As the Covid-19 outbreak is having a growing impact on the global economy, countries need new economic growth models, writes Rainer Michael Preiss in his Forbes column. Preiss is a portfolio strategist based in Singapore, covering global macroeconomics and geopolitics with a focus on emerging markets and emerging technologies. While artificial intelligence powered by 5G …
With the successful launch of the Crew Dragon capsule, Elon Musk’s space travel company SpaceX sent its first astronauts to the International Space Station on May 30. To celebrate the occasion, Russian Internet users released a clever deepfake video of Musk singing “Grass at Home,” a famous song by the Soviet rock band “Zemlyane” (“Earthlings”). Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, …
“A US court stopped TON from happening:” with this simple explanation, VK and Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced today he is giving up his widely hyped blockchain and cryptocurrency project. This is the latest, but probably not the last episode of a saga which started in early 2018 with a controversial $1.7 billion ICO. Many unforeseen developments followed, …
Pavel Durov gives up his blockchain project, shifting the blame to US authorities Read More
French Tech, a government-backed initiative aiming to support French startups and tech entrepreneurs across the world, launched its Moscow chapter in 2015. The community now gathers some 200 members, including tech entrepreneurs, representatives of French and Russian tech companies, funds and accelerators, as well as key institutions. French Tech Moscow has published on Medium a …
In 2018, Vladimir Putin announced a $1.7 billion genetic program, comparing the potential of genetic engineering to a new “nuclear bomb”. The following year, the president’s alleged eldest daughter, Maria Vorontsova, joined the program’s advisory council and, this week, state-owned oil giant Rosneft got involved. Russian online publication The Bell looks with some skepticism at the players …
Rosneft and Putin’s alleged daughter lead search for ‘Russian gene’ Read More
The US Department of Justice indicted Russian national Yevgeniy Nikulin in several major cybercriminal offenses, such as stealing personal identities, usernames and credit card information of customers from Formspring, LinkedIn and Dropbox. Nikita Kislitsin, an employee of a cybersecurity firm with offices in Moscow and Singapore Group-IB is an alleged co-conspirator in the Formspring 2012 …
Russians may soon be able to use digital tokens to buy metals, book air tickets and transfer ski passes from Vladimir Potanin’s businesses after the billionaire got the go-ahead for his blockchain platform. Potanin has long signaled plans to start crypto tokens for metals, but can now expand the project to the consumer side of …
Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin launches metals blockchain Read More
Wildberries, Russia’s leading e-commerce player, considers expanding across Europe’s largest countries. After first steps in Slovakia and Poland, the company said it is “studying possible options to work in other countries of the EU, including France and Germany,” as reported last week by the Prime news agency. “Discussions are being held with officials from foreign …
Wearing casual trousers, a pullover and ruffled hair, surrounded by programmers, designers and freelancers half his age in the trendy WeWork coworking space in central Moscow, Alexander Galitsky wears his libertarian colors with comfort and conviction. Over the last three decades, he has made his name and his fortune connecting people, money and services in …
Alexander Galitsky: From Soviet engineer to libertarian investor Read More
Scams on Facebook and Instagram designed to look like they’re from prominent people in Russia aren’t rare. Last fall, Russian users reported multiple announcements featuring photographs of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who is now working to launch his own blockchain platform. Scammers started a massive ad campaign in Durov’s name, using the slogan “I won’t let Russians …
On Facebook and Instagram, fake ad campaigns twist the name of Russian celebrities Read More
Last week several court decisions brought new developments to the Baring Vostok case, which started one year ago with the arrest of the firm’s executive team. On Monday, Feb. 10, a Moscow court ruled to keep US citizen Michael Calvey and French Philippe Delpal under house arrest until May 13. The two expats had been …
One year after Michael Calvey’s arrest, the Baring Vostok case could soon come to an end Read More
Leading Russian consumer lender TCS Group, which operates Russia’s only pure online bank Tinkoff, will invest in the fintech project launched in Europe by two of its managers. As reported by bne IntelliNews, the capitalisation of TCS topped $5 billion in London this week. The bank’s investment case is seen as solid, as it has transformed from credit card …
Russia’s TCS Group ventures into fintech in Europe Read More
