East-West Digital News

Russia weighs pros and cons of using crypto to evade Western sanctions

March 1, 2022 March 1, 2022

As Western powers began cutting off its access to the SWIFT interbank payment system, Russia could turn to cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions. This Monday Sergey Glazyev, a former Russian minister and advisor to President Putin, made this suggestion in an interview to Russian TV channel RBC. Cryptocurrencies can become an alternative for settlements with Western countries, allowing Russia to continue …

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Russia has been preparing to have its internet cut off

February 28, 2022 February 28, 2022

Among Joe Biden’s options to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine are disruptive cyberattacks—the kind that Russia itself often unleashes on other countries. Even more broadly, sanctions experts have discussed the possibility of cutting countries off from the global internet entirely, the way governments do to stifle unrest in domestic regions. But Russia has been preparing for …

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VkusVill introduces its first cashierless store

February 25, 2022 February 27, 2022

Earlier this month VkusVill, Russia’s number one health foods brand and a leading player in e-grocery, opened its first cashierless store in Moscow. To make a purchase, customers scan a QR code in their VkusVill mobile app when they enter the store, then select the items they need and exit through a special turnstile. Payment is …

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With 24 million deliveries in 2021, SberMarket asserts leadership in Russian e-grocery

February 25, 2022 February 25, 2022

SberMarket, a delivery service owned by Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, claims to have tripled its turnover in 2021 to 58.6 billion in 2021 ($800 million at the average exchange rate of the year, including VAT and excluding promotions). The number of delivered orders quadrupled to 24 million in the course of the …

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“A hurricane of discouragement:” Putin’s war on Ukraine is already impacting the Russian tech sector

February 24, 2022 February 27, 2022

Will Russia take control of Ukraine after a quick military victory? Will it be a long-lasting war of guerrilla? Could an escalation involve neighboring countries and western powers? The outcome of the Russian military attack on Ukraine that began on Thursday, Feb. 24, is unpredictable. But just hours after the invasion, the impact on the …

“A hurricane of discouragement:” Putin’s war on Ukraine is already impacting the Russian tech sector Read More

From semiconductors to payments: How the world could use tech sanctions against Russia

February 24, 2022 February 25, 2022

As Russia launches an unprecedented invasion of Ukraine, world leaders are considering what sanctions they could impose to stop President Vladimir Putin in his tracks. These could include cutting off Russia’s access to key technologies such as semiconductors and even the payments service SWIFT, which powers most of the world’s international money transfers. All of this could have potentially have devastating …

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Russia is using an onslaught of cyber attacks to undermine Ukraine’s defense capabilities

February 24, 2022 February 25, 2022

As Ukrainian cities come under air attack from Russian forces, the country has also suffered the latest blows in an ongoing campaign of cyber attacks. Several of Ukraine’s bank and government department websites crashed on Wednesday, the BBC reports. The incident follows a similar attack just over a week ago, in which some 70 Ukrainian government websites crashed. Ukraine and …

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Russian-founded gaming giant Playrix continues investment spree

February 22, 2022 February 22, 2022

Playrix, a global Russian-founded mobile gaming giant, acquired a minority stake in AppQuantum, a Cyprus-based, Russian founded mobile gaming developer and publisher. The deal took place in late 2021 but was announced only in early February. Launched in 2017 by Evgeny Maurus, AppQuantum is behind such titles as Dragon Champions, Evil Clicker and Gold & Goblins. While claiming “dominant positions” in clicker and …

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Russian e-scooter leader Urent secures $26 million from corporate and venture investors

February 21, 2022 February 22, 2022

Urent, Russia’s largest electric scooter rental operator, has raised 2.09 billion rubles (around $26 million, a considerable amount by local standards) in a round led by MTS. The mobile operator contributed 740 million rubles alongside private asset manager VPE Capital and state-owned fund VEB Ventures, which injected 700 and 650 million rubles, respectively, into the startup. The terms of …

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Russian entrepreneurs want to disrupt delivery, freight and mobility industries across the world

February 18, 2022 February 18, 2022

While asserting themselves as chief disruptors in the food delivery industry — fulfilling orders in 15 minutes in cities of Europe (e.g. Jiffy) and North America (e.g. Buyk) — Russian startup entrepreneurs are also penetrating neighboring segments. From urban delivery, to mobility, to local or international freight, some of them receive generous support from VCs, as illustrated by four recent deals. …

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X5 Group teams up with Plug and Play to bring more sustainability to Russian retail

February 16, 2022 February 16, 2022

X5 Retail Group, a leading Russian food retailer listed on the Moscow and London stock exchanges, is launching an international joint program with Plug and Play to scout for innovative approaches to sustainable development. The program will focus on reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions as well as sustainable packaging. It will start in the …

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Russian serial entrepreneur builds “hyperplanes” for “global hyperexpress delivery in under two hours”

February 15, 2022 February 16, 2022

Can you imagine cargo being shipped between Europe and Australia in just a couple of hours using clean liquid hydrogen fuel? A few months after his SPAC misfortune, serial entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich — whom his PR team describes as being “like Russia’s Elon Musk” — claims this will soon come true. His new company Destinus is building a hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions, transcontinental cargo drone. With hypersonic …

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