Russia’s absorption of the Crimea region in early 2014 continues to be a source of friction between Washington and Moscow. The issue was illustrated recently by several US firms which cut ties with the disputed territory altogether. Due to sanctions placed on the region last year by the US authorities, which include an export ban of …
The Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked access to five bitcoin-related websites because the cryptocurrency “contributes to the growth of the shadow economy.” The sites include Bitcoin.org, a primary community resource for the cryptocurrency that’s run by the Bitcoin Foundation, the Bitcoin.it community wiki, the Russian-language BTCsec.com security site, the London-incorporated Indacoin exchange, and Russian bitcoin community site Coinspot.ru — although the …
Russia blocks bitcoin websites over “shadow economy” fears 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.
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
Visa could lose up to $70 million in 2015 while relocating its transaction processing to Russia, news agency Interfax reported last week. “We expect to lose a part of revenues of approximately $50 million by the end of the fiscal year [Sept. 30],” Visa’s CEO, Charles Scharf, was quoted by Interfax as saying in a telephone conference. That number will likely increase to $70 million over …
Artem Kulizhnikov, founder of a startup designed to help musicians annotate music, is packing his bags to leave Moscow in December. His destination: Dubai or Singapore, where he sees a better chance of securing funding for his second company. “Russian venture-capital funds want to invest their money only in Russia, but we want to build an international business and …
Russian brain drain saps talent as sanctions hit financing Read More
Last week, Moscow hosted the third edition of “Open Innovations,” a huge, internationally-focused tech forum and exhibition. The event was held at Technopolis Moscow, a large area in the eastern part of the Russian capital dedicated to developing high technology industries. At the site, representatives from more than 50 countries gathered. China was the special …
Chinese premier reveals secrets of innovative growth at Moscow international forum Read More
Dr. Alina Ilinova, an assistant professor and the tech transfer manager at Mining University in St. Petersburg, spent quality time earlier this year at the Maryland International Incubator (MI2, University of Maryland, College Park), studying the best international practices in the commercialization of university-originating technologies and the innovation ecosystems developed at UMD and other American …
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would not restrict Internet access for Russians but Moscow must protect state domains against a surge of cyber attacks since the Ukraine crisis began. His remarks were intended to douse speculation that he plans a crackdown on use of the Internet, which he has called a “CIA project” used to organise …
Putin says he’s “not even considering” curbing Internet access Read More
The Russian Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) has informed Facebook, Gmail and Twitter that they must register in Russia as “organizers of distribution of information,” according to Russian legislation. “We informed them and one way or another we will force them to follow the law,” …
Telecom regulator Roskomnadzor wants Google, Facebook and Twitter to register Read More
Russia could create a national online hotel booking platform, RIA Novosti and CNews.ru reported last week, citing Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky. “There are plans to create [such a] system. Now we are looking very actively for business partners who can create a Russian analog to Tripadvisor or Booking.com,” Medinsky said at a Public Chamber session in …
Last week the Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, or FRII in Russian), the $200 million fund launched last year to support Russian Internet startups, announced the extension of its coverage to such new fields as big data, wearable devices and the Internet-of-Things. “We did quite a lot of research on technological trends across the world. Cloud, social and …
IIDF to support big data, wearable tech and Internet-of-things startups Read More
