Phenomen Ventures, a $300 million international venture fund launched last year by Russian businessman Dmitry Falkovich, has invested in Helpling, the online marketplace for household cleaners backed by Germany’s Rocket Internet. The deal is part of a Series A round of 13.5 million euros ($16.8 million), which has also involved Mangrove Capital, Point Nine Capital …
Last month international online recruitment service Zartis.com announced the launch of its platform in Moscow. Zartis provides employers with access to pre-screened IT professionals in an online marketplace making it quicker and cheaper for companies to hire tech talent. The service, which started in Ireland, is available in Dublin, London, Berlin and now Moscow – …
International online recruitment service Zartis launches in Russia Read More
Developers in Russia are putting up their feet today — that is, after they have finished stomping around in frustration for a little while. It’s emerged that Russia’s regulator RosComNadzor has blocked GitHub after the popular software and coding collaboration platform was found to be hosting content related to suicide — specifically, see this file that details 32 ways to kill yourself. The “block” …
Russia blacklists, blocks GitHub over pages that refer to suicide Read More
Top Delivery, a provider of e-commerce shipment services on the domestic market, has raised an undisclosed amount from Impulse VC. The young company will use the funds to develop further its logistics, customer service and IT systems. It also plans to expand its geographic coverage – which now covers 2,700 locations in 44 Russian regions. …
E-commerce shipment service provider Top Delivery secures investment from Impulse VC Read More
By the end of 2014, the Russian government plans to review a law on critical information infrastructure that would enable the country to build a comprehensive defense system against cyber attacks. Igor Sheremet, one of the co-authors of the bill and board chairman of the Governmental Military-Industrial Commission, gave an interview to talk about the initiative.
NASDAQ-listed Russian payment operator QIWI announced today the acquisition of the e-currency business of Mail.ru Group, a major Russian Internet group. After the completion of transition period all Money.Mail.Ru transactions will be performed by QIWI. The terms of the deal, which is presented as part of a “long term strategic partnership,” have not been disclosed. …
A recent influx of reports about Russian electronic espionage activity has prompted fresh concerns that the Kremlin may be gunning for a cyberwar with the West. Not everyone is convinced: Russian IT analysts interviewed by The Moscow Times were more inclined to blame the spike in attack reports on media hype and cybersecurity companies exploiting …
Is Russia’s cyberwar heating up amid new Cold War? Read More
Mail.ru Group, a leading, LSE-listed Russian Internet group, is to sell 100% of shares in HeadHunter (hh.ru) to a consortium of investors led by direct investment fund Elbrus Capital. The deal, which is worth a total of 9.85 billion rubles (a little less than $210 million at the current exchange rate), is still “subject to third-party approval,” the group announced. It expected to …
Mail.ru group to sell headhunter business to investor consortium led by Elbrus Capital Read More
Starting next May, websites guilty of more than one copyright violation will be permanently blocked in the country. The move comes as part of a new anti-piracy bill signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, ramping up what many critics see as an already draconian set of copyright protection rules. Once a website is blocked by a court decision, it cannot be unblocked, according to the …
Russia to block piracy websites permanently after one copyright violation Read More
In spite of the international turmoil, the Russian e-commerce market is still growing with cross-border sales to Russia jumping to $5 billion this year, up from $3 billion last year. However, while e-commerce flows from China is reaching new heights, the present troubled times have brought new difficulties – but also left many opportunities – …
New EWDN study: Cross-border sales still growing fast, Chinese players invading the market Read More
Rambler & Co, a major Russian tech media group, is seeking to move away from its present status as a media company towards Internet technologies. As reported by Russian daily Vedomosti, the company is creating two startup accelerators to achieve this goal. Speaking at an event hosted by the $200 million government-backed startup fund FRII …
Rambler & Co seeks startups in its shift to becoming an Internet tech firm Read More
The Presidential Library and National Library of Russia, both located in St. Petersburg, are working on a project that aims to become the Russian answer to Wikipedia. According to the Presidential Library’s chief spokesman Valentin Sidorin, the creators will not be writing an e-encyclopedia from scratch; they will merely systematize, digitize, and grant open access …
St. Petersburg libraries creating an ‘alternative Wikipedia’ about Russia Read More
