Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev delivered a video address at a news conference marking 20 years of the .RU domain zone. “An average web user spends over 100 minutes per day in the .RU zone,” he said. “Imagine that! I hope these are not wasted minutes.” He also recalled that Russia is Europe’s leader in the number of Internet users.

Other speakers at the news conference were Deputy Minister for Communications and Mass Media Alexei Volin, Head of the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ Andrei Kolesnikov, ICANN’s Mikhail Yakushev, Deputy Head of the Technical Center of Internet Marina Nikerova, CEO of Technical Center of Internet Alexei Platonov, Rostelecom Vice President Alexei Basov, Head of Internet Initiatives Development Fund Kirill Varlamov, Irina Danelia, who is working on the .ДЕТИ project at the Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ, and RU-Center CEO Alexander Panov.

Sergei Plugotarenko, Head of the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC), spoke at The Tips and Tricks of the Internet Economy panel. He provided figures that point to the robust development of the Russian Internet economy, which accounts for 8.5% of the country’s GDP. As many as 5 million Russians work in Internet-related sectors. In 2013, over 80% of investment transactions in Russia were made in the IT sector.

Plugotarenko said that the Internet economy is becoming a vital factor in all economic and political planning in Russia. The panel discussions were attended by Alexei Basov (Rostelecom), Mikhail Yakushev (ICANN), Maelle Gavet (CEO of Ozon Holdings), Ruslan Gattarov (Deputy Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region) and Kirill Varlamov (Internet Initiatives Development Fund). Participants in the news conference agreed on the unique nature of the Russian Internet that can be considered a national asset for many reasons.