People

Celebrating the .RU – A look back over two decades of the Russian Internet

April 30, 2014

The birth of the .ru extension in April, 1994 has come to symbolize the beginning of Russia’s domestic internet history. Now, twenty years later, East-West Digital News co-founder Andrew Zotov, a pioneer of the industry, recalls these earlier times. The early days The Internet appeared in Russia well before 1994, with the first local service …

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Ratmir Timashev of ABRT on investing in Russian startups: “For Western funds, there are good opportunities in Russia, but it’s far easier to invest in Silicon Valley”

April 23, 2014

Ratmir Tymashev, a partner in venture fund ABRT, has been investing in partnership with Luxembourg-based fund Mangrove Capital Partners since 2007. In this article, published initially by Hopes & Fears, a Russian online publication dedicated to startups and entrepreneurship, he draws on this experience to explain how foreign funds approach the Russian IT sector.

Vkontakte founder forced to resign after revealing anti-Maidan pressure from FSB

April 22, 2014

Pavel Durov is now out for good from Vkontakte (VK.com), Russia’s leading social network which he founded in 2007. His resignation was announced yesterday by the company’s press service in a statement published by the Russian news agency Interfax. “Judging by the news, I was fired today as the general director of VKontakte. Interestingly, the …

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Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Alexandra Johnson – From the Soviet Union to Silicon Valley

March 28, 2014

Born in Vladivostok, a city closer to Tokyo than Moscow, Alexandra Johnson has always had an international outlook. Soon after the fall of the Soviet Union, she left for the U.S., where she added a M.B.A from the University of California, Berkeley to her Ph.D. from St. Petersburg State University. Once in California, she found …

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Billionaire Usmanov aims at China after Apple, Facebook sale

March 18, 2014

Billionaire Alisher Usmanov sold shares in Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc., focusing on technology investments in China such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and may expand stakes in Russian assets, an executive said. “Chinese companies account for about 70 percent to 80 percent of the portfolio of our foreign Internet investments,” Ivan Streshinskiy, head of …

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Going East – What Western investors need to know when considering Russia

February 26, 2014

Ever since Russia become the ‘R’ in Jim O’Neil’s BRIC acronym in 2001, Western investors and entrepreneurs have increasingly sought to take their chances in Moscow, St. Petersburg and beyond. O’Neil’s assessment of the size of the opportunity within the Russian market has been shown to be decidedly correct. However, the flow of investors from …

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Western investors “all looking at Russia,” claims NASDAQ boss

December 9, 2013

Just over a month ago the Moscow Stock Exchange signed an agreement of cooperation with NASDAQ OMX. Now the American Stock Exchange will advise Russian technology companies and international organisations that do business in Russia, including how to prepare for their IPO. Given the excitement of many Russian companies surrounding this announcement, the results could …

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Otto Group Russia CEO Martin Schierer: “We feel the increasing competition and the higher marketing costs in e-commerce”

November 22, 2013

With net sales reaching €550 million in 2012 – including more than half generated online – the Otto Group has asserted itself as a leading player on the Russian e-commerce scene. In this exchange with East-West Digital News, CEO Martin Schierer shares his vision of this fast-growing market, speaking about the challenges of building a …

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Challenges for innovation policies: A comparison between France and Russia

November 19, 2013

The need to restructure the Russian economy has led to a variety of public policy initiatives. Whatever the official vocabulary, “innovation” is a key aspect of these policies. Therefore, a comparison with a country such as France that has implemented a very pro-active innovation policy may provide some tools of analysis. In both countries but …

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Details of Snowden’s life in Russia revealed by his Russian ‘guardian angel’

November 19, 2014

Edward Snowden, the fugitive American government contractor wanted by the United States for leaking details of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, has now been living in Russia for more than three months. An eyesore to the Washington establishment, with his U.S. passport annulled, yet still retaining his American citizenship, Snowden has been welcomed in Russia …

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Arvato Russia CEO Michael Poetschke: “For fulfillment, Russia is not China”

November 12, 2013

After more than 15 years in the market, Bertelsmann subsidiary Arvato Russia has asserted itself as one of the main fulfillment providers in Russia, both for traditional distance selling and for e-commerce operations. In this exclusive interview, CEO Michael Poetschke talks about the opportunities and the difficulties of the Russian market with equal frankness. He also comments on the latest trends in …

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Snowden starts working for mystery Russian company

November 1, 2013

Former U.S. intelligence officer Edward Snowden, who received temporary asylum in Russia, was hired on November 1 by a major Russian website, Snowden’s lawyer in Russia, Anatoly Kucherena, told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti yesterday. “Starting in November, Edward goes to work. He will work with support and maintenance of one of Russia’s largest sites. …

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