Russian tech giants Yandex, Mail.ru Group, Ozon and Wildberries are developing their own fintech services in an expansion that could put them in stiff competition with the country’s leading banking institutions, Forbes Russia reports. NASDAQ-listed Yandex provides services ranging from music streaming to express grocery delivery. After failing to implement joint projects with Sber and Tinkoff last …
For sad as a pandemic can be to many, Covid-19 has generated a variety of opportunities in Russia for international businesses. Many of them may be seized remotely. To start with, here are a few remarks about the current trends in Russia’s digital sphere: According to Boston Consulting Group, Russia is among the four world …
How to seize digital business opportunities in Russia in pandemic times Read More
Since the COVID-19 shockwave hit Russia in March 2020, East-West Digital News has been following closely the impact of the pandemic on the country’s tech industries. These articles highlight the best of Russian innovators’ response to the virus, the high-tech approach of the authorities to manage the crisis, online retailers’ reaction to demand surge, and …
Russian tech amid the pandemic: Impact and response Read More
Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union. The latest column, by EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni, highlights the most notable industry facts and trends of the past year. These include, in particular: Major moves from the three Russian digital leaders: Mail.ru …
On January 13, a hacker dubbed “LMonoceros” posted proof that he broke into the private network of Russian Railways (RZD) and accessed surveillance from cameras at train stations, on railway platforms, along rail tracks, and inside company offices. RZD employees contacted the hacker and together they patched the weakness in the network. This isn’t the …
Russian Railways IT security issues threaten company employees and passengers Read More
As digitalization accelerates cross all sectors of the economy, many businesses are putting online marketing and digital advertising at the core of their strategy for customer acquisition and engagement. MTS, Russia’s largest mobile operator and a leading provider of media and digital services, carried out a survey of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Russia …
Survey: Russian SMEs rapidly shifting to online advertising Read More
Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Donald Trump’s account has met with a real furor on the part of Russia’s digitally-connected commentariat. For several days now, bloggers, journalists, politicians and just the concerned members of the Russian public have (for the most part) condemned the ban with the raging passion of those truly in the know. …
For Russians, Trump’s Twitter ban gets lost in translation Read More
In October, the MIT described a new approach to training artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms: “Less than one-shot,” or LO-shot learning – which could, in theory, bring a fundamental change to machine learning (ML). An AI model trained using this technique could be able to recognize even more real objects than was presented in the training dataset. In other …
Russian AI experts on LO-shot learning: Not really new, but promising Read More
While often cited as a leading source of global disinformation, Russia has proven fertile ground for this Western-born conspiracy theory. Against a backdrop of uncertainty and fear over the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s social media has over the past 12 months experienced a boom in anti-5G content. Russia’s anti-5G movement is “first …
Soviet diehards and Covid-19 conspiracies: Inside Russia’s anti-5G movement Read More
Crunchbase and East-West Digital News are teaming up to cover key tech and venture trends from Russia and neighboring countries in Eastern Europe. Since last year, EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni has offered a regular column to highlight the most notable industry facts and trends as well as promising tech innovations from these countries. Covering the third quarter of …
Yandex and Sberbank’s fight to gain control of Russia’s finance and technology industries is being billed as the corporate showdown of the decade. “Sberbank versus Yandex: The battle of the super platforms has begun,” declared Russian business daily Vedomosti last week. Novaya Gazeta went further, dubbing it a “war of the ecosystems.” The clash — which has …
Sber vs. Yandex: The battle of Russia’s super platforms begins Read More
By Mikhail Terentiev, CFA, Head of Research; Oksana Mustiatsa, CFA, Analyst; and Andrey Mikhailov, Senior analyst We believe the proposed acquisition of Tinkoff (TCS) by Yandex (YNDX) is a win-win for both companies. From YNDX’s perspective, TCS’ valuation looks reasonable, and its takeover should create a vast scope for synergies, cross-selling and product bundling, solidifying the …
Yandex to buy Tinkoff: Deal parameters and implications Read More
