Qatar got the better of the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea to stage in 2022.
Both decisions were made on Thursday following a secret ballot of football's world governing body Fifa's 22 executive members in Zurich. It is the first time that either Russia or Qatar has been chosen as host nation for the World Cup.
"You have entrusted us with the Fifa World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we all can promise, you will never regret it," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. "Let us make history together." Russia's selection comes despite the absence of Prime Minister Valdimir Putin from the vote in Switzerland. The 58-year-old had been expected to be a prominent figurehead for the Russian bid in the final days of campaigning but instead remained in Moscow.
He is now expected to fly to Zurich to thank Fifa for what he described as "a sign of trust" for his country. "I would like to assure the Fifa leadership that we will do everything possible to ensure that the 2018 football World Cup is staged at a deserving level," he added in a televised interview.
Putin's promise to scrap visa's was seen as crucial to his country's prospects of winning the vote as nationals of almost all countries outside the former Soviet Union require the paperwork to visit Russia.
In addition, Russia's plan for improving facilities in host cities is in line with Fifa's long-term plans for developing the sport, especially in regions with outdated infrastructure.
Russia has proposed staging the tournament in 13 cities, grouped into four clusters that stretch from exclave of Kaliningrad on the borders of the European Union to Yekaterinburg in the Urals on the fringe of Siberia. There have been concerns that Russia's vast size, it's remoteness from other countries and what is seen as a relatively weak transport system could make travelling around the country problematic.
All the host cities are in the European region of the country and Putin has promised that fans will be able to travel on public transport for free during the event.
