news.api.nnov.ru was the site of the Nizhny Novgorod Agency of Legal Information (APIA), a regional center of the "ConsultantPlus" network, listed in the counter.nn.ru directory under the name "News of Legislation." The saved snapshots of the home page span the period from September 30, 2000[1] to spring 2004[4]. The site served accountants and lawyers of Nizhny Novgorod and the region: it published reviews of Nizhny Novgorod legislation and orders of the Nizhny Novgorod city administration[2] and announced seminars in Dzerzhinsk and Arzamas[4].

The agency and its site

In the earliest snapshot the organization is named briefly — "Agency of Legal Information," and the page's service description states that the agency carries out "supply of ConsultantPlus Reference Legal Systems, servicing and delivery of information to users"[1]. From 2001 the title grew longer: "Agency of Legal Information — Regional Center of the ConsultantPlus Network"[2]. In October 2003, as the home page reported, the agency marked its tenth anniversary[3].

The range of services is listed in the 2004 version's description: installation and weekly maintenance of ConsultantPlus systems, training in their use, provision of document texts, brief auditor consultations, and themed seminars on accounting and taxation[4].

What the home page looked like

The 2000 version had a single menu row of four items: "ConsultantPlus," "News of Legislation," "Link Collection," "Support Department"; above it were two announcements — "The most important part of accounting has been computerized!" and the professional contest "Nizhny Novgorod Accountant-2000"[1].

By 2001 the home page had turned into a feed of legal reviews marked "[ more ]." In the snapshot from May 19, 2001, side by side appear a Russian Government Resolution of April 11, 2001, No. 290 on rules for maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, Federal Law No. 49-FZ of May 7, 2001, and an order of the Nizhny Novgorod city administration of April 24, 2001, No. 1309-R "On advisers to the head of the city administration and heads of district administrations on matters of war and labor veterans." At the bottom were the sections "news," "journal," "technology," and the credit "© APIA 2001; design by d a n k o"[2].

By 2003 the structure had settled: sections "Analytical Review of Legal Information," "Review of Federal Legislation," "Judicial Practice," as well as the weekly digests "ConsultantPlus: What's New in Nizhny Novgorod Legislation" and "What's New in Russian Legislation" (the October 18 snapshot covered September 23–29 and September 22–26, 2003). The top-level menu consisted of "news," "the main book," "technology," and the credit had changed to "© APIA 2001-03"[3].

A distinctive feature of the site was a recurring column of legal curiosities that opened the page in both 2003 and 2004 with the words "Years of judicial practice accumulate rather original laws"[3]. In April 2004 it carried a note about Texas, where until 1932 escaping from prison was not considered a crime unless a firearm was used. By April 1 the agency had also put out a compilation on the tortured wording of regulatory acts of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the city of Nizhny Novgorod itself, and Dzerzhinsk[4].

Seminars, contests, vacancies

The home page also served as the agency's bulletin board. In 2003 it invited people to a seminar on September 17 at the Volga-Vyatka Academy of State Service ("Procedure for calculating and paying corporate profit tax") and offered mid-course students temporary work paying 2,000–3,000 rubles a month — sign-up by phone at 17-78-47 and 17-78-92[3]. In April 2004 it announced seminars for accountants in Dzerzhinsk and Arzamas on April 15 and 16, on first-quarter reporting and on the introduction of special VAT accounts[4].

The agency also ran its own contests. In 2003 this was the second regional "Legal Professional" contest, supported by the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod region and under the patronage of the Nizhny Novgorod regional Government; the press conference launching the contest was held on October 14[3]. In spring 2004 the site published the best answers from the "Legal Professional 2003" contest and reported prizes for winners of the regional student olympiad[4].

Product news from the network also passed through the site: in October 2003, news of "Technology 3000," to which users from more than 150,000 organizations were transferred free of charge through 300 regional information centers[3]; in April 2004, news of a special price offer on the "ConsultantPlus: Small Business" package (phone 17-78-01) and the release of "ConsultantPlus: Secondary School. Spring 2004"[4].

Place in the Nizhny Novgorod internet and the domain's fate

The site was included in the general list of the Counter.nn.ru rating as of 2000 — through this entry it made it into our Archival study of the Nizhny Novgorod internet from the counter.nn.ru rating. It received no votes at the Nizhny Novgorod Internet Day: this was a professional-audience service resource, not a mass project of the Nizhny Novgorod Internet of those years.

The live site breaks off at the spring 2004 snapshots[4]. The last snapshot in the web archive is dated April 8, 2009, and by that time the address was already serving not a site but a domain-parking page[5]. Today the domain is unoccupied.

Sources

  1. web.archive.org — Home page, 2000 (archive)
  2. web.archive.org — Home page, 2001 (archive)
  3. web.archive.org — Home page, 2003 (archive)
  4. web.archive.org — Home page, 2004 (archive)
  5. web.archive.org (archive)