this option was rejected, and the scientists settled on a shorter abbreviation: SovetUnion.
Despite the fact that most Soviet people in 1990 had little understanding of the World Wide Web, domain name registration began immediately.
It was primarily the entrepreneurs who were interested, those who owned trademarks and were already familiar with the internet. However, in most cases, it didn't even lead to website creation: clients were content with having their own domain name, and thus status in certain circles.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all its former republics, including Russian Federation, assigned national domains.
SU, which was assigned to a non-existent country, was given temporary status. It was supposed to follow the fate of domains that disappeared with the collapse of Czechoslovakia or YugoslaviaHowever, this has not happened yet.
At first, it was frozen, prohibiting the registration of new names, and in 2001, it was transferred to the management of the Internet Development Fund, a public organization. By that time, the end SU had 25 thousand names.
In addition, a large number of DNS servers operated under this designation, influencing many other domains.
Ultimately, the SU zone was unfrozen and open registration was restored. Currently, there are almost 110 names registered there. This is 50 times fewer than in the RU. And seven times less than in the zone RF.
Nevertheless, millions of users access SU domains every day. They most often visit resources aimed at Russian-speaking residents of the post-Soviet space.
Moreover, this domain is still unpopulated: there are still many beautiful and meaningful names available for purchase. Registration costs 590 rubles.
