.yandex

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Status:	Delegated
Registry Provider:	Neustar
Date Implemented:	18 July 2014
Type:	Brand TLD
Priority #:	380 - YANDEX, LLC

.yandex is a Brand TLD delegated in ICANN's New gTLD Program. YANDEX, LLC manages the TLD and is its Registry. The proposed application succeeded and was delegated to the Root Zone on 18 July, 2014. .

Application Details

The following is excerpted from the applicant's response to question #18:

"Yandex, LLC is the leading internet company in Russia, operating the most popular search engine and the most visited website. We generated 63.3% of all search traffic in Russia in 2011 and 60.6% in December 2011, and our Yandex sites attracted 45 million unique visitors in December 2011. We also operate in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Turkey. Our mission is to answer any question internet users may have. To that end, we utilize our capabilities in applied mathematics and data analysis and our in-depth knowledge of the languages, cultures and preferences of internet users in our markets to develop advanced search technology and information retrieval services. We also aggregate and organize extensive local, national and international content and offer a broad range of additional services. Our search and many of our services are location-based and are available in versions tailored for mobile and other digital platforms and devices.

Benefiting from Russia’s long-standing educational focus on mathematics and engineering, we have drawn upon the considerable local talent pool to create a leading technology company. For over 20 years, our founding team has been developing and optimizing search technology, which has formed the core of our business and helped Yandex become one of the best known brands in Russia. Our users are our first priority, and we are committed to advancing our technology to continuously improve their internet experience.

Our search engine uses our proprietary algorithms to provide relevant results, which we structure and present in an editorially neutral and user-friendly manner. With a focus on our principal geographic markets, our search technology allows us to provide local search results in more than 1,400 cities. We also feature ‘‘parallel’’ search, which presents on a single page the results from both our main web index and our specialized information resources, including news, shopping, blogs, images and videos. We offer convenient access to our search engine through personal computers, mobile phones, tablets, and navigation and other digital devices. We also offer a wide range of specialized search, personalized and location-based services, including Yandex.News, Yandex.Market, Yandex.Mail and Yandex.Maps.

Our homepage attracted over 40 million unique visitors in December 2011, accounting for 76% of the Russian internet audience in December 2011, according to comScore, and provides a gateway to the wealth of information available online. Users can find answers to their explicit questions through our search box, as well as their implicit questions through current news, weather and road traffic reports, TV and movie schedules, personal email and other services. Our homepage can easily be customized by users to address their individual interests.

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The mission and purpose of this TLD is to provide a global, consistent identity on the Internet of .yandex and all related institutions. As such, .yandex intends to limit registration of domains either for its exclusive use or for use by closely affiliated organizations in a manner that contributes to the purpose of this TLD. .yandex also intends to govern the domain names registered to limit confusion and enhance user experience. To accomplish these objectives, .yandex may be the sole registrant of domains in the TLD. However, due consideration has been made to all aspects of registry operations including the functions and policies defined below."