| User BaseThe non-US and non-English Web | | | | quite common for the local providers. Thus, |
| segments have been boosted by a growing trend | | | | only corporate clients can enjoy the |
| towards PC penetration and cheaper Internet | | | | privilege of broadband subscription.What |
| access in the last couple of years. The US | | | | Users are Searching for?Like Internet users |
| share of the global population online, once | | | | worldwide, the majority of Russian and |
| above ninety percent, is now under a quarter, | | | | Ukrainian surfers search the Web for |
| while the number of Internet users who do not | | | | information. A Yandex poll ( shows that about |
| speak English at all continues to grow.The | | | | 24 percent searchers use the Web for easy |
| Asia-Pacific region remains a key contributor | | | | reference and over 15 percent use it as a |
| to the increase in the number of non-English | | | | research tool. A further 12 percent of those |
| speakers on the Web, but the Russian | | | | polled said the Internet was a news source |
| Internet, aka Runet, demonstrates the | | | | for them while only 14 percent preferred |
| accelerated pace of development as well.The | | | | online entertainment services. An increase in |
| Russian language on the Web was represented | | | | personal consumption in Russia and Ukraine |
| by 2.7 percent in March 2003, said Global | | | | has made a positive impact on the regional |
| Reach ( a consultancy that tracks non-English | | | | Internet. Russians and Ukrainian are |
| online populations. The share is quite minor, | | | | increasingly relying on the Internet in order |
| compared to English with its 35.2 percent. | | | | to evaluate products or services before they |
| However, the growth rate of Runet is far more | | | | make their final decision to buy, whether |
| exciting; the Russian Internet audience has | | | | online or offline. Currently, about 1200 |
| tripled over the last two years, registering | | | | online shops are listed in Magazin.ru, the |
| a 40 percent increase annually. The February | | | | largest Russian e-commerce catalogue, while |
| 2003 Report by SpyLOG ( indicates that the | | | | CNews.ru ( reported last year that the total |
| total users who surf the Russian portion of | | | | number of operational online shops in Runet |
| the Internet have reached about 15 million, | | | | was 500 at the beginning of 2002. The most |
| 60 percent of whom live in Russia and seven | | | | e-shops are online outlets of |
| percent in Ukraine. Moscow and St.-Petersburg | | | | bricks-and-mortar businesses, but some "pure" |
| account for 53 percent of the total Internet | | | | online stores have opened their virtual doors |
| users in Russia. Similarly, the Ukrainian | | | | as well. Most notable are bookstores such as |
| Internet surveys reveal that the vast | | | | Ozon, Biblio Globus and Books in Russia, and |
| majority (70 percent) of Ukrainian users live | | | | Bookshop, AzBooKa and Bambook in Ukraine. |
| in Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov and | | | | Despite a certain lack of high-quality online |
| Donetsk, according to freenet.kiev.ua and | | | | offerings in Runet and Uanet, surprisingly |
| mct.kiev.ua as quoted in Kyiv Post Business | | | | few Western sites offer the products and |
| March 20, 2003.The Ukrainian user base grows | | | | services that need no customs clearance. For |
| as fast as its Russian counterpart. The total | | | | example, web hosting fees in Ukraine are |
| Internet users in Ukraine reached 2.5 million | | | | about two to eight times higher than those |
| by year-end 2002, a 150 percent increase in a | | | | somewhere in the United States, but the |
| year, said the head of the Ukrainian State | | | | service providers abroad seem to be in no |
| Committee for Communications and Information | | | | hurry to enter the local market. This is also |
| Technologies ( Independent marketers confirm | | | | true for e-books, especially on programming |
| the recent trends on the Ukrainian Internet, | | | | and computing.Spam and SpamdexingDespite spam |
| or Uanet for short. For example, eRus.ru ( | | | | is still flourishing on the Russian Web, |
| quoted GfK-USM, a marketing company, as | | | | unsolicited email messages in Runet are far |
| stating that the regular Internet users in | | | | less aggressive than the email marketing |
| Ukraine accounted for 6.4 percent of the | | | | campaigns in the US, when a news subscriber |
| total population (3.1 million of 48.4 | | | | may receive bundles of advert mailings that |
| million) in February 2003, and the number of | | | | are vaguely associated with his/her initial |
| the users who purchased products or services | | | | subscription.The more pressing issue for both |
| through the Internet was doubled when | | | | users and search engines is spamdexing, i.e. |
| compared to February 2002.Internet Access and | | | | unfair tricks aimed at attaining high |
| PricesDial-up connection is the most common | | | | rankings in search engines. Searching Runet |
| way of accessing the Internet in both Russia | | | | for a particular key phrase can give you |
| and Ukraine. The Ukrainian dial-up users, for | | | | dozens of mirrors and doorways. Some |
| example, pay $0.1 to $2.0 an hour for | | | | successful SE optimizers in Russia and |
| Internet access, depending on an ISP, time of | | | | Ukraine openly advertise that their promotion |
| day and availability of callback services. | | | | techniques are solely based on building |
| The monthly charge for unmetered access in | | | | doorways or cloaking, which currently seems |
| Kiev currently ranges from about $4 (midnight | | | | unwise on the global Internet.The top Russian |
| to 9.00 a.m. with no callback support) to | | | | search engines fight against spam in much as |
| about $40 (24-hour access via callback | | | | the most popular search engines do worldwide. |
| service). The callback service in Kiev will | | | | For example, Yandex and Rambler penalize |
| save you about $0.4/hour, an additional fee | | | | websites for using unfair tricks and |
| charged by Ukrtelecom for connection to the | | | | encourage Runet users to report search engine |
| local telephone line.The broadband access is | | | | spam. Many professional programmers and |
| rather expensive, ranging from $40/month | | | | webmasters also voice their concerns about |
| (IDSN, 64 K/s, 1 GB monthly data transfer) to | | | | spamdexing. Articles by A. Shkondin at |
| $300/month (dedicated line, 64-128 K/s, | | | | ClubPro.spb.ru ( provide some classic |
| unlimited transfer) with a set-up fee of $200 | | | | examples of how spammers play games with the |
| to 300, plus some hidden charges that are | | | | Russian search engines and Internet surfers. |