[ BBC ]
Russia was selected ahead of co-bidders Spain-Portugal and Holland-Belgium and England, which won only two votes.
Qatar defeated bids from South Korea, Japan, Australia and the United States.
"You have entrusted us with the Fifa World Cup for 2018 and I can promise you will never regret it," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.
Russia received nine votes in the first round of voting and an outright majority of 13 in the second round, while Qatar obtained an outright majority of 14 in the fourth round of voting for 2022.
It is the first time that either Russia or Qatar has been chosen as host nation for the World Cup.
"Let us make history together," Shuvalov added.
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.
"Russia loves football, Russia knows what football is and in our country we have everything to conduct the 2018 World Cup on a very worthy level," said Putin in a televised interview.
"The decision corresponds with Fifa's philosophy for developing football, especially in those regions of the world where that development is needed."
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani was in attendance in Zurich, and he thanked Fifa for "believing in change".
"We have worked very hard over past two years to get to this point," Al-Thani continued. "Today we celebrate, but tomorrow, the work begins.
"We acknowledge there is a lot of work for us to do, but we also stand by our promise that we will deliver."
 | 2018 VOTING 1st round: England 2 (eliminated), Netherlands-Belgium 4; Spain-Portugal 7; Russia 9 2nd round: Netherlands-Belgium 2; Spain-Portugal 7; Russia 13 (Russia obtain absolute majority) |
The Spain-Portugal 2018 bid gained seven votes and its managing director Miguel Angel Lopez commented: "Fifa thought it was better to promote football in other latitudes and there we are. The decision is focused on taking football to regions which have never held a World Cup."
The Belgium-Netherlands bid picked up four votes in the first round and two in the second. Former Belgian star Marc Wilmots thought the decision was a negative one for football.
"Russia is a political choice and Qatar is an economic choice," Wilmots reflected. "You can say that to some extent the sport has been the loser with the decision for these two World Cups."
US President Barack Obama said he felt Fifa had made "the wrong decision" in awarding the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
The US reached the fourth round of voting before being beaten by Russia and US 2022 bid chairman Sunil Gulati stated: "We're disappointed. No way to get around that. We worked very hard.
"The country has been behind us in a way we haven't seen. We know it came down to two. Which automatically means it was very close.
"But there's a lot of countries in the world that want to host these events.
"People have figured out a way to do it and not lose a lot of money, especially if you don't have infrastructure issues.
"Certainly in the two winners today there are going to be a lot of infrastructure needs and commitments have been made by the governments."
Despite losing out in the first round of voting for 2022, Australia's Football Federation chief executive Ben Buckley thought the Australian bid had strengthened his country's reputation.
"We are obviously disappointed at the outcome in Zurich, however we are proud of the efforts we made in trying to secure a World Cup in Australia," Buckley added.
"We mounted a technically excellent, credible and responsible bid against enormous competition and this strong bid has delivered important benefits.
"Australia's reputation as a potential host for such a major event has been reinforced."
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