Vedomosti reports that Orion Express has approached MTS, VimpelCom and Megafon and that Fund Service Bank-backed STK Soyuz, a 50% shareholder in the platform, has held talks with all three. However, according to Yuri Khitrov, the owner of the remaining 50%, no firm offers have yet been received.
Fast Lane Ventures announced last week it has agreed to sell its stake in the TV and online teleshopping company Shopping Live to the German group Home Shopping Europe for an undisclosed amount. A 24-hour channel, Shopping Live offers live programming up to five hours per day. The channel is currently represented on such major …
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Kupikupon.ru, a major daily deal site, has acquired Moresalonov.ru, an online booking service for beauty salons, for an undisclosed amount, reported Unova, a Russian site dedicated to high tech and venture news. The clients of Kupikupon.ru will be able to plan visits to beauty salons and book appointments more easily. Bookings for restaurants, car maintenance, and …
Daily deal site Kupikupon.ru aquires beauty salon booking service Read More
Microsoft and the Russian Academy of Sciences inked a long-term collaboration memorandum of understanding last week, pooling their efforts to develop the use of advanced IT tools in the academy’s research activities as well as joint education programs in Russia. In particular, Microsoft will assist the academy in upgrading its IT infrastructure, including a prospective …
Microsoft to bring more technology to Russian academics Read More
Megafon, one of Russia’s leading mobile operators, leaked to the media last week that it plans to launch data processing centers by 2013 in each of Russia’s federal districts – the eight supra-regional territorial formations created in 2000 to ease the governance of a country that spans nine time zones. According to a report by …
An international scandal has grown this week around Girls Around Me, an iPhone application created by a subsidiary of i-Free, a major St. Petersburg, Russia based mobile app publisher. Starting with a post on ‘Cult Of Mac,’ a blog following products from Apple, the controversy has been fueled by a flurry of comments from mainstream media …
Russian mobile app creates international controversy over sexism and privacy Read More
Illustrating the importance of online cross-border commerce in Russia, the Chicago-based company BayRu, which helps consumers from Russian and neighboring countries place orders from foreign online retailers, announced last week that it has opened a representative office in Moscow. Many Russians make online purchases from international giants eBay and Amazon or from more specialized retailers …
Cross-border e-commerce operator BayRu opens Moscow office Read More
The Ozon group yesterday announced revenue growth of 84% for last year in dollar value, reaching $302.5 million and outperforming the Russian online retail market’s estimated 25% rise to some $10 billion. Particularly notable was the 3.5-fold growth of Ozon Travel, the branch specializing in air and train tickets and hotel bookings. Established in 2009, …
Already present in 22 countries worldwide, Russian Navigation Technologies (RNT), a leading manufacturer and integrator of fleet management solutions and other telematics systems operating under the Auto Tracker brand, announced it is now opening up South America’s fleet management market. Announcing last week a new JV in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the firm has not only …
In a new bid to put a lid on uncensored Internet exchanges, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the post-Soviet successor of the KGB, has called for a crackdown on the “detrimental activity” of Western intelligence services in cyberspace. Speaking last week in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at an interregional anti-terrorist panel of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), …
FSB seeks to drive Western intelligence out of blogosphere Read More
On the last week of March, a team from the Skolkovo Foundation came to Silicon Valley for the 8th annual Global Technology Symposium. The symposium has always had a bit of a Russia focus, and this year was no different, featuring a half-day of sessions exclusively on Russia. Another highlight of this year’s event was …
The Skolkovo Foundation, which has been instrumental in pumping R&D funds into the Skolkovo innovation hub just outside Moscow since 2010, has contracted with an international consortium to create a comprehensive ‘smart city’ concept. Under the terms of the 89.7 million ruble ($3 million) deal, the Russian software developer Cognitive Technologies, Britain’s Ernst&Young, the U.S.’ …
Skolkovo: Global majors hired to shape ‘smart city’ Read More
