Mail.ru is the largest free e-mail service of the Runet

Runet

Currently Internet access in Russia is available to businesses and home users in various forms, including dial-up, cable, DSL, FTTH, mobile, wireless and satellite...

. The business was originally owned by Port.ru, a company founded in 1998 by Eugene Goland

Eugene Goland

Eugene Goland is a businessman from Saint-Petersburg, Russia. He is the founder and Chairman of association and Chairman of the SME Global Sourcing chapter at . Since 1997 he's the President of DataArt...

, Michael Zaitsev and Alexey Krivenkov as spin-off from DataArt

DataArt

DataArt is a high-end software engineering firm with industry-specific expertise in , , and . DataArt specializes in enterprise application development, system integration and business automation tools....

. It received an initial investment of USD 1 million from the well-known investor (and fencing champion) James Melcher.

The Mail.ru business expanded rapidly to reach the No. 1 market position in Russia by 2000.