nizhny.ru was a site of the early Nizhny Novgorod Internet, listed in the directory of Nizhny Novgorod websites on nn.ru as "Information Service www.nizhny.ru"; the directory description read "News online: politics, fashion, economics, society, and culture"[1]. The first snapshot of the home page in the web archive is dated November 28, 1999[2]. The domain's content later changed: by December 2014 it hosted the site of the Nizhny Novgorod recruitment agency "Delovoy Nizhny," with an address on Marata Street, 31, and the footer line "nizhny.ru 1999 - 2014"[3], and by October 2016 the address had been taken over by a blog about hallway renovation that had no connection to the city[4].

The Information Service and Its Place in the nn.ru Directory

No snapshots of the early site have survived — it is known from the entries in the nn.ru directory, a catalog of Nizhny Novgorod websites. The service was listed under three categories at once: "Mass Media: Internet Media and Online Publications"[1], "Projects: Internet: Portals and Universal Servers"[5], and "N. Novgorod and Nizhny Novgorod Authorities: Local History Information"[6].

Next to its entry, the directory showed the reading of the regional counter Counter.nn.ru (the site was registered there under number 2576[7]). The value changed: 827 as of June 20, 2002[5], 731 as of August 3, 2002[6], 1483 as of January 18, 2004[1]. For an archival study of the ranking this is a measurable sign of prominence: in the "Internet Mass Media and Online Publications" category, sorted by rating, the service stood fifth on January 18, 2004. Above it were "NTA-Privolzhye" (2854), the "Nizhny Novgorod Telegraph Agency" (2703), the "KompyuterPrice - NN Publication" (2217), and "SMI-NN.Ru" (1712); below it were the legal information service "TsMIKI. GARANT - N. Novgorod" (1288), the newspaper "Pokrovka, 7" (783), and the news agency "If-Region" (339)[1].

On August 27, 2002, the service made it into the directory's "Samye-samye" ("The Very Best") section, which collected the sites "that directory visitors click through to most often according to data for the past 30 days": 40th place, 248 click-throughs, rating 703 — between the portal "Culture and Leisure in Nizhny Novgorod" and "Nizhny Novgorod Directories"[7].

In the published voting results of the 2004 Day of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet, nizhny.ru itself does not appear. However, a third-party project was running at the third level of the domain: in the "Best Personal Site" category, the "Modern Musician's Portal" at mnemonic.nizhny.ru took part, scoring 52 points[8].

The "Delovoy Nizhny" Recruitment Agency

A snapshot from December 18, 2014, found a completely different site on the domain. The heading of the home page read: "'Delovoy Nizhny' — recruitment agency of Nizhny Novgorod" (the site's spelling preserved). The menu consisted of the sections "Home," "About Us," "Services for Employers" (with the subsections "Staff Recruitment" and "Submit a Request"), "Services for Job Seekers" ("Open Vacancies," "Submit a Résumé," "Job Search"), and "Contacts"; there was a search form and a site map[3].

The agency stated that it had "been working in the staff recruitment and assessment market since 1999" and that over 15 years it had carried out projects not only in Nizhny Novgorod but in other regions of Russia as well. According to the home page, its recruiters took on the selection of "top managers, mid- and senior-level executives, specialists with rare qualifications, and blue-collar and office staff," and for each vacancy they compiled a "profile" that included "a psychological portrait of the future employee"[3].

Besides its services, the site kept a section of articles — "In What Cases Can You Turn to the Services of Recruitment Agencies?", "How to Raise a Professional?", "Bite, Bite, Little Fish!" — and a live bulletin board. The snapshot shows postings for December 13–17, 2014: "Lead debt collection specialist", "A decent rotational shift job", "Sales clerk-cashier wanted, Sovetskaya St.", "Sales clerk for Mega Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka", "Driver with his own car GAZelle seeks work", "Real estate agent"[3]. The contacts in the footer: "Nizhny Novgorod, ul. Marata - 31", phone +7 (831) 911-51-11, a feedback form; the same footer carried the credit "nizhny.ru 1999 - 2014"[3].

What Became of the Domain

By October 7, 2016, nothing about Nizhny Novgorod remained at nizhny.ru. The address was occupied by a site called "Prikhozhaya — Design and Do-It-Yourself Renovation", with sections titled "Renovation", "Furniture", "Wallpaper", "Do It Yourself", and "Video", and with articles such as "A Bench with Shoe Shelves for the Entryway" and "Stone in the Entryway Interior". The latest posts are dated July 22–25, 2016, the archive consisted of three months — May and August 2015 and July 2016 — and the pagination promised 104 pages of posts[4].

The last web archive snapshot of the address is dated February 6, 2025; today the domain does not work.[9]

Sources

  1. web.archive.org — nn.ru directory, category "Mass Media: Internet Media and Online Publications," January 18, 2004 (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — First snapshot of the home page in the web archive, November 28, 1999 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, 2014 (archive)
  4. web.archive.org — Home page, 2016 (archive)
  5. web.archive.org — nn.ru directory, category "Portals and Universal Servers," June 20, 2002 (archive)
  6. web.archive.org — nn.ru directory, category "Local Lore Information," August 3, 2002 (archive)
  7. web.archive.org — nn.ru directory, section "The Most of the Most," August 27, 2002 (archive)
  8. web.archive.org — Voting results of Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day, 2004 (archive)
  9. web.archive.org — Last snapshot of the home page in the web archive, February 6, 2025 (archive)