Sber and VTB, two leading, state-controlled financial institutions in Russia, are not willing to move into the cryptocurrency market in the near future as their CEOs believe that crypto is either too risky or fake money. Sber CEO Herman Gref said that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are probably the riskiest type of investment alongside the equity …
The Russian government plans to invest 777 billion rubles ($10.5 billion) into electric and hydrogen vehicle development by 2030, according to documents obtained by the Vedomosti news outlet. In the next nine years Russia’s electric vehicle (EV) share of the auto market could grow from 0.05% to 15%, officials at the Ministry of Economic Development said. By …
Russian government could invest more than $10 billion for electric and hydrogen vehicles Read More
Russian online video major IVI (ivi.ru) announced today a $250 million funding round involving top state and private investors. This is one of the biggest deals of the past years on the Russian tech scene, and an all-time record in the online video segment. The consortium of investors includes several big names, combining two major …
A “unified end-to-end system for intercepting and tracing vehicles” is being deployed on the roads of a huge region of Russia: the Central Federal District (CFD), which spans across 650,200 square kilometers. Dubbed ‘Web’ (Паутина), this software platform is connected with road traffic operational services, allowing the authorities to trace and analyze “the movements of …
YouTube has started deleting hyperlinks to Alexey Navalny’s ‘SmartVote‘ project — a strategic voting initiative designed to identify candidates with the best statistical odds of defeating politicians from Russia’s ruling political party, United Russia. On Thursday, the media outlet Sota Vision reported that YouTube removed its SmartVote hyperlink from a video streamed in August 2019 during opposition protests …
YouTube deletes hyperlinks to Navalny voting initiative Read More
Digital Primorye, a smart city solution provider launched by the Far East High Technology Fund (FEHTF) and VessoLink Group, is working on some 30 projects to develop digital services and high tech systems in such sectors as transport, public utilities, education, health care, and more.. These projects are taking shape in Primorye, a Far Eastern Russian region that …
Private-public partnership launches $69 million smart city program in Russia’s Far East Read More
In a meeting with EU foreign ministers, Ukraine’s top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba joined the chorus of voices calling for Russia to be disconnected from SWIFT — the financial messaging network that underpins the global banking system. The proposal — long popular among those who favor slapping hard-hitting sanctions on Russia — has picked up new …
Should Russian banks be scared of SWIFT disconnection? Read More
Until recently, the Russian authorities showed little interest in genetics. The breakthrough came in 2019, when the government allocated 127 billion rubles (around $1.7 billion at the current exchange rate) to a special seven-year federal program. In fact, the Kremlin’s overall spending on projects involving genetics could actually reach 230 billion rubles ($3 billion) in …
Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, and RVC (Russian Venture Company, now affiliated to the sovereign wealth fund RDIF) yesterday announced plans to launch a joint $100 million fund for early-stage tech startups. This is a substantial amount for Russia, where annual domestic venture investment volumes are in the hundreds of millions of US dollars. The fund will …
While Russian authorities have in recent months ramped up pressure on foreign social media and video hosting platforms, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today he hopes Russia will not be forced to block them. “No one wants a full ban and it would be silly to advocate for one, but it’s necessary to force these …
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development considers providing AI developers with access to anonymized medical data of Russian citizens. As reported by business daily Kommersant, patients’ data could be used by companies working on AI-based solutions for disease diagnosis or prediction, as well as for epidemiological purposes. AI developers would be connected to a special …
Russia considers opening patients’ medical data to AI developers Read More
The Russian government plans to create a “digital residency” system for foreign IT companies. According to this initiative, Russia will adopt legislation by the end of 2021 that will oblige foreign companies with a client base of more than 100,000–500,000 Russian users to register legal entities in the country and pay taxes. Foreign nationals will …
Russia plans to require foreign IT companies to open local offices and pay taxes Read More
