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The Domain That Outlived a Country

July 2, 2026 · 1 h 7 min

Show notes

Yes I know, I know it's a TLD. Don't worry, we get to it. In September 1990, a Soviet physicist named Alexey Soldatov registered a domain name for a country that would cease to exist fifteen months later. What happened to .su in the 35 years since is a story about cybercrime, Soviet nostalgia, internet governance, and one man who built Russia's internet — and went to prison rather than hand it over.


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