Odnoklassniki

Odnoklassniki, commonly known by its domain OK.ru, is a Russian social networking service launched in 2006 by Albert Popkov. Its name means "classmates" in Russian, and the platform was originally built around reconnecting former schoolmates, university friends and relatives — a positioning that made it especially popular with older and regional audiences in Russia and the wider post-Soviet space. The service is a consumer internet platform offering personal profiles, messaging, photo and video sharing, groups and communities, games, streaming, and virtual gifts. Over time it broadened from a pure classmate-reunion network into a general social and entertainment platform, adding music, video, live streaming and a marketplace-style classifieds layer. It is one of the largest social networks in Russia by monthly audience, alongside VK. Odnoklassniki was acquired in 2008 by Digital Sky Technologies (DST), the investment group that later became part of Mail.ru Group. Since then it has operated as part of that group, which was renamed VK and is listed on the Moscow Exchange. The platform is monetized mainly through advertising, virtual gifts and in-app purchases, and it remains a core asset of VK's social portfolio. In the brand landscape, Odnoklassniki is positioned as a warm, family- and community-oriented network — less youth- and politics-driven than VK, and more focused on staying in touch with people you already know. Its audience skews older and more regional than many Western social networks, and it retains strong recognition across Russia and CIS markets.

Odnoklassniki was founded in 2006 by Albert Popkov as a Russian-language social network designed to help people find and reconnect with former classmates. The name itself — "classmates" — captured the core use case, and the site grew rapidly through word of mouth as users searched for school friends, university peers and distant relatives. By the late 2000s it had become one of the most visited websites in Russia. In 2008 the platform was acquired by Digital Sky Technologies (DST), the investment group led by Yuri Milner that also held stakes in Mail.ru and later Facebook. The acquisition brought Odnoklassniki into a larger Russian internet group and gave it resources to scale infrastructure and advertising. DST's internet assets were consolidated into Mail.ru Group, which became one of Russia's largest internet companies. Odnoklassniki operated alongside Mail.ru's email, VK (then a separate network) and other properties. The platform continued to add features — messaging, photo albums, games, video, virtual gifts and later live streaming — evolving from a classmate directory into a full social and entertainment service. In the 2010s Odnoklassniki invested in mobile apps and video, and its audience remained large and loyal, particularly among users outside Moscow and St Petersburg and among older demographics. The group was renamed VK in 2021, reflecting the centrality of the VK social network to the business, and Odnoklassniki continued as a brand within the VK portfolio. Odnoklassniki remains an active social platform in Russia and the CIS, monetized through advertising and in-app purchases, and is one of the longest-running consumer internet brands in the Russian market.

• 2021

  Parent group renamed VK; Odnoklassniki continues as a brand within VK.

• 2010

  Consolidated into Mail.ru Group alongside other DST internet assets.

• 2008

  Acquired by Digital Sky Technologies (DST).

• 2006

  Odnoklassniki founded by Albert Popkov as a Russian-language classmate-reunion social network.

A community- and family-oriented Russian social network focused on reconnecting people who already know each other, popular with older and regional audiences across Russia and the CIS.

• OK.ru social network

  Core social networking service with profiles, messaging, groups and media sharing.

• OK Live

  Live streaming feature within the platform.

• OK Games

  Browser and social games played within the network.

• Virtual gifts

  Paid virtual items users send to each other.

1. 1Odnoklassniki official siteok.ru
2. 2Russia’s VK Is Suing Apple $700,000 Per Day Over App Store Removalkyivpost.com