According to research carried out by the Public Opinion Foundation (FOM), just a quarter of Russians are ready to pay for online content. The survey was designed to measure the public response to Russia’s new anti-piracy legislation, enacted in July 2013. The law does not target users who simply view or download illegitimate content for personal use, but …
Just a quarter of Russians willing to pay for online content Read More
The second half of the 20th century has seen the Russian rock and popular music industry in a poor technical state, compared to Europe and the United States. During the years of the “iron curtain,” the local music scene was largely isolated, which meant Russian musicians could not get their hands on quality guitars, amplifiers …
Technology demands a revamp of Russia’s music industry Read More
Yandex announces today its new mobile app analytics tool – Yandex.Metrica for Apps, tailored specifically to the needs of mobile app developers all over the world. The English-language version of Yandex.Metrica for Apps is available for free on demand at appmetrica.yandex.com. The main reason why we made an app stats tool from scratch, instead of using any of those currently …
Yandex’s new analytics solution offers advanced real-time mobile app usage reports Read More
In partnership with comScore, Ernst and Young and The Next Web, East-West Digital News is releasing a 100-page study on the Russian online video market, a fast-growing segment that deserves renewed attention. A variety of factors is set to drive strong further growth, from the new anti-piracy legislation – which is likely to increase content …
International study sheds full light on Russia’s online video market Read More
Yandex, Russia’s leading search engine and major Internet group, announced yesterday that it acquired KinoPoisk (in Russian: “Cinema Search”), the largest Russian language portal on movies, TV programs and celebrities. This site’s database contains 100 million movie descriptions and ratings with associated trailers, user commentaries and advertising. Each month, it attracts nearly 16 million unique …
Yandex acquires leading movie portal KinoPoisk from France’s AlloCine Read More
LitRes, a leading online retailer of Russian language e-books, has raised $5 million from Russian Internet Technology Fund (RITF), a $50 million fund established earlier this year. The company’s valuation has not been disclosed, but the fund stated that it had received “a significant stake” in the company. With $7 million in sales in 2012, …
E-book distributor LitRes raises $5 million from Russian Internet Technology Fund Read More
The “All Together” fundraiser aims to help the over 100,000 people affected by recent floods in the Russian Far East. The campaign has proven to be one of the biggest non-profit SMS campaigns in European history. More than 9.5 million people have participated and a considerable part of the more than $23 million raised has …
SMS-driven fundraiser for flood victims breaks records Read More
Earlier this week RocketBank, a Moscow-based banking application startup, announced that it received $2 million in funding from Runa Capital, a Moscow-based fund operating internationally. RocketBank’s application, currently available only on iOS, allows users to complete money transfers that necessitate no bank details of a recipient, simply an e-mail address or e-wallet number – which the …
Runa Capital injects $2 million in mobile banking startup with global ambitions Read More
Just two months after strict anti-piracy legislation came into force, Russia’s largest online video services have formed the Internet Video Association in order to help shield the market against pirated video content. The union defines itself as “a nonprofit organization that assists in the proper application of the anti-piracy law while avoiding discrimination and repression,” according to its chairman Oleg Rumyantsev, …
Fastlane Ventures, Prostor Capital, and Runa Capital have shaken hands to combine two sites in the field of online health and medicine: VitaPortal, which has been funded so far by Fastlane, Prostor, and US business angel Esther Dyson, and Zdorovie Online, which is coming from Runa’s portfolio. Launched in 2011 as a medical news and …
Fastlane, Prostor and Runa merge assets to create online health and medicine leader Read More
MTT, a Russian telecom group owned by VTB and former telecommunication minister Leonid Reiman, announced last week the launch of a Skype-like VoIP application named ‘Beam.’ The company stated it had invested 100 million rubles (approximately $3 million) in the project, which is based on MTT’s own VoIP platform for call rerouting, billing, and integration …
Russia’s MTT launches Skype-like VoIP app with international ambitions Read More
Apple’s iTunes store dominates digital music sales in Russia, according to a study by AC&M Consulting. The iTunes store already accounts for one third of the online music market in Russia, less than one year after launch. The online store’s sales may reach up to 634 million rubles (around $19 million) in 2013. Yandex.Music and …
iTunes has become the driver of Russia’s digital music market Read More
