The universal electronic card (UEC), an ambitious initiative signed into law in 2010 and christened by then President Medvedev of Russia as a “primary ID card” for all Russians, is no longer universal. The sweeping introduction of the card, which had been slated for early next year, is “too burdensome” for regional coffers to afford, …
Russia’s state supported e-card idea lowers its ambitions Read More
Esther Dyson is a former journalist and Wall Street technology analyst, as well as a leading angel investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and business commentator. She has focused her career on breakthroughs in innovative healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space. Dyson is on the supervisory board of Yandex, as well as the advisory board of …
The Pirate Party of Russia, a socio-political group campaigning for “commerce-free exchange of information on the Internet,” is launching a specialized web hosting service, Piratehost.net, just three weeks after the Russian Ministry of Justice refused to register it officially for bureaucratic reasons. In his blog, Party vice chairman Stanislav Shakirov called his group’s initiative an …
The three former Soviet republics that now share the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are setting up an intergovernmental entity called “Venture Company – Innovation Technology Center of the Eurasian Economic Community” – or Innovation Technology Center, for short. Russia will be represented in the new entity by InfraFund, a fund established by …
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan create innovation technology center Read More
Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed last week the creation of a government system capable of anticipating, preventing, and assisting in the aftermath of cyber-attacks on national IT resources. The Federal Security Service (FSB), the post-Soviet successor of the KGB, will be responsible for the project. In addition to warding off cyber-raids, the prospective system is …
FSB to forge IT shield against global cyber-attacks Read More
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has told key federal ministries to formulate ideas for the development of “world-class IT-related R&D centers” within Russian institutions of higher education and research institutes. The ministries expected to work out a mutually integrated project include Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Telecommunications, and Ministry of Finance.
The Republic of Tatarstan is confirming its commitment to innovation with plans to invest heavily over the next two years in the engineering and transport infrastructure of Innopolis, an “innovation city” under completion near the capital Kazan. Tatarstan will put up a significant part of the total investment, which has been estimated at 20 billion …
Tatarstan’s Innopolis to receive $670 million in investments Read More
The Russian Ministry of Telecommunications has been tasked with developing a set of measures aimed at ensuring international legal protection of intellectual property (IP) owned by Russian companies, Venture-News.ru reported earlier this week. The work was kick-started by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in late December 2012. The planned measures are said to include government subsidies …
Russia masterminds ‘patent armor’ for domestic intellectual property Read More
Skolkovo, the state-sponsored giant tech hub nearing completion on the outskirts of Moscow, has come under sharp criticism over the last several months, suggesting that government policies in support of innovation in the country could be reviewed. Among the first signs of resistance to Skolkovo’s recent development were remarks made this past October by Deputy …
Skolkovo under fire; government innovation policies may be reshaped Read More
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has just issued a 96-page report on the Russian economy. The report takes a detailed look at policies that can help achieve the country’s economic diversification. “Ending [the Russian economy’s] heavy reliance on exports of oil, gas and minerals, [is] a very specific and difficult challenge,” the report …
The Russian Ministry of Education and Science has announced the start of a public debate over this country’s new long-term intellectual property (IP) protection strategy, portal Science and Technologies Russia reported earlier this week. The document is reported to have accumulated opinions and suggestions from Russia’s leading experts who represent VC funds, venture companies and larger …
Russia drafts its new IP protection strategy and encourages public feedback Read More
The Far East and Baikal Regional Development Fund, which was set up a year ago, may be increased considerably, the innovation news portal Venture-News.ru reported last week. Currently, its authorized capital is $15.5 million; but it may soon be boosted to as much as $3 billion or more. The idea came from Russian President Vladimir …
Far East and Baikal Regional Development Fund to be bumped up by 200 times Read More
