Business

Mass layoff of Russian IT staff spooks emigrants Members Public

A round of mass layoffs at ABBYY, the IT company founded by David Yang, a businessman with Russian roots, was one of the big stories in the Russian business world last week. The firings affected only the offices in Cyprus, Serbia and Hungary. Russian citizens were featured heavily among those

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Business

Shootout at Wildberries: Who’s who in the battle for Russia’s Amazon Members Public

The saga of the Bakalchuks, the co-founders of Wildberries, Russia’s leading online marketplace, escalated dramatically last week, entering a new and dangerous phase. A brazen attempt by Vladislav Bakalchuk to storm the company’s Moscow headquarters turned into a shootout which killed two people and saw more than 30

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Business

Chinese automaker becomes the largest foreign company in Russia Members Public

The exodus of Western companies sparked by the Russian invasion and subsequent sanctions has completely changed Russia’s corporate landscape. New research into the top foreign companies active in the Russian market reveals the extent of that overhaul over the last two and a half years. * Of the 50 biggest

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Business

Pavel Durov opposed strict moderation — it could cost him his freedom, and his company Members Public

Telegram founder and Russian tech icon Pavel Durov spent just 96 hours in a French jail. Released on house arrest, the case is far from over, and will have repercussions way beyond him and his platform. The saga looks set to go a long way towards shaping the future relationship

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Business

Russia’s billionaire Hairspray King Members Public

Before 2022, the name Alexei Sagal meant little to anyone in Russia outside the domestic cosmetics industry and residents of his native Stavropol Territory in the south of the country. That has changed completely since Russia invaded Ukraine as Sagal swooped to take control of Heineken’s Russian businesses. That

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Business

Divorce, Kadyrov and corporate raiders: The blockbuster saga at Wildberries Members Public

Online shopping has belatedly become a major industry across Russia over the last five years. After a slow start, online marketplaces are thriving and pick-up points can be found all over the country, even in the smallest remote villages. But market leader Wildberries hit the headlines last week for something

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Business

Yandex founder tells The Bell about his new business Members Public

After months of negotiations, Yandex has completed its break-up — splitting into a Russian arm that will keep the name, and the vast majority of the company’s revenues, employees and services; and an international division, to be headed up by its founder, Russian tech tycoon Arkady Volozh. In his only

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Business

Wildberries set for new Putin-approved shareholders Members Public

A very strange deal is in the works involving Russia’s largest online marketplace, Wildberries. The company, which sees around 2.5 trillion rubles’ ($27.5 billion) worth of business a year, is set to merge with the Russ group, Russia’s leader in outdoor advertising. The merger has Putin’

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Business

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