East-West Digital News

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East-West Digital News suspends Russian tech news coverage

December 31, 2022 September 11, 2023

East-West Digital News was founded back in 2011 to provide international audiences with quality information about Russia’s emerging tech industries — from startup and venture developments, to e-commerce, to mobile, to software development and much more. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and the West responded with unprecedented sanctions, this mission has become more …

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100,000 IT professionals left Russia this year, minister acknowledges

December 21, 2022 December 21, 2022

While IT brain drain is not new in Russia, the trend has accelerated dramatically in 2022 following Russia’s war on Ukraine, the subsequent international sanctions and new waves of political repression across the country. Speaking at the Russian parliament on December 20, digitalization minister Maksut Shadaev provided his estimate of the number of IT professionals …

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Apple to close Moscow office 9 months after stopping official product sales in Russia

December 17, 2022 December 21, 2022

Apple is seeking to terminate a lease on its Moscow office, according to real estate sources cited by Russian media. The US firm had opened this corporate office just just before Russia began its war on Ukraine: at that time, in early February 2022, Apple was first company to comply with new regulations requiring foreign technology firms to localize their operations in …

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Kicksharing service Whoosh completes Russia’s first IPO of the year

December 16, 2022 March 30, 2024

Russia saw Wednesday its first IPO since the war in Ukraine began with local kicksharing service Whoosh raising 2.1 billion rubles ($32.6 million at the current exchange rate) on the Moscow exchange. The IPO valued the company at 20.6 billion rubles ($320 million). This is a very honorable performance for a Russian startup launched in …

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640,000 websites are currently blocked in Russia, reports NGO

December 13, 2022 December 16, 2022

Russia has blocked an average of 4,900 websites per week so far in 2022, according to Roskomsvoboda, an internet freedom NGO. According to Roskomsvoboda’s report, published Monday by the Kommersant business daily, authorities restricted 14,800 websites last week alone — the highest total in a single week in several years. While it did not name potential …

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Russian investors seek assistance in darknet to recover blocked crypto assets

December 12, 2022 January 30, 2023

Service offers to release Russian investors’ assets blocked on international crypto exchanges are springing up in the darknet, reports Russian business daily Kommersant. Among the methods used are the transfer of the funds to an unblocked account, the renewal of accounts submitting fake KYC information, etc. The cost of such services may vary between 35% and …

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Russian VC market in crisis: volumes and valuations fell sharply in 2022

December 8, 2022 January 31, 2023

Russia’s venture market, which hardly even reached $1 billion in pre-war years, is enduring hard times. In the first half of 2022, it fell by almost 40% in volume, according to industry research agency DSight, cited by industry news site PlusWorld. Company valuations in the tech sector have fallen dramatically, according to a study from Skolkovo and Tinkoff Private. …

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Alexei Kudrin leaves public office to take top role at new look Yandex

November 30, 2022 November 30, 2022

Former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, once a leading reformist in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, is leaving public service to go into business. He is set to take charge of Yandex, Russia’s leading digital company. The transformation of a senior official into a businessman appears to be one of those common attempts to convert political …

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Why Russia’s cyber-war in Ukraine has been intense, but not always effective

November 30, 2022 December 12, 2022

Shaping the battlefield. Darius, king of Persia, did it in 331bc, with caltrops strewn where he thought his enemy Alexander the Great would advance. The Allies did it in 1944, with dummy aircraft and landing craft intended to fool Germany’s high command into thinking their invasion of France would be in the Pas de Calais, …

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Yandex could dismantle itself amid domestic and international pressure

November 25, 2022 November 26, 2022

Yandex, arguably the most successful and emblematic Russian digital company over the past 25 years, could be split amid the international and domestic tensions that have followed Russia’s attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24. Confirming earlier media reports (FT, NYT, The Bell), Yandex announced Friday it had “commenced a strategic process to review options to restructure the …

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Russia eyes domestic alternatives to Instagram, TikTok, Zoom

November 24, 2022 November 24, 2022

Russian software developers have submitted early versions of homemade alternatives to Instagram, TikTok and Zoom, the RBC news website reported Thursday. Instagram was blocked by Russian authorities following the invasion of Ukraine, while TikTok and Zoom restricted their services within the country. The proposed domestic platforms — Looky, Sunlight Play and Dion — are part of the …

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Is the Kremlin betting on Wildberries to consolidate e-commerce as foreign players exit Russia?

November 23, 2022 November 23, 2022

In the first nine months of 2022 Wildberries saw turnover increase 95% year on year to over RUB1 trillion (around $16.5bn). The online retailer has enjoyed a wildly successful couple of years, it now dominates the Russian market and is almost twice the size of its closest competitor. Indeed, while it may not be a household name in the West, Wildberries …

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