The extent of corruption in Russia’s technology industry has been revealed by a survey which says as much as 60 percent of payments made are bribes. Is that a stark warning for startups wanting to tap into a lucrative market — or simply the cost of… Read More »
Tech
Some of Europe’s leading investors gathered in Italy last week to discuss the problems and opportunities faced by startups across the continent. But what did they actually think? And what does it mean? Read More »
Siri, watch out: Apple’s personal assistant is getting competition from a Russian startup, whose founder is currently touring the Valley as part of a roadshow for Russia’s Skolkovo IT park. I met with him and three other of the Skolkovo startups this week, and left impressed. Read More »
Shares in Russian Internet group Mail.ru have fallen to their lowest point since the company went public last year. But since the company has been indirectly fueling Silicon Valley’s latest investment boom, a serious slump could have repercussions far beyond Moscow. Read More »
The frozen reaches of Siberia’s biggest city might not be the first place you’d go to look for the next generation of technology companies. But that’s precisely where Northern European accelerator Startup Sauna has gone in the search for new talents and ideas. Read More »
After years of development, mountains of cash and a false start or two, Plastic Logic says its first e-reader is ready for the market. But even if you want one, your chances are slim: It’s only going to be sold to Russian schoolchildren. Read More »
Russia’s biggest online commerce company, Ozon, is about to get bigger thanks to a huge injection of cash and ambitious plans to take its business to the next level. But is it biting off more than it can chew? Read More »
Russian social network VKontakte has built a billion dollar business by cloning almost every aspect of Facebook for the local market. It seems a little rich, then, that founder Pavel Durov says his long-term ambition is to prove that Russian products can be global leaders. Read More »
Another month, another summit in Paris to discuss the future of the Internet — and another debate that ends up in the same old arguments about copyright infringement and law enforcement. Are we doomed to keep repeating our mistakes, or can we ever move on? Read More »
Russia’s biggest search engine, Yandex, plans to cash in by going public on the Nasdaq — but its bid for the big time is being hit by concerns of political interference and revelations that it has handed private user data over to the Russian security services. Read More »
Russian mobile operator VimpelCom (VIP) is buying Golden Telecom (GLDN) for $4.3 billion, the company announced this morning. Vimpel will pay $105 a share in cash for Golden’s outstanding shares. VimpelCom can now provide voice and data in addition to mobile services to its customers. Read More »
