When does a .ru domain expire and drop?
An expired .ru stays renewable by its holder alone for about 80 days, then is released. Here is that timeline, who runs .ru, the identity rule, and how to register.
An expired .ru is released about 80 days after expiry. For that window only the current registrant may renew it, at the ordinary price; no one else can register it until it is freed in the registry's daily deletion run. .ru is the country code of Russia, run by Coordination Center for TLD RU, and registrants must be identity-verified.
- Registry
- Coordination Center for TLD RU
- Backend
- Technical Center of Internet
- Type
- ccTLD
- Country
- Russia
- Delegated
- 1994-04-07
- DNSSEC
- Yes
- IDN
- No
- Restrictions
- Verified
- Label length
- 1–63 chars
- Grace
- 45 days
- Redemption
- 30 days
- Pending delete
- 5 days
- Expiry to drop
- 80 days
- Daily drop window
- 13:00–20:00 UTC
One holder-only window, then release
.ru has a single post-expiry stage. For about 30 days the name is held and can be renewed only by its current registrant, at the ordinary price; then it is released to open registration in the registry's daily deletion run. There is no separate grace or pending-delete stage.
That makes .ru drops fast and sharply timed: a desirable name is freed at a known moment and contested immediately, which is why catching services cluster around the daily release. A watchlist tells you a name is heading for that window rather than being renewed by its holder.
Who runs .ru, and since when
.ru is the country code of Russia, delegated in 1994 and administered by Coordination Center for TLD RU, which coordinates policy for both .ru and its Cyrillic sibling. Technical operation runs through Technical Center of Internet.
As a nationally coordinated country code, its eligibility and deletion rules are the registry's to set, and they have tightened: registrant identity verification is now required. The stage documented here is its published lifecycle, which our engine re-verifies against the live record.
How to register a .ru domain
A .ru is no longer anonymous: registrants must verify their identity, and non-resident holders typically register through a local trustee, so the namespace is effectively gated rather than open.
Identity verification is now a condition of holding a .ru, so catching one means being able to qualify as its registrant. Recovery during the window is the current holder's alone, so an outsider waits for the release itself.
- Identity verification required: registrants are verified through the Russian state identity system, so anonymous holding is not permitted.
- Register through an accredited registrar, commonly via a local trustee for non-residents; the registry sells wholesale.
- Labels are ASCII only, up to 63 characters, using letters, digits and hyphens; Cyrillic names use the separate Russian IDN extension.
- Registration is annual and renewable; an unrenewed name enters the single release window below.
The .ru timeline, stage by stage
The single stage an unrenewed .ru passes through before release.
| Stage | Window | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal grace: about 45 days | Day 0 to 45 after expiry | The registration has expired but the current owner can still renew at the normal price, usually through their registrar. The name often stops resolving during this window, and nobody else can register it. Registrars frequently delete earlier than the final day, which starts the rest of the timeline early. |
| Redemption: about 30 days | Day 45 to 75 after expiry | Deletion has begun. Only the current registrant can recover the name now, typically by paying a restore fee on top of the renewal, and it cannot be registered by anyone else. A restore during this stage is a strong signal the name will not drop. |
| Pending delete: 5 days | Day 75 to 80 after expiry | The point of no return. Recovery is no longer possible for anyone, including the original owner, and the registry releases the name at the end of this fixed window. This is the stage worth acting on if you want the name. |
| Released: registrable by anyone | From about day 80 | The name leaves the registry's deletion pipeline and returns to the public pool, registrable at the standard price on a first-come basis through any registrar. Availability monitoring exists to catch this moment. |
.ru technical profile
How .ru publishes registration data, secures its zone, and handles non-Latin names.
WHOIS lookups
Registration data for a .ru domain is queryable over legacy WHOIS at whois.tcinet.ru. The registry does not run a public RDAP service, so status, dates and record changes are read from WHOIS, which is what our monitoring reads.
DNSSEC
The .ru registry supports DNSSEC, so a domain can publish DS records and let resolvers cryptographically validate its DNS answers against tampering.
Internationalized names
The .ru zone is ASCII only. Cyrillic-script names are registered under Russia's separate Russian-language IDN extension rather than as .ru labels, so a .ru is always written in Latin characters.
whois.tcinet.ru
The registry publishes .ru status over WHOIS rather than RDAP and signs the zone for DNSSEC. Its daily deletion run releases freed names in a fixed window, which is what makes .ru drop timing sharp and predictable.
Is .ru a good domain?
Where .ru fits, and the constraints.
The Russian address
For a business or site serving a Russian-speaking audience, .ru is the established default and by far the most-held extension in the market.
ASCII beside Cyrillic
A .ru is always Latin-script; the Cyrillic form of the namespace is a separate Russian IDN extension. Many brands hold both so the name reads natively in either script.
Identity now required
Mandatory registrant identity verification has ended anonymous .ru ownership. That is a compliance step for legitimate holders and a barrier for anyone who cannot or will not verify.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about .ru domains.
What is .ru, and who runs it?
.ru is the country code of Russia, delegated in 1994 and coordinated by Coordination Center for TLD RU, with technical operation through Technical Center of Internet. It is the most widely held extension in the Russian market.
How long does it take for an expired .ru to drop?
About 80 days. For that window only the current registrant may renew the name, at the ordinary price; then an unrenewed name is freed to open registration in the registry's daily deletion run. There is no separate grace or pending-delete stage.
Who is allowed to register a .ru domain?
Registrants must verify their identity through the Russian state identity system; anonymous ownership is no longer permitted. Non-residents typically register through a local trustee that holds the name on their behalf.
Does .ru support Cyrillic names or RDAP?
Neither. A .ru is ASCII only, with Cyrillic names living under Russia's separate Russian-language IDN extension, and the registry publishes registration data over WHOIS rather than RDAP.
What is the best way to get a .ru that is expiring?
Watch it and target the daily release, since recovery during the window belongs to the current holder alone. Because the drop is sharply timed and contested, a catching service is often the realistic route for a desirable name.
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