1997: RIF as a Response to Uncertainty

A Historical Excursion

To understand how the average user interacted with the internet during the first RIF, it’s important to recall how unfamiliar global connectivity still was.

The first nationwide network, Relcom, was created only in 1990. Essentially an email system using internet addressing, it linked computers via telephone lines and connected researchers in Moscow, St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Novosibirsk, and Kyiv.

By 1993, leading Russian providers signed an agreement on administering the .ru domain. Oversight went to the Russian Research Institute for Public Networks Development, which then applied to the International Network Information Center for IP address allocation.

Notably, Russia’s first web design studio opened in 1995. That same year, the “Teacher’s Gazette” became the first offline media outlet with an online presence, quickly turning into a go-to source for progressive internet users. Also in 1995, interim results of State Duma elections were published online for the first time.

The first internet ads appeared only in 1996, when entrepreneurs earned $200 from banner sales. And Rambler, Russia’s first search engine, launched in 1996 and quickly became the most visited site on Runet.

Tell Me Who I Am…

With this background, Russia’s internet community saw the need for a large, open forum. The internet had grown so influential within the computer world that a gathering to debate Runet’s challenges was inevitable.

On March 16–19, 1997, the first Russian Internet Forum (RIF) took place. Small in scale but significant in impact, it drew just 250 participants. Few could have predicted this initiative would shape one of Russia’s most promising industries for decades to come.

The three-day event, organized by the Regional Public Center for Internet Technologies (ROCIT), brought together internet company executives, specialists, and journalists.

What made it invaluable was not just the official sessions, but human interaction. Ironically, in a medium overflowing with communication, the chance to meet providers, bloggers, and policymakers face-to-face became RIF’s enduring bonus.

As organizers later noted, the toughest task was framing the internet as a business environment—at a time when many still saw it as a playground for entertainment, far from serious.

People Are Built This Way…

Skeptics predicted RIF’s quick demise. But history had other plans.

The forum survived the crises of 1998, 2008, and 2014, adapted during the 2020 pandemic, and emerged stronger. Through it all, RIF unified the IT sector, expanded its geographic reach, and provided both expertise and emotional support for its participants.

Like 28 years ago, today’s internet industry faces massive upheavals. Players come and go, sanctions disrupt established networks, supply chains collapse and reform. That is why RIF remains essential—a place to request forecasts, hear expert recommendations, and share concerns with peers.

The Forum’s Format

RIF’s founders established principles that remain intact.

First, it would be an off-site event, creating its own immersive environment. Second, conditions should be comfortable both logistically and professionally. Third, the program must be packed, even overloaded, to help participants shift focus from routine work to new ideas.

Interestingly, the title of the first RIF—“Use of Internet in Corporate Networks”—wasn’t particularly inspiring and could have put some people off. But in the mid-1990s, “Internet” sparked imagination, while “corporate networks” addressed real needs. Later forums would adopt sharper themes and vocabulary.

The first RIF proved to attendees that the internet was penetrating not just business, but everyday life.

Even today, participants come for the same reasons: to learn about the market, build both professional and informal networks, and explore niche topics. Each year has only strengthened the forum’s authority.