Russia will host the 2018 World Cup, the FIFA Executive Committee in Switzerland's Zurich announced on Thursday.
Russia won the bid for the first time in history after a tight race against England, Portugal and Spain (jointly), and Belgium and the Netherlands (jointly).
FIFA chose Qatar to host the 2022 championships, selecting the oil-rich Arab country over bids from Australia, South Korea, the United States and Japan.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed his delight at the news in a Twitter post: "Hooray! Victory! We have been chosen to host the 2018 World Cup!"
As soon as he heard the news, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin jetted off to Zurich to join the celebrations.
"I promised members of the Executive Committee that if the decision was made in Russia's favor, I would certainly come to thank them personally and speak about our preparation plans," Putin said.
On Wednesday Putin announced that he would not join the Russian delegation for the announcement ceremony as he did not want to put pressure on the FIFA executives making the decision.
The Russian Prime Minister, who earlier secured victory for Russia's Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics bid, will hold a news conference in Zurich at 11 pm Moscow time (20:00 GMT).
FIFA President Joseph Blatter congratulated the countries selected to host the 2018 and 2022 Cups.
"I have to say thanks to the Executive Committee of FIFA because for 2018 and 2022 we go to new lands, because the FIFA World Cup has never been in eastern Europe or the Middle East. So, I'm a happy president when we speak of the development of football," Blatter said.
Russia's main selling points have been an appeal to FIFA's sense of legacy and mission to open new borders. The team behind the Russian application has also stressed the massive state support for the bid.
ZURICH, December 2 (RIA Novosti)
