According to Akamai’s Q3 2015 rankings, the average downlink Internet speed in Russia is 10.2 Mbps and the average uplink speed is 15 Mbps.

Population & Internet Availability

The current population of Russia is approximately 144.3 million. More than 70% of residents have access to the Internet, especially broadband connections.

Main Types of Access to the Internet

Russian residents can access the following types of Internet services:

– Dial-up (slowly getting replaced with broadband connections)
– Cable Internet
– DSL (notably ADSL Internet)
– Wireless Internet

Internet Access – Dial-up Internet

Dial-up services remain somewhat popular among Russian Internet consumers in regions located outside Moscow and Saint Petersburg, due to lack of competition between internet providers and lack of intent to improve the infrastructure so as to support broadband connections. Dial-up is also arguably more expensive than traditional broadband connections owing to the technology used.

Internet Access – Cable Internet

Cable Internet services are widely used by local internet customers, and are available mostly in Russia’s bigger cities, such as Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirisk, as well as Ekaterinburg. Telecoms that provide cable internet include but are not limited to: Rostelecom, BeeLine, MTS, and Megafon.

Internet Access – DSL Internet

As with cable internet, DSL Internet is also available only in the bigger cities mentioned above, and is provided by the same telecoms. The difference lies in DSL being slightly cheaper than cable internet, due to the fact that it is provided via telephone lines that most people are already connected to.

Internet Access – Wireless Internet

Even though Internet penetration rates have increased drastically over the last years, from 40% in 2005 to a whopping 70% as of late 2015, it remains somewhat unsatisfactory as a great number of people located in remote areas (e.g. in less developed cities or in the countryside) still cannot access the internet via traditional methods. Such customers have to resort to wireless connections to access the internet, notably satellite connections. Furthermore, due to Russia’s surface area (1^st in the world), it is also quite impossible to provide reliable Internet connections to every resident without incurring massive costs.

Internet Censorship in Russia

Russia remains one of the most restrictive countries in the world in terms of internet access, as observed by many private organisations and NGOs, such as Reporters without Borders and Freedom House, both of which deemed Russian internet “not free and under strict governmental surveillance”. Russia censors internet access in the traditional sense of the word, by blocking access to popular social networking sites such as LinkedIn or any other websites deemed inappropriate. Users who try to find workarounds (i.e. use VPNs) to access such websites may be held liable. Russia has also recently passed a legislation that now permits data preservation for a period of up to 3 years, which curbs internet transparency all the more. On paper, the Russian constitution provides for freedom of speech and press; however, the reality is drastically different.

According to datacentermap.com, there are currently 51 colocation datacenters established in Russia. Most datacenters are concentrated in Moscow (30), followed by Saint Petersburg (12), then smaller cities, such as Kazan (2), Novgorod (2), etc.

Prominent Colocation Providers

In Moscow, prominent colocation providers include the following:

– eServer
– HostKey
– CROC Incorporated
– Safedata, LLC.
– JSC
– RackStore
– MCN telecom

Prominent Colocation Providers – HostKey

HostKey is one of the prominent colocation providers established in Moscow. This company owns and operates a state-of-the-art facility established in a convenient area in Moscow, which is recognised as being one of the most technologically-advanced in Russia.

Services provided in this datacenter include:

– rental of suites, cages, rack cabinets, and diverse enclosures

Amenities found at this location consist of the following:

– redundant UPS power equipment
– wide range of power choices, from 2 KW per rack to 20 KW per rack
– diverse power feeds
– on-site primary substations
– the datacenter is carrier neutral, having access to a wide range of telecoms and carrier hotels, such as: MMTS9, Orange, Tele2, Mastertel, JSC, GARS Telecom

Prominent Colocation Providers – eServer

Another popular colocation provider located in Moscow is eServer. This provider offers diverse colocation services in a Tier III facility located 30 minutes away from SVO International Airport.

Numerous colocation services are provided at this location, namely:

– rental of suites, cages, rack cabinets, footprints, and diverse enclosures

There are as many amenities to boost customer experience:

– redundant uninterruptible power system (UPS)
– backup diesel generators
– 1st class energy circuits from Mosenergo (the largest Russian power generating company)

Colocation Industry in Russia

Russia remains a somewhat stagnant colocation market in comparison with most of its European neighbours, as demonstrated by the limited number of colocation providers currently operating in the country. On top of that, it should also be noted that some datacenter operators are state-owned, which means that the industry is not entirely private and therefore not bound to see many advancements. A relevant example in this regard is state-owned Rostelecom’s 2015 acquisition of a majority stake in SafeData, a leading operator of commercial datacenters, traffic exchange services and content delivery. More than half of the Russian demand for colocation is driven by local banks and financial institutions, in addition to diverse online stores, media companies and/or retailers. With regard to the available colocation space, Moscow accounts for over 70% of the available supply, followed by Saint Petersburg with 18%. The remainder of 12% is distributed across various smaller cities; however, premium colocation can only be found in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Advantages for Colocation

We may outline a few advantages for colocation as follows:

– relatively low risk for natural disasters in Moscow and Saint Petersburg
– cluster of colocation providers concentrated in Moscow, which results in plenty of choice
– high vacancy rates due to insufficient demand
– low costs of electricity, maintaining a steady $0.11 per kWh

Russian web hosting services are widely known for boasting some of the cheapest prices in the hosting world, regardless of provider. For instance, the cheapest Shared plan starts at as low as $1 per month, and on top of that, features are mostly cap-free. However, it should be taken into account the fact that the respective services usually cater to a local clientele exclusively, due to the fact that the actual companies do not list their offering in English. On top of that, no company can ensure confidentiality of information owing to the recent legislation passed by the Russian government which grants them access to and allows them to hold your information for “security purposes”. Therefore, if you seek to host illicit content on Russian-based servers, you are encouraged to explore the offering of other countries (e.g. the Netherlands).