East-West Digital News

Google denies removing blurring for Russia’s military sites

April 20, 2022 April 20, 2022

Google Maps denied reports Monday that it had made Russia’s strategic facilities visible to users, allegedly revealing details of the country’s military infrastructure. Satellite images of military facilities are sometimes blurred by Google Maps, or displayed in lower quality, to protect their classified status. “We haven’t made any blurring changes to our satellite imagery in Russia,” Google …

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Will Yandex sell its news and infotainment services?

April 19, 2022 April 20, 2022

In mid-March Yandex, the Russian online search giant — also running a variety of other digital services — announced it intended to sell its news aggregation service and infotainment platform ‘Zen.’ The move was possibly linked to the government’s crackdown on free expression. Amid the war on Ukraine, a new law had banned what the authorities consider to be “false” …

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VPN use skyrockets as Russia blocks popular social networks and media resources

April 15, 2022 April 29, 2022

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are more in use than ever in Russia as a number of social networks and media have been made inaccessible by the authorities. Mobile operator Yota reports that the proportion of its subscribers using VPN services grew 38-fold, reaching 22.8% of the total number of Yota clients, from Jan. 1 to …

VPN use skyrockets as Russia blocks popular social networks and media resources Read More

After online orders doubled in 2021, Russian e-commerce keeps positive track in time of war

April 13, 2022 April 29, 2022

Russia’s domestic e-commerce market grew by more than 50% last year, reports research agency Data Insight, reaching 4.1 trillion rubles (around $55 billion at the average exchange rate). No less than 1.7 trillion orders were made, more than doubling (+104%) year-on-year — in which Data Insight sees an all-time record. Online sales accounted for some …

After online orders doubled in 2021, Russian e-commerce keeps positive track in time of war Read More

Food delivery service Broniboy lands 500 million rubles from major farming commodities group

April 8, 2022 April 11, 2022

In late March Russian delivery service Broniboy received the first tranche of a 500 million ruble capital injection (some $6.25 million at the pre-war level). The funding is provided by Krasnodarzernoprodukt, a major supplier of farming commodities and services. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. While serving 17 Russian cities, Broniboy is the …

Food delivery service Broniboy lands 500 million rubles from major farming commodities group Read More

Google bans Russian and Belarusian participants from its open source programming contest

April 5, 2022 April 5, 2022

This year, Google Summer of Code (GSoC) — a global online program focused on bringing more developers into open source software development — will not accept participants from Russia or Belarus. Neither will coders from “the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (‘DNR’) and Luhansk People’s Republic (‘LNR’)” be allowed to participate, says GSoC in its FAQ, referring to “current circumstances.” Ukrainian participants are welcome, provided that they are located outside …

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Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund suspends investments in Russia

April 4, 2022 April 11, 2022

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company has suspended its investments in Russia due to the Ukraine crisis, one of its top executive said last week. “What is happening in this crisis between Russia and Ukraine is a travesty, with catastrophic consequences, in terms of human life and in terms of the impact it’s having on economies all …

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Yandex delivery and mobility activities stopped or threatened in US, UK, France, Latvia, Estonia

March 31, 2022 April 4, 2022

Yandex, the Russian digital giant whose Nasdaq stock trading has been suspended since Feb. 28, laid off over two dozen US-based workers last month, reported The Verge. Yandex had been operating a small fleet of driverless cars in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Yandex said the vehicle licenses were suspended by the state authorities — which Michigan denies. …

Yandex delivery and mobility activities stopped or threatened in US, UK, France, Latvia, Estonia Read More

Naspers’ OLX no longer involved in operations of Russian subsidiary Avito

March 31, 2022 April 1, 2022

Avito, Russia’s leading classifieds platform (a subsidiary of OLX Group, owned by Naspers affiliate Prosus), will operate as an independent Russian business, “We can confirm OLX Group has taken a decision to cease all involvement in its Russian operations. The separation process is underway which will decouple the companies into two independent entities. Avito will operate …

Naspers’ OLX no longer involved in operations of Russian subsidiary Avito Read More

Russian e-commerce major Ozon rules out any default risk, but trading still suspended on Nasdaq

March 29, 2022 March 29, 2022

Just weeks after warning of a potential bond payment issue, Russian e-commerce major Ozon is now ruling out any default risk. Cited by news agency RIA, the company’s business development director Anna Karpova said Ozon had “113 billion rubles on its accounts,” which is enough to “cover [its] obligations.” “We see loyalty on the part of [securities …

Russian e-commerce major Ozon rules out any default risk, but trading still suspended on Nasdaq Read More

Anonymous hacktivists claims to have leaked 35,000 files from Russia’s central bank

March 24, 2022 March 27, 2022

Hackivist group ‘Anonymous’ claimed Thursday its affiliate group Black Rabbit World (@Thblckrbbtworld) had leaked 35,000 files from Russia’s central bank. The group exposed the stolen files — 28 GB of data — Friday evening, sharing two links to the file hosting service Mega NZ. The folders contain Office and TXT files. Most documents are written in Cyrillic, some are in English. …

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Russian IT brain drain accelerates dramatically as economy collapses

March 23, 2022 April 2, 2022

Since the war in Ukraine began, triggering unprecedented international sanctions against Russia, some 50,000-70,000 Russian IT professionals have left their country, reports the Russian Association of Electronic Communications (RAEC). This is only a first wave, says the association, which expects up to 100,000 additional IT workers to leave in April. “The only things holding back …

Russian IT brain drain accelerates dramatically as economy collapses Read More

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