Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who had complained of unscrupulous competition in the contest, said he was leaving Moscow immediately to fly to FIFA headquarters in Zurich to thank the football governing body.
"In Russia we love football, we know about football and we have everything to ensure that we hold the 2018 World Cup in a very worthy way," Putin told reporters in Moscow.
"Of course we need to do a great deal - stadiums, airports, hotels, roads - but that is the challenge, that is the advantage of our bid because that means the development of world football," Russia's paramount leader added.
"I'm thrilled that Russia is finally going to be seen on the stage of international football," said Maxim Ivanov, 28, a Spartak Moscow fan. "We hope that Russia getting the World Cup will help develop domestic football here."
"Everyone here believed that the strength of the country would be enough, and we were all sure that when Russia wants something, it will get it," said Ivan Kuznetsov, 26.
"Hooray! Victory!" President Dmitry Medvedev said just minutes after Russia's bid was declared the winner, sparking celebrations across Moscow which has been shivering in Arctic temperatures reaching minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit) since the start of the week.
"I wasn't sure how it was going to work out, but I thought of it like a soccer match and waited for the final result," said Alexei Selivanovich, 26, a web designer who had a tricolour Russian flag tied around his beer glass at a sports bar.
Economists said that hosting the bid could spark a major construction boom for Russia's $1.2 trillion economy and could help polish Russia's investment image, which has been tarnished by concerns over corruption and poor property rights.
