Aim of the study. To compare clinical and anatomical consequences of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and stripping applied for the treatment of primary varicosis during 1 year follow-up. Material and methods. The present study was designed as a comparative multicenter prospective non-randomized trial. It included 218 patients with primary varicosis and incompetence of great saphenous vein (GSV). Inclusion criteria: 1) age 18-62 years, 2) GSV diameter <2 cm, 3) CEAP C2-C4 class primary varicosis. RFO and stripping were performed in 108 and 110 patients respectively. The primary endpoint was the intensity of hip pain during the first postoperative day (estimated based on the digital rating scale) The secondary end points: (1) quality of life (estimated with the use of the venospecific CIVIQ 2 questionnaire) and the severity of the disease (estimated by the VCSS scale within 1 month and 1 year after surgery), 2) the frequency of elimination of vertical reflux and the unfavourable technical result within 1 year after the treatment. Results. Median postoperative pain score on day 1 after RFO and phlebectomy was 1.2 and 3.85 respectively (p<0.05). Ablation, obliteration or recanalization in the group treated by RFO were documented in 74 (68.5%), 25 (23.2%), and 9 (8.3%) of the patients respectively. Five (4.6%) patients retained unremoved segments of GSV after stripping. The relative risk of the unfavourable technical outcome of RFO and phlebectomy (GSV recanalization or residual fragments of GSV) one year after the operation was 0.97 (95% CI; 0.9-1.05). The difference between the quality of life indices in the patients of both groups prior to surgery were not significant (p=0.18). The quality of life one month after RFO was higher than after stripping (p<0.0001), but the difference became insignificant (p=0.71) within the next year. The intergroup difference of VCSS estimates was insignificant prior to surgery (p=0.1). The severity of the disease was lower within 1 month after RFO than after stripping (p<0.001), but the difference was insignificant one year after the treatment (p=0.1). Conclusion. 1) Pain syndrome was much less pronounced after RFO than after stripping. 2) The indices of quality of life and severity of the disease 1 month after RFO were significantly higher than after stripping but became comparable within the next year. 3) The frequency of fibrous transformation and obliteration of the affected vein after RFO was estimated at 92%. On the whole, the effectiveness of RFO and phlebectomy were comparable. The relative risk of development of unfavourable technical outcomes was OR =0.97 (95% CI; 0.9-1.05).