vkontakte

VKontakte, commonly abbreviated as VK, is a Russian online social media and social networking service launched in 2006 by Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolai. It quickly became the largest social network in Russia and a major platform in the Commonwealth of Independent States, with a sizable user base across Russian-speaking regions. The service is accessible on the web and via mobile apps and offers features such as user profiles, messaging, a news feed or wall, groups and communities, and multimedia sharing.

VK emphasizes community building and content discovery through public pages, events, and groups. Users can connect with friends, join communities, post updates, share photos and videos, and interact with others through comments and private messages. The platform supports third‑party apps and an API for developers.

History and ownership: VKontakte was created by the Durov brothers and released in 2006. In the following years it grew rapidly and became a core asset of Russian tech groups. It was integrated into the portfolio of Mail.ru Group, and through corporate restructuring became part of the VK Company Limited family. Pavel Durov left the project amid regulatory and political pressure during the 2010s, while VK continued under Russian ownership.

Impact: VK remains a dominant social network in Russia and much of the CIS, serving as a primary channel for communication, public pages, and media sharing. It competes with Odnoklassniki and other regional platforms in the social and messaging space.