Invasion of Ukraine nearly wipes out Russia’s largest tech company

According to Bloomberg, Yandex NV plans to sell most of its business operating in the country. This Dutch company owns the most popular search engine in Russia, which is often called the “Russian Google”. Yandex dominates the domestic passenger transport market and owns a popular Russian e-commerce platform.

Yandex extension

Yandex has also been one of the most promising Russian technology companies in terms of global expansion. The company’s taxi services operate in eight African countries, and self-driving cars have been tested in both the United States and Israel, according to Reuters.

However, in recent years, since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the technology company has come under increasing government scrutiny. Yandex co-founder Arkady Volozh, who now lives in Israel, resigned as CEO after the EU sanctioned him in June 2022 for “material or financial” support of the Russian government.

Volozh said then that the decision to impose sanctions against him was wrong. In August he spoke out against the war, publicly calling the invasion “barbaric”. The tech billionaire said he was personally horrified by the war and sympathized with the plight of Ukrainians “whose homes are bombed every day.”

Investors are afraid of Yandex

Before Volozh’s statements, the Dutch department tried to distance itself from political issues in Russia. Yandex sold its news and blog services to state-controlled social media platforms and rival VKontakte in late 2022, after the Russian state tightened control over online media.

However, Volozh’s comments made potential investors wary of partnerships with Yandex’s parent company. The report shows that a group of Russian tycoons seeking assets want a complete severance of ties with the Dutch entity.