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Often dubbed "Russia's Google", Yandex has struggled to balance domestic pressures with the interests of its Western investors since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Yandex's net income fell to 9.6 billion roubles ($106.8 million) while its adjusted earnings before income, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 4% to 24.7 billion roubles. Revenue continued to grow, however, gaining 55% to 182.5 billion roubles, Yandex said. Yandex's Dutch-registered holding company is advancing plans to divest ownership and control of most of Yandex Group with a corporate restructuring. U.S. sanctions imposed last week on Alexei Kudrin, the former finance minister now spearheading Yandex's restructuring efforts, could hamper those plans.

Persons: Yandex, Alphabet's, Alexei Kudrin, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Jason Neely, Emma Rumney Organizations: Google, Yandex, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Yandex's, U.S

This is how Komsomolskaya School Number 1 is marking the opening of a new school desk, a so-called “hero desk” emblazoned with the face and biography of one of Russia’s war dead, once a pupil at this very school. The desks are part of a pan-Russian initiative called the “New School Project” and are funded by “United Russia,” a staunchly pro-Putin party. As of early May, United Russia said there were more than 14,000 desks in 9,000 schools across the country. Local news reports suggest some schools use the desks to reward good behavior or good grades. The desks across the country are standardized: green, with military photographs, a biography, medals awarded (often posthumously) and the soldier’s date of death.

Persons: It’s, ”, Gennady Alexandrovich Pavlov, Chuvashia, Gennady Pavlov, Russia’s, Daniil Ken, ” Ken, Sergei Shoigu, Ken, Alena Arshinova, Olga, Sergey Kravtsov, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, there’s, “, ‘, Tatyana Chervenko, Chervenko, Mikhail Stepanov, ’, Stepanov, Wagner, “ Artyomovsk Organizations: CNN, New, “ United, Putin, Teachers ’ Alliance, Russian Ministry of Defense, State Duma, United, Kyiv, Russian, Russia’s Security, Novosti, Ministry Locations: Russian, Chuvashia, Russia, “ United Russia, United Russia, Ukraine, Hostomel, Kyiv, United States, State, St . Petersburg, Simferopol, Crimea, “, Leningrad, ”, Moscow, Virginia, Khabarovsk, Russia’s, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

☆ Chief of Russia’s Yandex faces court case for ‘LGBT propaganda'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Lucy Papachristou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of Russian technology giant Yandex is on display at the company's headquarters in Moscow, Russia December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File PhotoJuly 5 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Nasdaq-listed internet company Yandex faces prosecution in a Russian court for alleged offences under the country’s so-called “LGBT propaganda” law, a notice on the court's website said on Wednesday. When contacted by Reuters, Yandex said it would appeal any court finding against its CEO. The court website gave no specific details of what alleged offences Savinovsky was being prosecuted for beyond that they relate to "LGBT propaganda". Last month a court fined the company 2 million roubles ($24,242) for repeatedly refusing to provide Russia’s security services with information about its users.

Persons: Evgenia, Artem Savinovsky, Yandex, Savinovsky, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Yandex's, Bridget Jones ’, ” Kinopoisk, Russia’s, Elena Bunina, Lucy Papachristou, David Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Nasdaq, Yandex, Reuters, State Duma, Novaya Gazeta, Kommersant, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, British, Ukraine

☆ Yandex makes changes to financial team ahead of corporate restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - Internet company Yandex (YNDX.O) on Friday said it was making changes to its financial team in preparation for a potential corporate restructuring that should see it divest ownership and control of core, Russia-based businesses. Sources told Reuters last month that shareholders in Yandex's holding company, many of whom are Western investment funds, could be in line to make $7 billion from a full divestment of its Russian businesses. Svetlana Demyashkevich, CFO of Yandex's Dutch-registered holding company, Yandex NV will transition to the role of Senior Vice President of Finance, Yandex said. "In this capacity (Demyashkevich) will advise the board on financial matters and report directly to the Chairman John Boynton," Yandex said in a statement. Yandex NV hopes to sell the main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia and develop four newer units, self-driving technologies, cloud computing, data labelling and educational technology independently, internationally.

Persons: Svetlana Demyashkevich, Yandex, John Boynton, Alexander Balakhnin, Alexander Marrow, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, Yandex's, Yandex, Finance, Thomson Locations: Russia, Yandex's

☆ Russia's Yandex fined for refusing to share user information with security services
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 19 (Reuters) - A Moscow court fined Nasdaq-listed Yandex (YNDX.O) 2 million roubles ($24,242) for repeatedly refusing to provide the Federal Security Service, or FSB, with information about its users, Russia's state TASS news agency reported early on Monday. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the search engine Yandex, while not itself under sanctions, has struggled to balance domestic pressure with the interests of its Western investors, and is now divesting its main revenue-generating businesses inside Russia and developing four newer units internationally. ($1 = 82.5000 roubles)Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lidia Kelly, Diane Craft Organizations: Nasdaq, Federal Security Service, TASS, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Melbourne

☆ Exclusive: Russia's VTB may pull out of running for Yandex stake - CEO Kostin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovMOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned lender VTB (VTBR.MM) may pull out of the running to acquire a stake in internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), the bank's CEO, Andrei Kostin, told Reuters, as discussions are now centered around higher prices than the bank's initial offer. Kostin said he was not sure VTB would continue with its bid. "I am not sure that we will go into Yandex," Kostin told Reuters when asked about plans. "It was announced at $7 billion recently, we submitted our application at a different price level, lower," Kostin said. VTB was hit hard with Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, something that limits its ability to front a consortium bid, Kostin said.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, –, Arkady Volozh, VTB, Vladimir Potanin, Vagit Alekperov, Guy Faulconbridge, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow Organizations: Moscow International Business Center, REUTERS, VTB, Reuters, Kostin, Yandex NV, Thomson Locations: Moscow, City, Russia, Maxim Shemetov MOSCOW, Yandex, Ukraine, Yandex's

☆ Russian billionaires bid for stake in Yandex's local assets -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Technology company Yandex (YNDX.O) has received bids from Russian billionaires for a stake of about half of the company's local business, valuing it at over $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Billionaires Vladimir Potanin and Vagit Alekperov bid for at least a 51% controlling stake in Yandex's Russian business, which they value at about 560 billion roubles ($7.21 billion) to 600 billion roubles, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. The board of Yandex might discuss the bids next week when it meets in Dubai, the report added. Yandex's primary advertising competitor, Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O), stopped selling online advertising in Russia last year. The company also sold its news aggregator platform Yandex News and content recommendation service Yandex Zen to its Russian rival VK (VKCOq.L) in 2022.

[1/4] A logo is on display in the office of Sberbank, Russia's state-owned dominant lender and one of the country's leading technology players, in Moscow, Russia, March 28, 2023. But it also highlights challenges as Russia's tech development becomes increasingly reliant on one state-owned player. Since 2020 it has cast itself as a technology company as well, and is now seeking a bigger slice of Russia's shrinking technology pie. "There are restrictions on some of them, it is a very complex technology," Belevtsev said. "There is already a lot of cooperation on engineers and technology," Belevtsev said.

☆ Russia's Yandex reports revenue jump, return to Q1 profitability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Russian tech giant Yandex (YNDX.O) on Thursday reported a 54% jump in first-quarter revenue to 163.3 billion roubles ($2 billion) and a return to profitability after sliding to a net loss in the same period last year. Since Russia despatched troops to Ukraine in February 2022, Yandex - often dubbed "Russia's Google" - has struggled to balance domestic pressure with the interests of its Western investors. Yandex last year reported a net loss of 8.1 billion roubles in the first quarter of 2022. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google stopped selling online advertising in Russia last March while keeping some free services available, allowing Yandex to gain market share. Yandex said its search and portal market share averaged 63.3% in the quarter, up from 61% a year ago.

☆ Russia's Yandex buys Uber's stake in taxi JV for $703 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - Russian tech giant Yandex (YNDX.O) said on Friday it had bought Uber's (UBER.N) stake in their joint taxi venture for $702.5 million, becoming the sole owner of the Yandex.Taxi business and bringing Uber's involvement in Russia to a close. "As a result of the deal, Yandex will become the sole owner of the group, which includes a taxi ordering service, carsharing and scooter rental," Yandex said in a statement. Uber in 2021 divested its stake in a foodtech and delivery joint venture with Yandex. The companies joined forces in Russia in 2017 to combine their ride-sharing businesses in Russia and neighbouring countries. As part of that $1 billion deal, Uber reduced its stake in a separate ride-hailing joint venture to 29%, with Yandex taking out a $2 billion call option to buy out the rest.

☆ Fake images of Donald Trump and Pope Francis caused a stir. Here's 4 ways to tell if an image is AI-generated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fake images of Donald Trump's arrest and Pope Francis in a coat recently fooled the internet. AI experts shared four tips to identify deepfakes including reverse image search and fact-checking. The more subtle ones like Pope Francis can "slowly just chip away at our trust in visual media and make it harder to navigate the truth." Try a reverse image searchIf all else fails, Ajder suggested using a reverse image search tool to find the context of an image. Ajder recommended Google Lens or Yandex's visual search function for reverse image search capabilities.

☆ A $200 Russian smartphone aiming to replace the iPhone isn't getting much love — fewer than 1,000 units have been sold since its debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's AYYA T1 smartphone has sold just 905 units since its October 2021 launch, per Vedomosti. Russia's smartphone market is dominated by Chinese brands, with Xiaomi in the lead, per Statista. The AYYA T1 smartphone — touted as a homegrown alternative to the iPhone — hasn't been very popular. That's about 18% of the 5,000 AYYA T1 smartphones produced for the Russian market so far, per Vedomosti. Russian officials touted the AYYA T1 as a potential alternative to Apple's iPhone, the Moscow Times reported on March 23.

Two government officials told Reuters the government was concerned about the deal because Nebius's activities were funded by Yandex. A third, separate source said Nebius is part of Yandex's Dutch holding company, Yandex NV, and would be part of the new international company post-restructuring. "They were basically told that as long as they're connected to a Russian company, it's not going to work," one of the sources told Reuters. "Our Dutch holding company is in the process of divesting its Russian business – unfortunately this isn't a fast process," Shtan said. Energy issued a statement last month saying neither the company nor its chief executive, Michael Bobrov, has any connection with Russia.

☆ Russia's Ozon intends to stay public as Nasdaq starts delisting process
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nasdaq suspended trading in the securities of a number of companies operating in Russia on Feb. 28, 2022, days after Moscow despatched tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine. On Wednesday, the exchange notified a handful of Russian companies of delisting plans. "Going forward, and in any scenario, we act in the interests of our investors," Ozon said in a statement. Ozon raised nearly $1 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) in late 2020, a debut that sparked a mini-IPO boom for Russian firms. Internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), recruiter Headhunter (HHR.O) and payment service provider Qiwi (QIWI.O) were also notified of their anticipated delisting from Nasdaq, the companies said.

☆ Nasdaq to delist Russian internet giant Yandex -company
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq stock exchange has informed Russian internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O) that its stock will be delisted, Yandex said on Wednesday, over a year after trading in its securities was first suspended. Nasdaq suspended trading in the securities of a number of companies operating in Russia days after Moscow despatched tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Yandex said it would appeal the decision. Reporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Top brands pull out of Russia, but their goods remain easy to find
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Brands' continued availability shows the challenge companies face in controlling supply chains when exiting a market. Market leader Wildberries sells old stock from Inditex brands and has almost 17,000 goods in its Zara catalogue. Informal supply routes could lead to more poor-quality goods entering Russia, however, as regulators lose oversight, Ben Tzion said. IKEA brand owner Inter IKEA Group said it sold remaining stock for an undisclosed amount to Yandex as it down-scaled IKEA Retail Russia. IKEA said it was looking into goods being advertised as similar to IKEA online.

☆ Here's the bear case for artificial intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Now that ChatGPT unleashed a firestorm of interest in artificial intelligence investing, it may be time to urge some calm for investors. AI YTD mountain AI software provider C3.ai has seen its stock more than doubled as investors look to hop on the artificial intelligence trend. Here's the bear case for artificial intelligence. That's about seven times more than the cost to run a typical Google search, which Nowak estimated to be $0.003, or not even half of one cent. Separately, the lack of proper citation from generative AI could mean future lawsuits for AI companies.

☆ Russia's Yandex beats FY revenue target after Google pulls advertising
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Yandex, often referred to as "Russia's Google", said investments in ad technologies drove a similar revenue jump in the fourth quarter, but adjusted net income slid 72% to 747 million roubles. Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google stopped selling online advertising in Russia last March but has kept some free services available, opening the door for Yandex to enhance its market share. "While solid trends in advertising revenue continued in January 2023, we expect growth rates to gradually normalise in the coming months once the effect of last year's changes in the ad market competitive landscape annualises," Yandex said. Nasdaq-listed Yandex has sought to find a balance between its Western investors on one side and the Kremlin on the other. As part of that deal, Yandex acquired VK's food delivery service Delivery Club, helping the gross merchandise volume (GMV) of its e-commerce division to almost double to 308 billion roubles in 2022, it said.

☆ Russian censors scour the internet for claims Putin is a 'bald dwarf' or seriously ill, leaked documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian government unit scours the internet for insults about Putin, reports say. Staff at the agency will reportedly hunt down insults about Putin classed as "negative discrediting information", including labelling the Russian president a "thief," or a "bald dwarf". They are allegedly charged with tracking comparisons of Putin to negative figures, such as serial killers or in pornographic films. The Kremlin has closely monitored the internet for signs of dissent, clamping down on Russian search engine Yandex, Reuters reported. According to a Wall Street Journal report last year, Putin never uses the internet because he's concerned about being spied on.

☆ Russian tech giant Yandex says code leaked in cybersecurity incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"The company is taking this matter extremely seriously and has initiated a thorough investigation into the cause, content and implications of the leak," Yandex's Dutch holding company said in a statement. It said it found no evidence that users' personal information had been impacted but that the code contained the contact details of some of its partners. "Many of these and other issues which came to light following the code leak have already been fixed or are in the process of being fixed," it said. Since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine last February, websites of many Russian companies and news websites have suffered sporadic hacking attempts. A data leak in March exposed the personal details of more than 58,000 people on Yandex's food delivery app, Yandex.Eda.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of 2021 military plane accident near Kubinka, Russia falsely attributed to Nepal crash in January 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A clip that featured in news reports of a military plane crash near Kubinka, Russia in August 2021 has been erroneously shared by users online saying it depicts an airplane crash in Nepal on Jan. 15. A reverse image search reveals that the clip featured in news reports of a military plane crash that occurred near the Kubinka airfield outside Moscow in August 2021 (here), (here), (here). Multiple geolocation factors confirm the clip was filmed near Kubinka. Given these angles, the video was likely filmed from an apartment block near Kubinka (55.602243, 36.694633), (archive.is/wip/gQ42t). The clip was featured in August 2021 news reports of a military plane crash near Kubinka airfield, Russia.

☆ Fanatics Hires CFO for Collectibles Business After Topps Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Nina Trentmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fanatics said this week that Greg Abovsky started as chief financial officer for the collectibles business earlier this month. As CFO, Mr. Abovsky plans to build out the division’s finance team and its trading card business as it looks to expand. Fanatics plans to expand its portfolio into culture and entertainment cards, said Mike Mahan, chief executive officer of the collectibles business. Fanatics expects its collectibles business will fare well in the coming years, despite the threat of a potential downturn. Both Mr. Abovsky and Mr. Mahan declined to comment on if and when Fanatics could list on the public markets.

☆ Russia's Kudrin accepts role as adviser to tech giant Yandex
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Alexei Kudrin, who resigned as head of Russia's Audit Chamber last week, said on Monday he had accepted an offer from technology giant Yandex (YNDX.O) to become an adviser on corporate development. Yandex last month announced a review of a possible sweeping governance overhaul that would leave its major business units in Russia under new ownership. Sources told Reuters that Kudrin had been discussing the move to Yandex with President Vladimir Putin. Yandex confirmed that Kudrin was joining the company. A veteran of around 25 years in public service, Kudrin was finance minister for more than a decade between 2000 and 2011, and while maintaining close ties with Putin, Kudrin kept a relatively low profile in his current role as head of the Audit Chamber, Russia's public spending watchdog.

☆ Russian parliament approves Kudrin's exit from Audit Chamber, paving way for Yandex move
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - The upper chamber of Russia's parliament approved the resignation of Alexei Kudrin as head of the Audit Chamber on Wednesday, paving the way for him to take up a potential role at Russian technology giant Yandex (YNDX.O). Kudrin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin throughout his career, becomes the highest profile government official to leave a post since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Andrew Heavens/Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former Russian finance minister Kudrin announces departure from Audit Chamber
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Former Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said he is leaving his role as head of Russia's Audit Chamber, the country's public spending watchdog, paving the way for a possible move to technology company Yandex. In a statement posted on his Telegram channel, Kudrin said: "I have spent about 25 years in the public sector. Now I would like to focus on large projects that are related to the development of private initiatives ... therefore, I am leaving the post of Chairman of the Audit Chamber." Reporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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