Skip to content
Edit post

ISW: Kremlin aims to crypto-nationalize internet giant Yandex, bolstering control for 2024 presidential election

by Olena Goncharova August 11, 2023 5:43 AM 1 min read
The Yandex logo seen at the companys headquarters in Moscow. (Photo by Vlad Karkov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Russian internet company Yandex has likely been trying to balance between the Kremlin and its foreign governing bodies but now appears to be losing the battle to the Kremlin, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update.

The Kremlin appears to be forcing Yandex to sell or distance itself from international subsidiaries, including rideshare service Yango Israel, in order to comply with strict Russian data disclosure laws requiring Yandex to supply all user data – not just data of users in Russia – to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The Russian government has previously fined Yandex for failing to comply with this law despite Yandex’s statements that it is unable to provide the requested data. Yandex CEO Artem Savinovsky was also fined for Yandex’s failure to comply with Russian censorship laws, possibly trying to compel Yandex into complying with Russian censorship laws not just in Russia but globally to undermine its global operations and userbase.

Some Russian insider sources speculated that Yandex corporate development advisor Alexey Kudrin attempted and failed to turn Yandex into a national private company that Putin’s reported personal banker Yuri Kovalchuk would control.

Yandex founder and former CEO Arkady Volozh publicly decried the invasion of Ukraine on Aug. 10, and some Russian insider sources speculated that Volozh’s statement was a “white flag” showing that he had accepted that the Kremlin would likely go forward with its speculated formal nationalization effort.

News Feed

11:14 PM

Romania denies downing Russian drones over Ukraine.

Videos on social media that purport to show Romanian air defense units shooting down Russian attack drones above Ukraine are spreading a false narrative, Romania's Defense Ministry said in a statement on July 26.
Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
3:38 PM

Russian ex-deputy defense minister arrested on corruption charges.

In his previous position, former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov was in charge of the military's logistics chains during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His dismissal was widely seen as a response to the logistic failures that accompanied the early months of Russia's all-out war.
11:31 AM

Сeasefire would leave 25% of Ukraine under Russian control, ambassador says.

"Many countries have proposed the idea of a ceasefire, but no one thinks about what it means. Some 25% of Ukrainian territory would remain under Russian control, which means buying time for Russia to strengthen its capabilities and resume its attacks on Ukraine," Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.