Russian authorities may start trying to extract more tax from foreign tech firms such as Google and Apple, according to a report by Vedomosti. There appear to be a couple elements… Read more »
Moscow-based Runa Capital has invested €3 million ($3.4 million) in MariaDB, the open-source database company that offers what began as a MySQL fork (Google and Wikipedia are big-name users). Runa, which… Read more »
Eliot Higgins, the investigative blogger also known as Brown Moses, has launched a new project that uses crowdsourced data to track Ukrainian and Russian troop and vehicle movements in real time Read more »
The music streamer Spotify was all set to plow into the Russian market, having poached a former Google exec, Alexander Kubaneishvili, to lead the offensive. However, that plan has gone out… Read more »
In the latest move by a U.S. tech firm to abide by sanctions on Crimea, Google will stop Android users on the peninsula from downloading apps from Google Play, according to… Read more »
The Russian telecommunications regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked access to five bitcoin-related websites because the cryptocurrency “contributes to the growth of the shadow economy.” The sites include Bitcoin.org, a primary community resource… Read more »
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has posted public statements on his personal page about his commitment to free speech in the wake of the killings in Paris last week, but the behavior… Read more »
Fearing a run on banks and shops due to a faltering currency, the authorities in Belarus have blocked several news and e-commerce websites, according to reports. The Belarusian state-controlled economy is… Read more »
If you head to Apple’s Russian-language online store right now, you’ll find that it’s not up — and Apple’s providing the usual “We’re busy updating the Apple store” message. But Apple’s not… Read more »
Google is closing its Russian engineering office, according to a report in The Information. Google’s Russian engineers will be offered jobs in other countries or in other departments, the Financial Times noted… Read more »