The Spring of Russian E-commerce - An exclusive global perspectives series

Category: St Petersburg

St. Petersburg Cable TV wards off housebreakers

By Oleg Kouzbit, Marchmont News / Apr 02, 2012

In an unusual diversification bid, St. Petersburg Cable TV, a major northwest Russian telecom also known as TKT, has launched a security service that fends off domestic trouble for homeowners from a distance. The Your Intelligent House package monitors a residence when the owner is away, alerting him to any household emergency or unwanted intrusion.

The telecom’s move could prove a major leg-up toward winning over a new market of homeowners and apartment renters in an upmarket software and hardware segment for advanced household security that is still in its infancy in Russia.

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Contactless payments take their first steps in Russia

By Elena Mikhaylova, Adrien Henni, East-West Digital News / Mar 30, 2012

On Wednesday, Vimpelcom, a major Russian mobile operator, announced it will deploy the NFC-based contactless payment system it implemented in St. Petersburg last year within the Moscow subway. Widespread commercial launch in Moscow is scheduled for the end of the year.

While most offline and online purchases made in Russia are still paid in cash, contactless payment experiments have been flourishing in several Russian cities over the last two years. Last October, Megafon, another leading operator, also launched NFC payments in the St. Petersburg subway, in addition to using the system for loyalty programs with several local banks and retailers.

MTS to acquire St. Petersburg Internet and telecom operator

By East-West Digital News / Jan 24, 2012

The Russian Anti Monopoly Service allowed MTS, a leading Russian operator, to acquire 100% of the shares of SkyNet, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported yesterday. The target of the acquisition provides Internet access as well as fixed line telephony services in St. Petersburg.

MTS competes with other players such as mobile operator Megafon and telecom operator Rostelecom, which also aim to diversify their offerings and expand their share of the Russian telecom market.

St. Petersburg business incubator Ingria attracted $12 million in investments in 2011

By East-West Digital News / Jan 19, 2012

Fourteen residents of the business incubator of Ingria, a major technopark in St. Peterburg, attracted a total of 378 million rubles, or approximately $12 million, in investments during 2011. The sum amounted to 3.7 times as much as the previous year’s total.

Rostelecom, Sitronics and Mastercard issue first bank card with e-government access

By East-West Digital News / Dec 19, 2011

Russia’s national telecommunication operator Rostelecom and Bank Saint Petersburg announced last Thursday the issue of their first co-branded bank cards with microchips containing the electronic signature of the cardholder. Certified by the FSB, Russia’s Federal Security Service, the cards are being produced in partnership with Mastercard and Sitronics, the largest producer of microelectronic devices in the country.

St. Peterburg startup aims to set a new global standard for online résumés

By Adrien Henni, East-West Digital News / Dec 15, 2011

Created from the ground up less than half a year ago, ResumUp has suddenly assumed a presence on the Russian startup scene. From a “pretty obvious idea” – building infographic résumés using data from social media profiles – ResumUp aims at no less than “setting a new standard in career management, online and social recruiting,” said 33 year old St. Petersburg entrepreneur and ResumUp founder Eugene Barulin in an exchange with East-West Digital News.

The future will determine the prescience of Barulin’s ambitions on the global market for online job search and career management, but it is already undeniable that ResumUp technology, developed in just a few months, offers an amazing user experience with no major bugs.

Next Level: Russian mobile developers score big time on international scene

By Adrien Henni - Part 1 of a Global Perspectives Series offered by East-West Digital News, Russia Beyond The Headlines / Nov 21, 2011

Get out of the way Doodle Jump and Zombieville U.S.A.: Russian players in the booming mobile application and game markets are beginning to assert themselves – with world-class products as their ammunition.

Among the emerging players are traditional mobile content companies Dynamic Pixels, Herocraft and i-Free, or Game Insight, which originally focused on social games. In Game Insight’s new Crime Story, each gamer can become his own crime boss, building a criminal empire by eliminating rivals and expanding the business.

Russian geosocial service AlterGeo puts down roots in Ukraine

By East-West Digital News / Nov 11, 2011

AlterGeo, a Russian startup inspired by the Foursquare concept, announced yesterday it has opened a representative office in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, where it already counts 60,000 registered users. The Moscow based company has also opened an office in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, as well.

The Kiev office is the company’s first presence outside Russia, Altergeo VP of Sales & Business Development Evgeni Agronik told East-West Digital News, declining to comment, however, on further plans for international expansion.

US investors to fund Russian startups through new accelerator in St. Petersburg

By East-West Digital News / Nov 08, 2011 / 1 Comment

Just days after Texdrive, Russia’s first international startup accelerator, opened in Moscow, the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) announced in late October the creation of its own startup accelerator in partnership with US venture fund RSV Venture Partners.

Operations will start early in 2012 at the university-hosted startup accelerator, ITMO’s Public Relations manager Yury Shkolnikov told East-West Digital News.

Road quality mapping startup honored at Opera Software Startup Awards contest

By East-West Digital News / Nov 03, 2011

Opera Software, the Norwegian browser software publisher, announced the results of its Opera Startup Awards contest this Tuesday. The competition, intended to reveal the best Russian student startups, was conducted by Opera Software in partnership with the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics and its affiliated business incubator ‘Quattuor Dimensionis’ (QD).

Category: St Petersburg

St. Petersburg Cable TV wards off housebreakers

Contactless payments take their first steps in Russia

MTS to acquire St. Petersburg Internet and telecom operator

St. Petersburg business incubator Ingria attracted $12 million in investments in 2011

Rostelecom, Sitronics and Mastercard issue first bank card with e-government access

St. Peterburg startup aims to set a new global standard for online résumés

Next Level: Russian mobile developers score big time on international scene

Russian geosocial service AlterGeo puts down roots in Ukraine

US investors to fund Russian startups through new accelerator in St. Petersburg

Road quality mapping startup honored at Opera Software Startup Awards contest

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