Social networks & apps

Russian educational network Dnevnik.ru joins EdTech Top 20

June 24, 2014

Dnevnik.ru, Russia’s first social educational network, was included last week in EdTech Europe’s list of the most influential European companies in the sphere of e-learning and educational technology. The criteria for selection included compliance with key trends in the sphere of e-learning (SaaS, MOOC, adaptive learning, gaming), scalability of a project’s technology and the influence …

Russian educational network Dnevnik.ru joins EdTech Top 20 Read More

Russian authorities vs. Twitter: Threat of censorship over, or just over for now?

May 27, 2014

The Russian government demonstrated earlier this month that it not only knows how to obstruct Internet freedom, but also uphold it. A high-level government official who appeared to have threatened to block Twitter in Russia has been officially reprimanded. Maxim Ksenzov, the Deputy Director of Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom market watchdog, complained on May 16 …

Russian authorities vs. Twitter: Threat of censorship over, or just over for now? Read More

Russian e-commerce leader Ulmart invests $6.5 million in Dream Industries to develop digital content platforms

May 26, 2014

Interest in the fast-growing Russian digital content market received further confirmation this past Friday with the announcement of a $6.5 million investment by Umart, Russia’s number one online retailer, in Dream Industries, a Moscow-based developer of digital content platforms. The move came just one week after e-commerce pioneer Ozon acquired a stake in Russia’s e-book …

Russian e-commerce leader Ulmart invests $6.5 million in Dream Industries to develop digital content platforms Read More

Fastlane Ventures raises $1.4 million to turn how-to website into “knowledge sharing social network for millions of users”

May 8, 2014

In late April, Relevant Media, a project of Internet startup developer Fastlane Ventures, raised $1.4 million from a group of undisclosed individual investors. With its three properties – the “how-to” portal Kakprosto.ru, women’s site Justlady.ru, and Pinterest clone Pinme.ru, – Relevant Media claims an audience of 18 million unique visitors, making it one of the 10 largest Russian Internet media …

Fastlane Ventures raises $1.4 million to turn how-to website into “knowledge sharing social network for millions of users” Read More

Pavel Durov flees lawsuits, not politics, claims UCP

December 21, 2015

Last week, following Pavel Durov’s dismissal as CEO and exit from Russia – a country which he now judges “incompatible with Internet business,” – Vkontakte shareholder United Capital Partners (UCP) released a statement about these latest developments. The fund, which acquired a 48% stake in the social network one year ago, describes Durov’s move as “an attempt to present …

Pavel Durov flees lawsuits, not politics, claims UCP Read More

Vkontakte founder forced to resign after revealing anti-Maidan pressure from FSB

April 22, 2014

Pavel Durov is now out for good from Vkontakte (VK.com), Russia’s leading social network which he founded in 2007. His resignation was announced yesterday by the company’s press service in a statement published by the Russian news agency Interfax. “Judging by the news, I was fired today as the general director of VKontakte. Interestingly, the …

Vkontakte founder forced to resign after revealing anti-Maidan pressure from FSB Read More

Yandex sells off Facebook shares

April 15, 2014

Russian seach giant Yandex has completed the sell-off of its Facebook shareholding. Commenting on Yandex’s Form 20-F annual report for foreign private issuers, the Russian business daily Vedomosti estimated that a 142,479 share package sold in two chunks over the past 12 months may have brought the Russian Internet company $8.1 million – a fairly …

Yandex sells off Facebook shares Read More

Is Crimea part of Russia? – Answers found on Facebook, Vkontakte, Yandex differ; Wikipedia changes its mind

April 11, 2014

Three weeks after Russia asserted that Crimea and the city of Sebastopol have become part of its territory, Facebook and Russian-language social network Vkontakte still categorize the inhabitants of these regions as being located in Ukraine. Meanwhile, two other major social networks, Odnoklassniki (Classmates) and Moi Mir (My World), have already classified them as being part …

Is Crimea part of Russia? – Answers found on Facebook, Vkontakte, Yandex differ; Wikipedia changes its mind Read More

Russian VC fund backs Finnish solution for mobile sharing of TV moments

April 11, 2014

GS Venture, the one-year-old venture arm of GS Group, has announced its first international investment. Set up last summer to “support entrepreneurial innovators and startup teams” in Russia, the fund decided to establish presence in Finland with a €200,000 injection into Tellyo, a Helsinki startup. The young Finnish company has developed Share the Moment, a …

Russian VC fund backs Finnish solution for mobile sharing of TV moments Read More

VKontakte shareholders sue each other: Will Durov take back UCP’s stake or will UCP take control of Durov’s Telegram?

April 10, 2014

What started a year ago as a shareholder dispute within VKontakte (VK.com), Russia’s largest social network, appears to be emerging as a full-blown war of litigation. The faction most actively fanning the legal flames is United Capital Partners (UCP), a major Russian fund active in various sectors that acquired a 48% stake in VK a …

VKontakte shareholders sue each other: Will Durov take back UCP’s stake or will UCP take control of Durov’s Telegram? Read More

Global record labels take Vkontakte into Russian court as music piracy continues

April 9, 2014

Three international music record labels have taken the offensive in another attempt to challenge online piracy in Russia, international industry association IFPI reported. Once again the target is Vkontakte (also known as VK.com), the former Soviet Union’s third most visited website and leading social network. Sony Music Russia, Universal Music Russia and Warner Music UK filed three separate …

Global record labels take Vkontakte into Russian court as music piracy continues Read More

Scroll to Top

This site is under maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.

This site is under maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience.