.su
| Introduced | 1990 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | Russian Institute for Public Networks |
| Sponsor | Russian Institute for Public Networks |
| Intended use | Entities from the  Soviet Union
|
| Actual use | Entities from the post-Soviet states, including the  Donetsk People's Republic
|
| Registered domains | 119,423 (July 2014) |
| Registration restrictions | None |
| Structure | Registrations are permitted directly at the second level |
| Dispute policies | None |
| Website | RUcenter |
| DNSSEC | yes |
.su was assigned as the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Soviet Union (USSR) on 19 September 1990. Even though the Soviet Union itself was dissolved a mere 15 months later, the .su top-level domain remains in use today. It is administered by the Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN, or RosNIIROS in Russian transcription).
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. Initially, before two-letter ccTLDs became standard, the Soviet Union was to receive a .ussr domain. The .su domain was proposed by the then-19-year-old Finnish student Petri Ojala. On 26 December 1991 the country formally ceased to exist 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 1993 there was no assigned top-level domain name for Russia. For this reason the country continued to use the Soviet domain. In 1993 the .ru domain was created, which is supposed to eventually replace the .su domain (domains for the republics other than Russia were created at different times in the mid-nineties; however, the domain usage outside the Russian region is slim). The domain was supposed to be withdrawn by ICANN, but it was kept at the request of the Russian government and Internet users.
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. ICANN has expressed intentions to terminate the .su domain and IANA states that the domain is being phased out, but lobbyists stated in September 2007 that they had started negotiations with ICANN on retaining the domain. In the first quarter of 2008, .su registrations increased by 45%.
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