A company called IT Infoart Stars first suggested that we celebrate Internet Day on September 30 in 1998 and sent invitations to companies and organizations to conduct a type of ‘sensus” of the Runet - Russian Internet - population. At the time the Russian-language segment of the network already had about a million users. Today the Internet is used by over 87 million Russians - over 70% of the country.
It’s, of course, impossible to pinpoint the exact date when Internet “stepped onto the Russian soil”. It was a gradual process to integrate Russia in the global information network. ITMO University played an important part in it.
Most of you have seen a giant satellite dish on the roof of ITMO University’s main campus on Kronversky, 49.
It’s part of the RUNNet (Russian UNiversity Network) - a nationwide educational and scientific network. The network was created at the initiative of ITMO University in 1994. It’s main goal was to integrate Russia in the global scientific community and created one within Russia.
Now RUNNet connects over 400 research and education centers from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. It has satellite nodes in Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Saratov, Ulianovsk, Nizhni-Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Tambov, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk.
Another important day in Russian Internet is April 7, 1994, when the domain .ru was registered and entered into the database of the top-register national domains.
