Russian authorities have demanded that YouTube block jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s popular channel that has published viral investigations into corruption and fueled anti-government protests in recent years, his senior ally said Friday. The request comes less than a week after Russia’s internet regulator Roskomnadzor blocked 49 Navalny-linked websites and sought to ban his associates’ Twitter accounts. …
A Russian action film with coded references to Russian politics became Netflix’s most-streamed film last week. The hero of ‘Major Grom: Plague Doctor’ is incorruptible cop Igor Grom who does battle with a mass-murdering IT billionaire bearing an uncanny resemblance to Telegram messaging service founder Pavel Durov. Netflix released ‘Major Grom: Plague Doctor’ — their …
Netflix, the world’s largest streaming platform, has bought the rights to Russia’s “Brother” (“Brat”) films and will make them available from June 1. The “Brother” series are Russian neo-noir crime dramas written and directed by Alexei Balabanov in 1997 and 2000. The series tells a story of Danila Bogrov, who has just returned from fighting …
Netflix acquires rights to Russia’s cult ‘Brat’ films Read More
Russian online video major IVI (ivi.ru) announced today a $250 million funding round involving top state and private investors. This is one of the biggest deals of the past years on the Russian tech scene, and an all-time record in the online video segment. The consortium of investors includes several big names, combining two major …
YouTube has started deleting hyperlinks to Alexey Navalny’s ‘SmartVote‘ project — a strategic voting initiative designed to identify candidates with the best statistical odds of defeating politicians from Russia’s ruling political party, United Russia. On Thursday, the media outlet Sota Vision reported that YouTube removed its SmartVote hyperlink from a video streamed in August 2019 during opposition protests …
YouTube deletes hyperlinks to Navalny voting initiative Read More
Last week MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator, launched a new online video platform for mobile devices and smart TVs, made available in the Google Play and Apple App stores. Dubbed ‘Kion,’ this video streaming platform “features thousands of films and hundreds of TV channels”. It will also be “the exclusive home for a slate …
MTS launches new online video service to get among market leaders Read More
Russia has launched a probe against YouTube for “abusing” its dominant position in the market by making “biased” decisions about comment moderation, a government regulator said on Monday. The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said that YouTube’s rules relating to the suspension or deletion of accounts are “opaque, biased and unpredictable.” “This leads to sudden blocking and …
In late March Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant previously known as Sberbank, took control of a Russian video creation startup called Movika. Sber announced its subsidiary Digital Assets acquired a 58% stake in Movika and could increase it to 80% in the future. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. Movika’s technology allows …
A bevy of prominent business angels have backed Voices, a Russian-founded micropodcasting startup based in California. Two million US dollars were contributed by Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike, Tinder founder Justin Mateen, Shutterstock founder John Oringer, eBay founder Peter Thiel, MSQRD co-founders Sergey Gonchar, Evgeny Negen and Andrey Yanchurevich, alongside a few others. Voices co-founder Alexey …
MegaFon, a major Russian mobile operator and retailer, has increased its stake in video service Start to 50%, as reported by business daily Kommersant. The move follows the acquisition of 33.8% of the company, announced in October 2020. The valuation of the startup — which was founded in 2017 — could reach or exceed 4 billion rubles (some …
Russian telecom majors MegaFon and MTS invest in the startup space Read More
Russia will fine seven social media companies for not removing pro-Navalny videos ahead of last Saturday’s nationwide protests, the country’s communications regulator said Wednesday. “Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and YouTube will be fined for non-compliance with requirements to prevent the dissemination of calls to minors to participate in unauthorized rallies,” Roskomnadzor said in …
Russia to fine social media giants for keeping up pro-Navalny videos Read More
Just days after Alexey Navalny’s arrest in the Moscow airport and the publication of his killer video on “Putin’s palace,” a digital rebellion is underway in Russia, involving millions of teenagers and elder users of social media. As of Jan. 21, the investigative video on the luxury mansion had broken all records, garnering more than 50 million …
