.su

Internet country-code top level domain for the Soviet Union

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: ".su" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

.su

Introduced| 19 September 1990
TLD type| Country code top-level domain
Status| Active
Registry| Russian Institute for Public Networks (РосНИИРОС)
Sponsor| Russian Institute for Public Networks (РосНИИРОС)
Intended use| Entities connected with the Soviet Union
Actual use| Mostly used by entities connected with post-Soviet states and websites about the su shell command.
Registered domains| 111,695 (3 February 2025)[1]
Registration restrictions| Passport required
Structure| Registrations are permitted directly at the second level
Documents| Documents
Dispute policies| None
DNSSEC| yes
Registry website| ripn.su/en/

.su is an Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) that was designated for the Soviet Union on 19 September 1990.[2] Even though the Soviet Union itself was dissolved 15 months later, the .su top-level domain remains in use to the present day. It is administered by the Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN, or RosNIIROS in Russian transcription).[3]

The .su ccTLD is known for usage by cybercriminals, hackers and scammers.[4][5][6]

## History

[edit]

After 1989 a set of new internet domains was created in Europe, including .pl (Poland), .cs (Czechoslovakia), .yu (Yugoslavia) and .dd (East Germany). Among them, there was also a domain for the USSR – .su.[7] Initially, before two-letter ccTLDs became standard, the Soviet Union was to receive a .ussr domain. The .su domain was proposed by the 19-year-old Finnish student Petri Ojala.[8]

On 26 December 1991 the country was dissolved and its constituent republics gained independence, which should have caused the domain to begin a phase-out process, as happened with those of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Until 1994[7] there was no assigned top-level domain name for Russia. For this reason the country continued to use the Soviet domain. In 1994, the .ru domain was created, which was supposed to eventually replace the .su domain[7] (domains for the republics other than Russia were created at different times in the mid-nineties). The domain was supposed to be withdrawn by ICANN, but it was kept at the request of the Russian government and Internet users.[7]

In 2001, the managers of the domain stated that they would commence accepting new .su registrations, but it is unclear whether this action was compatible with ICANN policies.[9] In September 2007, lobbyists stated that they had started negotiations with ICANN on retaining the domain.[10] In March 2025, ICANN reportedly notified[11] the operator of the domain, the Russian Institute for Development of Public Networks (ROSNIIROS),[3] of a planned phase-out of the domain by 2030.

As of March 2025, the .su ccTLD contained over 112,000 domains.[12]

## Usage

[edit]

The domain was intended to be used by Soviet institutions and companies operating in the USSR. The dissolution of the Soviet Union meant that the new TLD was superseded by the new country TLDs of the former Soviet republics. Despite this, .su is still in use. Most of the .su domains are registered in Russia and the United States.[13] According to data from May 2025, there were over 111,500 registered domains with the .su TLD (there are over 5.895 million .ru domains).[14] Some organizations with roots in the former Soviet Union also still use this TLD.[6] The pro-Russian Ukrainian separatist group Donetsk People's Republic have also registered their domain with the TLD.[15] The .su domain also hosts white supremacist websites that have been deplatformed elsewhere, formerly including The Daily Stormer.[16]

The domain has been reported to host many cybercrime activities[17][5][4] due to the relaxed and outdated terms of use, along with staying out of focus (2% usage comparing to the primary .ru zone).[4][18] Rules for timely suspension of malicious domains[18] have been in place since 2013 in response to the issue.[19]

## See also

[edit]

* Soviet Union portal
* Internet portal

* .рф – Cyrillic Internet country code top-level domain for the Russian Federation
* .ru – Latin alphabet Internet country code top-level domain for Russia
* Runet – Russian-language community on the internet
* Technical Center of Internet

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Общее число доменов | Домены России". statdom.ru. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
2. ^ "IANA — .su Domain Delegation Data". iana.org. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
3. ^ a b .su Domain Delegation Data IANA
4. ^ a b c "Old Soviet Union domain name attracts cybercriminal interest". 31 May 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
5. ^ a b Patel, Neel V. (December 2015). "The Bizarre Afterlife of .su, the Domain Name and Last Bastion of the USSR". Inverse. Retrieved 21 August 2022. "the .su domain has attracted a lot of attention from cybercriminals looking for a safe haven to conduct operations"
6. ^ a b "Tons of Hackers are Hanging out in old Soviet Cyberspace". Gizmodo. June 2013.
7. ^ a b c d Marcin Kryska. "Domena internetowa SU" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
8. ^ Юбилей Рунета: 10 лет назад финн Петри Ойала зарегистрировал домен .su (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
9. ^ Back in the USSR: Soviet Internet domain name resists death, Mansur Mirovalev, writing for Associated Press, 18 April 2008
10. ^ Kilner, James (19 September 2007). "USSR still alive on Internet and won't go quietly". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 December 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
11. ^ Allemann, Andrew (11 March 2025). "ICANN moves to retire Soviet-era .SU country domain name". Domain Name Wire. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
12. ^ "Домены России". Domain Name Wire. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
13. ^ "Domena .su wciąż używana, chociaż ZSRR już nie ma" (in Polish). 21 September 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
14. ^ "Домены — статистика регистраций". Retrieved 3 May 2025.
15. ^ "Donetsk People's Republic 'Government' Portal". Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
16. ^ Ryan, Fergus. "Why Are Moscow and Beijing Happy to Host the U.S. Far-Right Online?". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
17. ^ Moscow, Associated Press in (31 May 2013). "Hack in the USSR: cybercriminals find haven in .su domain space". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
18. ^ a b "Group-IB and Foundation for Internet Development sign an agreement to combat cyber threats in the .SU domain zone". Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
19. ^ "Генеральная уборка в домене SU". info.info.nic.ru.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to .su at Wikimedia Commons
* Statistics of registrations under the .su domain
* RIPN press release regarding future of .su domain Archived 24 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Country code top-level domains

ISO 3166-1

A .ac .ad .ae .af .ag .ai .al .am .ao .aq .ar .as .at .au .aw .ax .az
B .ba .bb .bd .be .bf .bg .bh .bi .bj .bm .bn .bo .br .bs .bt .bw .by .bz
C .ca .cc .cd .cf .cg .ch .ci .ck .cl .cm .cn .co .cr .cu .cv .cw .cx .cy .cz
D .de .dj .dk .dm .do .dz
E .ec .ee .eg .er .es .et .eu
F .fi .fj .fk .fm .fo .fr
G .ga .gd .ge .gf .gg .gh .gi .gl .gm .gn .gp .gq .gr .gs .gt .gu .gw .gy
H .hk .hm .hn .hr .ht .hu
I .id .ie .il .im .in .io .iq .ir .is .it
J .je .jm .jo .jp
K .ke .kg .kh .ki .km .kn .kp .kr .kw .ky .kz
L .la .lb .lc .li .lk .lr .ls .lt .lu .lv .ly
M .ma .mc .md .me .mg .mh .mk .ml .mm .mn .mo .mp .mq .mr .ms .mt .mu .mv .mw .mx .my .mz
N .na .nc .ne .nf .ng .ni .nl .no .np .nr .nu .nz
O .om
P .pa .pe .pf .pg .ph .pk .pl .pm .pn .pr .ps .pt .pw .py
Q .qa
R .re .ro .rs .ru .rw
S .sa .sb .sc .sd .se .sg .sh .si .sk .sl .sm .sn .so .sr .ss .st .su .sv .sx .sy .sz
T .tc .td .tf .tg .th .tj .tk .tl .tm .tn .to .tr .tt .tv .tw .tz
U .ua .ug .uk .us .uy .uz
V .va .vc .ve .vg .vi .vn .vu
W .wf .ws
Y .ye .yt
Z .za .zm .zw

Internationalized (IDN) ccTLD

| Cyrillic script| Arabic script| Brahmic scripts| Chinese characters| Other scripts

|
|
|
|

* .бг (bg, Bulgaria)
* .бел (bieł, Belarus)
* .ею (eyu, European Union)
* .қаз (qaz, Kazakhstan)
* .мон (mon, Mongolia)
* .мкд (mkd, North Macedonia)
* .рф (rf, Russia)
* .срб (srb, Serbia)
* .укр (ukr, Ukraine)

* الجزائر. (al-Jazā’ir, Algeria)
* مصر. (Miṣr, Egypt)
* بھارت. (Bhārat, India)
* ایران. (Irân, Iran)
* الاردن. (al-Urdun, Jordan)
* فلسطين. (Filasṭin, Palestine)
* پاکستان. (Pākistān, Pakistan)
* قطر. (Qaṭar)
* السعودية. (al-Saudiah, Saudi Arabia)
* سوريا. (Sūryā, Syria)
* تونس. (Tunis, Tunisia)
* امارات. (Emarat, UAE)
* عمان. (ʻUmān, Oman)
* مليسيا. (Maleesya, Malaysia)
* المغرب. (al-Maġrib, Morocco)
* سودان. (Sūdān, Sudan)
* اليمن. (al-Yaman, Yemen)

* .বাংলা (Bāṅla, Bangladesh)
* .ভাৰত (Bhārat, India)
* .ভারত (Bhārat, India)
* .भारत (Bhārat, India)
* .భారత్ (Bhārat, India)
* .ભારત (Bhārat, India)
* .ਭਾਰਤ (Bhārat, India)
* .ଭାରତ (Bhārata, India)
* .இந்தியா (Indiyā, India)
* .ລາວ (Lao, Laos)
* .சிங்கப்பூர் (Cinkappūr, Singapore)
* .ලංකා (Laṅkā, Sri Lanka)
* .இலங்கை (Ilaṅkai, Sri Lanka)
* .ไทย (Thai, Thailand)

* .中国 (China, in simplified Chinese)
* .中國 (China, in traditional Chinese)
* .香港 (Hong Kong)
* .澳門 (Macau, trad.)
* .澳门 (Macau, simp.)
* .新加坡 (Singapore)
* .台灣 (Taiwan, trad.)
* .台湾 (Taiwan, simp.)

* .հայ (hay, Armenia)
* .ευ (ey, European Union)
* .გე (ge, Georgia)
* .ελ (el, Greece)
* .한국 (Han-guk, South Korea)
* ישראל. (Yisrael, Israel)

* * *

Proposed IDN ccTLDs

* .κπ (kp, Cyprus)
* .日本 (Nippon, Japan)

Others

| Reserved / unassigned| Allocated / unused| Phased out / deleted

|
|

.bl .bq .eh .mf .xk

.bv .gb .sj

.an .bu .cs .dd .tp .um .yu .zr

See also: Generic top-level domains

* v
* t
* e

Soviet Union topics

* Bibliography of the Russian Revolution and Civil War
* Bibliography of Stalinism and the Soviet Union
* Bibliography of the Post Stalinist Soviet Union

History|

* Index of Soviet Union–related articles
* Outline
* Russian Revolution
* February
* October
* Russian Civil War
* Russian SFSR
* Creation treaty
* New Economic Policy
* Stalinism
* Great Purge
* Great Patriotic War (World War II)
* Evacuation
* The Holocaust
* Cold War
* Khrushchev thaw
* Sino-Soviet split
* Soviet space program
* Caribbean Crisis
* Stagnation
* Soviet–Afghan War
* Perestroika
* Glasnost
* Chernobyl disaster
* Revolutions of 1989
* August Coup
* Parade of sovereignties
* Dissolution
* Transition period and cessation of the existence
* Succession, continuity and legacy
* Post-Soviet states
* Nostalgia

Geography|

| Subdivisions|

* Republics
* Autonomous
* Krais
* Oblasts
* Autonomous
* Autonomous okrugs
* Closed city

|

Regions|

* Baltic States
* Caspian Sea
* Caucasus Mountains
* Central Asia
* Crimea
* European Russia
* North Caucasus
* Russian Far East
* Siberia
* Transcaucasia
* Ural Mountains
* Volga Region
* West Siberian Plain

Politics|

| General|

* Conscription
* Constitution
* 1924
* 1936
* 1977
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Brezhnev Doctrine
* Gun control
* Government
* List
* Ministries
* State Committees
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Law
* Capital punishment
* Leaders
* Collective leadership
* National delimitation
* Passport system
* Propiska
* Political parties
* State ideology
* Marxism–Leninism
* Leninism
* Stalinism
* Soviet anti-Zionism

|

Bodies|

* Communist Party
* organisation
* Congress
* Central Committee
* Presidium/Politburo
* Secretariat
* General Secretary
* Congress of Soviets (1922–1936)
* Supreme Soviet (1938–1991)
* Congress of People's Deputies (1989–1991)
* Supreme Court
* Military Collegium
* All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions
* Creative unions

Offices|

* Heads of state
* President
* Premier
* Deputy Premier
* First Deputy Premier

Security services|

* Cheka
* GPU
* NKVD
* Destruction battalions
* MVD
* Militsiya
* MGB
* KGB
* Chairmen
* Soviet Border Troops
* Soviet Armed Forces
* Soviet Army/Spetsnaz GRU • Soviet Navy • Soviet Air Forces/Soviet Airborne Forces

Political repression|

* Red Terror
* Collectivization
* Great Purge
* Population transfer
* Forced labor
* Foreign forced labor
* POW labor
* Gulag
* List
* Holodomor
* Political abuse of psychiatry
* Anti-abuse struggle
* War crimes
* Atrocities against prisoners of war

Ideological repression|

* Persecution of Christians
* Eastern Catholics
* Science
* Censorship
* Censorship of images

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Banking
* Central Bank
* State Labor Savings Banks System
* Economic planning
* Energy policy
* Enterprises
* Five-year plans
* Industrialization
* Internet domain
* Inventions
* Net material product
* OGAS
* Economic reforms
* 1956–1962 Wage reform
* 1957
* 1965
* 1973
* 1979
* Rouble (currency)
* Monetary reforms
* 1947
* 1961
* 1991
* Automotive industry
* Construction

Transport|

* Ministry of Railways
* Railway system
* Rail transport
* Railway electrification
* List of metro systems
* Vehicle registration plates

Science|

* Communist Academy
* Cybernetics
* Academy of Sciences
* Academy of Medical Sciences
* Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences
* Sharashkas
* Naukograds
* List

Society|

* Antisemitism
* Crime
* Demographics
* Soviet people
* Working class
* 1989 census
* Drug policy
* Ethnic conflicts
* Family
* Languages
* Linguistics
* Cyrillisation
* Prohibition
* Racism

Culture|

* Ballet
* Cinema
* Fashion
* Literature
* Music
* Opera
* Phraseology
* Printed media
* Propaganda
* Publishing houses
* Religion
* Islam
* Sports
* Stalinist architecture
* Broadcasting
* Radio
* Television

Opposition|

* Anti-Soviet agitation
* Soviet dissidents and their groups
* List

Symbols|

* Anthem
* Republics
* Emblem
* Republics
* Flag
* Republics
* Hammer and sickle

* Soviet Union portal
* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template