Russia’s State Duma is in the process of passing over 50 laws to regulate new technologies in the IT sector, which last year generated almost 5% of GDP and is growing at a rate of 10 to 15%. The most controversial of them — the so-called sovereign internet law that will allow Russia to cut …
Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s federal executive branch to develop new legislation that would criminalize “encouraging the use of or propagandizing narcotic substances, psychotropic substances, or their analogues using the information and telecommunication network known as the Internet.” Encouraging illegal drug use in Russia is currently an administrative violation punishable by …
Putin orders criminalization of online ‘drug propaganda’ in Russia Read More
Russia’s flagship tech companies, LSE-listed Mail.Ru Group and NASDAQ-listed Yandex, both reported strong third-quarter results amid ongoing concerns over government proposals to limit foreign ownership in Russia’s largest technology companies. With revenues and earnings up at both companies, representatives confirmed they were lobbying the government to water down the potentially damaging legislation to the two …
Russia’s Yandex and Mail.Ru report strong growth despite ownership threats Read More
Shares in the NASDAQ-listed Russian tech giant Yandex have jumped higher on reports Russia will soften proposals to limit foreign ownership of strategically important tech firms. The government is now considering placing a 50%-minus-one cap on the number of shares that can be held by non-Russian investors — up from the 20% limit proposed in a draft …
Yandex shares bounce back as Russia softens foreign ownership rules Read More
Earlier this month Da Vinci Capital – a major EBRD-backed and PE firm focusing on Russia and neighboring countries – announced an investment of 100 million rubles ($1.57 million at the current exchange rate) in BitRussia. BitRussia presents itself as an international blockchain-based crowdfunding platform. It aims to put together projects and investors using distributed ledgers, asset …
Russia’s largest bank and its financial regulator last week called for tougher penalties to be put in place against cybercrime. Governor of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina and Sberbank CEO German Gref highlighted how criminal responsibility in Russia for some cyber crimes is softer than in the United States, while for others it is completely …
Finance heads call for stronger cybercrime punishments Read More
Late Friday, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it is suing two offshore entities, Telegram and its wholly owned subsidiary, TON Issuer, for holding an unregistered token sale. According to the complaint filed in the federal district court in Manhattan on the same day, Telegram sold approximately 2.9 billion crypto tokens, called Grams (GRM) to 171 buyers for a …
US stock market authority halts TON launch over $1.7 billion ICO Read More
A Russian man is seeking more than $15,000 in damages from Apple after claiming that the U.S. tech giant drove him to homosexuality, the Govorit Moskva radio station has reported. The plaintiff, identified as D. Razumilov, alleges that he became “mired in same-sex relationships” this summer after receiving 69 GayCoins on a cryptocurrency payment app …
Russian iPhone user sues Apple for turning him gay Read More
Shares in Russian tech giant Yandex have plummeted after reports the Kremlin is backing plans to limit the stakes of foreign owners in Russian “online information resources.” Yandex shares fell by 17% in the first minutes of trading on the Nasdaq exchange in New York on Friday, wiping more than $1 billion from the company’s …
Yandex shares plummet as Russia considers limits on foreign ownership Read More
On Oct. 1, the law “On Digital Rights” entered into force. It establishes the basic legal definition of rights in the digital realm and determines their status under the country’s civil rights law. “Digital right” in this context is a new legal term, the scope of which can be interpreted to include tokens such as …
Russia regulates digital rights, advances other crypto-related bills 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 and Central Asia. Since January 2019, EWDN chief editor Adrien Henni has offered a monthly column to highlight the most notable industry facts and trends as well as promising tech innovations from these countries. The September review highlights the …
A Moscow court ruled yesterday that Michael Calvey, the prominent US investor arrested in February, and his French colleague Philippe Delpal, should remain under house arrest until January 13. According to the Investigative Committee, which requested such measure, three more months are required to complete the investigation, as reported by the TASS news agency. Initially …
