Alexander Turkot, who resigned this past fall from his position as director of Skolkovo‘s IT cluster , has announced the launch of a new venture fund, which he hopes will raise as much as $100 million. The fund has already received a commitment from Renova for “up to $50 million,” Turkot told East-West Digital News. …
Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire who backs the leading global Internet investment fund DST Global, is now avoiding the US and focusing on China, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The valuations of US technology companies are too high to justify making new investments, Ivan Streshinskiy, chief executive officer of the company that manages Usmanov’s assets, was quoted …
Paul Myners, a former commercial secretary to the UK Treasury, is to join the board of directors of Russian mobile phone company MegaFon. The matter will be discussed at a general meeting of the company. Lord Paul Myners, who was made a life peer and entitled to a seat in the House of Lords in …
During a US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission meeting held on October 30, foreign and Russian experts debated approaches that the participants thought would be beneficial for Russia to choose in its drive for innovation. Marchmont CEO Kendrick White took part as an American expert. He shares his impressions and his ideas on how to improve what seems …
Kendrick White on Russia’s modernization: “We cannot wait another twenty years” Read More
A Siberian miner’s son with a degree from the St. Petersburg Mining Institute, one could be guilty of assuming entrepreneurship and investment were a million miles from the life Oleg Tinkov once knew. After moving to St. Petersburg in 1988, Tinkov had a string of jobs in everything from a furniture factory, to a bottle-collection …
Once a remote hinterland in terms of foreign investment, Russia is now emerging as a hot destination for investors looking for a slice of the action on the digital frontier. The recent Landing Page conference organised by Digital October Center for Geeks on a Plane (GOAP) participants, Russian VCs and entrepreneurs was a perfect example …
Republican US Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has been building his foreign policy program around avowedly fault-finding rhetoric regarding Russia, invested last year in Russian natural gas, banking, and IT stocks. According to his 2011 tax return released on September 21, the GOP nominee used some of his earnings from the politician’s former employment at …
Yandex stock play dented Mitt Romney’s credibility Read More
Oleg Ryazhenov-Siems has led the ambitious online strategy of Svyaznoy, the second largest Russian consumer electronics retailer, since 2009. Recognized as one of the best Russian e-commerce professionals, he has just been appointed as Svyaznoy’s Director of Strategic Marketing and Advertising. While offering insights on how the retailer has successfully developed online activities all across …
The investment arm of VTB Group, a leading Russian state-controlled financial group, VTB Capital has financed a number of Russian and foreign small and mid-sized IT companies. In the e-commerce and related fields, VTB Capital owns stakes in Mobidengi, a leading mobile payment service provider and Oktogo.ru, a major online hotel booking service, in addition …
The Sunnyvale, California headquartered Plug and Play Tech Center officially opened its Moscow branch last month in partnership with GVA, a venture investment company that aims to bridge California with emerging markets. After multiple official speeches and presentations, the grand opening event featured a startup battle, already quite a familiar format for the Russian tech …
Moscow – Mail.Ru Group founder and top Russian Internet investor Mikhail Vinchel joined Buran Venture Capital as LP and advisory board member. Mr Vinchel is at the top of a list of 7 LPs that invested in Buran VC, a venture fund founded in late 2010 with $10 million of assets under management and targeting …
Mail.Ru Group founder Mikhail Vinchel joins Buran Venture Capital Read More
With net sales reaching €470 million in 2011 – including 50% 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 openly about the challenges of building a multichannel …
