View source for User:Andrei Kolesnikov

A RuNet (Russian Internet) veteran, Andrei pioneered public-interest online services in the then Soviet Union by providing email and teleconference services to support citizen diplomacy and business connections between USA and USSR. 
Later, he lead a small team of engineers to launch Russia-On-Line, a first mass-market ISP in Russia and subsequently served as an executive in charge of IT and media operation in a number of companies under the Golden Telecom Inc., a NASDAQ company. 
As a member of the national Internet Industry Steering Group, Andrei signed a cooperative Charter and second-level domains registration policies and procedures for what later emerged as the Coordination Center for .RU, a truly multistakeholder NGO and the nation’s ccTLD administrator and twice served on its Board. 
Between 2009 and 2015 the multistakeholder Council supported his election and re-election as CEO of the Coordination Center for the ccTLD .RU. Under his lead, it became one of the world’s leading registries and an indisputable market and industry leader across the post-Soviet space. During his tenure, Andrei engineered a successful launch of the Cyrillic-script IDN ccTLD .РФ, which currently boasts nearly 900,000 registrations making it’s the biggest IDN ccTLD worldwide.
Despite recent challenging domestic and international developments, Andrei has consistently advocated Russia’s rapprochement and collaboration with a number of organizations, including ISOC, ICANN, CENTR, APTLD.
His tireless efforts to engage Russia in the global dialogue on Internet Governance resulted in the launch of the Russian IGF, the biggest multistakeholder platform of its kind across the Central and Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet space, currently into the 8th year of existence.
Andrei also served as a gNSO  counselor (2010-2012), was ISOC Organization Advisory Council member in 2011-2013; he sits on boards of several NGOs in Russia, including the Russian Internet Development Foundation and Russian Non-Governmental Organization “Center of Internet Technologies” (ROCIT). Now serving at ALAC.
As a senior staffer of the Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN.NET), Andrey is engaged in research and educational activities in Russia and the post-Soviet space by doing presentations on and advocating IPv6, DNSSEC, strong encryption and open internet environment.
Today Andrei holds the director’s position of the Internet of things association in Russia