5 hours ago
- Starting September 1, 2026, .ru domain owners must verify their identity through Russia's Gosuslugi system, requiring Russian documents, or risk losing the domain.
- The rule affects approximately six million .ru domains, as well as .рф and .su, and is hardest on foreign businesses and individuals who cannot or will not provide identity documents to the Russian state.
- Foreign owners face limited options: submit to Russian government identity checks, use trustee services (still being finalized), or abandon their domains, likely shrinking the .ru zone.
- Country-code domains are not neutral; they are governed by the laws of the representing country, as seen with China's .cn and Russia's enforcement actions, including domain suspensions without court orders.
- Businesses should treat country-code domain choices as politically exposed, maintain a neutral fallback like .com, and be aware that governments increasingly use domains as policy instruments.