Place of Power: Russia’s Main IT Platform RIF-2025 Generates Ideas for the Future
The pursuit of digital sovereignty, the development of domestic technologies, and the support of innovative solutions are making Russia a significant player on the global IT stage. The Russian Internet Forum is not just a key event but also a platform shaping the digital agenda.
Festival of Knowledge and Innovation
Every year, the Russian Internet Forum (RIF) strengthens its status as the most significant event in the country’s IT industry. In 2025, the forum, scheduled for September 24–26 at the scenic Moscow Country Club in Nakhabino, will once again bring together leading industry experts, top executives, government officials, investors, developers, and young talent under one roof.
RIF is a unique festival of knowledge, innovation, and networking. Formalities are set aside: three days of the forum are filled with live dialogue, informal interactions, and business meetings. Participants come not only for new knowledge but also for the opportunity to meet colleagues whose schedules are often too tight to align during regular workdays.
A Showcase of Achievements
The importance of RIF is difficult to overestimate. The forum has become a true showcase of achievements in the Russian IT sector, as well as a platform for discussing strategic issues of digitalizing the economy. Ideas born here later turn into real projects, startups, and government initiatives.
RIF also plays a crucial role in developing the industry’s talent pool. Participants note that it is precisely here that they find new employees, partners, and even investors. For young people, the forum opens doors to the world of high technology, offering opportunities to interact with thought leaders, learn about new trends, and draw inspiration from large-scale projects.
Tackling Challenges, Setting Priorities
The RIF-2025 program promises to be packed. As tradition dictates, it will include themed sessions, panel discussions, masterclasses, and case studies from top experts and visionaries in the digital world. The agenda features sessions dedicated to current IT trends, cybersecurity, digital regulation, as well as discussions on creative industries, innovative urban development, and the growth of EdTech and TravelTech.
A new exhibition and networking concept called ‘CYBERDACHA’ will showcase Russian technological solutions. Special formats are also planned: Analytics.Fest with up-to-date research, a legal lounge, investment and HR brunches, and a women’s club.
The central themes of RIF-2025 — “The Right to the Future” and “The National Code of Runet” — highlight the key challenges and priorities of the digital agenda. The first focuses on the rights and opportunities that technology opens for people and society, while the second emphasizes the importance of digital sovereignty, the development of the Russian internet, and technological independence.
How RIF Has Grown
Since 1997, RIF has united IT leaders, government representatives, media, and the scientific community. The main organizer is the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC). The first RIF brought together about 250 people, mainly Moscow-based and foreign internet specialists. Since then, the forum has grown steadily:
- In 2003, two parallel versions were held — the “main” one in Moscow and another in Perm in the Urals.
- Since 2006, RIF has also hosted the All-Russian Internet Marathon, a series of advisory events in more than 10 major Russian cities.
- In 2008, the 12th RIF was opened by Russia’s then-president Dmitry Medvedev. - In 2020, for the first time in its history, RIF was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In 2023, the forum announced the launch of RUVIKI, an open electronic encyclopedia. It also featured the Alley of Technological Leadership, an exhibition zone showcasing new services and domestic alternatives to foreign platforms created by Russian developers.
RIF-2024 gathered over 3,500 participants and hosted more than 300 speakers. Among the industry giants present were VK, Tinkoff, GigaChat, Kokoc Group, Rostelecom, Yandex, CIAN, Ozon, Ru-Center, RUTUBE, Avito, iContextGroup, Zvuk, BelkaCar, and many others.
What will RIF-2025 bring? We will find out soon enough. But one thing is already clear — under conditions of global shifts and sanctions pressure, the forum is becoming a gathering point for leaders of the national IT sector and a catalyst for forming a unified digital space in Russia.
