static variable lifetime and application pool recylcing

I understand the lifetime of static variables in relation to applications (console/windows) but I'm not sure if I am understanding their lifetime when in the context of web apps (asp.net, mvc, web api, etc). From what I understand, when IIS recycles the app pool, static variables are reset to their type's defaults (integrals = 0, reference types = null, etc), but I'm wondering if inline initializers are re-initialized after recycles or will the type defaults ALWAYS be assigned regardless? Example(s): ``` // example 1 static class StaticRandom { private static Random rng = new Random(); } ``` In the above, would the static field rng be reinitialized to new Random() when called for the first time after a recycle? Or do I need to implement null checks before attempting to use the variable, such as: ``` // example 2 static class StaticRandom { private static Random rng = null; public static Next() { if (rng == null) rng = new Random(); return rng.Next(); } } ``` Am I correct in assuming that after an IIS recycle, the rng variable in example 1 would be null until reinitialized like in example 2? NOTE: I'm fully aware of the thread safety issues in the above example, it's just a quick example to illustrate my question. In a real-world scenario of the above idea, I would implement a proper locking pattern.