New Yandex browser escalates Russia’s search-engine wars

Last week Russia’s leading search engine Yandex launched its own web browser in an effort to stave off attempts by search giant Google to gain market share in Russia’s increasingly lucrative Internet space. Read More »

Facebook founder seeks new talent in Russia

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev welcomed Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to Moscow 1 October. Medvedev, an enthusiastic blogger and Twitter user, said he was one of Russia’s estimated 10 million users of the social networking site. Read More »

Odnoklassniki localized into Kyrgyz

Odnoklassniki.ru, one of the biggest and the most popular social networks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has launched a Kyrgyz-language version of its mobile site. Read More »

Uzbekistan seizes MTS subsidiary

MTS, Russia’s largest mobile company, had its local Uzbekistan subsidiary seized by authorities and four of its manager’s sentenced following a court verdict on 17 September, reports Bloomberg. Read More »

Balkans reaffirm commitment to data protection

It should come as no surprise that the EU considers the protection of personal data as a fundamental right guaranteed by a number of international and national legal acts. These laws cover the right to have private and family life respected, the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, and the free movement of such data. Read More »

Polish software giant set to take control of Russian competitor

Poland’s biggest software maker is setting its sights on the fast-growing Russian market. Asseco Poland has signed a letter of intent to take a majority stake in a large Russian IT firm that serves the banking and financial sectors, Asseco chief executive Adam Goral said 27 August, Reuters reports. Read More »

Video games hit too close to home in Armenia, Bosnia

For many video-game players, the European wars of the 1990s may seem like ancient history. One new game, however, is aimed at players well aware that fighting continues in real life, and others are set in ethnically riven Bosnia, in what may be the latest trend in the gaming industry. Read More »

Triumphant Turkmen return for Russian telecoms major

Russia’s telecommunications giant Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) will return to Turkmenistan by the end of August, Reuters reports, 20 months after Turkmen authorities revoked the company’s license for reasons that have never been clarified. Read More »

Montenegro hopes Foursquare will put local tourism on the map

A project in Montenegro is hoping to kickstart tourism in the country’s north using the location-based social networking app Foursquare to help visitors figure out where to go. Read More »

Georgia’s restricted access to satellite dishes

In the past month, Georgian officials have seized thousands of satellite dishes from the pro-opposition Maestro and Global TV stations, accusing the companies to be involved in vote bribery in an operation linked to opposition party Georgian Dream’s leader Bidzina Ivanishvili. Read More »

No signal for millions of Uzbek mobile phone users

Uzbekistan has suspended Russian telecommunication company MTS’s license for 10 days on 17 July. The authorities accused the company of “numerous and systematic violations,” of its contractual obligations, according to Reuters. Read More »

Polish media go Piano

In September, 42 Polish news websites will begin charging for their best online content in an attempt to gain revenue despite decreases in readership, according to The Associated Press. Read More »

Russia investing millions in high-tech campus near Moscow

Russia intends to diversify its economy away from dependence on the export of raw materials by funding its own version of Silicon Valley an hour outside of Moscow. While this project isn’t exactly new, Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov announced earlier this week that state-owned companies will start transferring billions of rubles into an endowment fund for a flagship research institute at Skolkovo.

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Sheep to go hi-tech in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is counting sheep; not to go to sleep, however. The South Caucasus country, known for its strong taste for lamb, is corralling its sheep and all other livestock into a national database, complete with personal profiles. Read More »