russia

No Russian research center planned for Facebook

Facebook has denied reports that Facebook plans to establish a research center in Moscow instead of luring Russian programmers to the U.S.

A company spokesperson told CNET that while the company is interested in Russia, it had no plans to expand operations into Russia at this time.

The news, reported by the Associated Press, was based on a tweet that may have been lost in translation. The tweet came from Russian communications minister Nikolay Nikiforov, who was commenting on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's visit to Russian today.

"U @ MedvedevRussia agreed with Zuckerberg, it is more profitable to … Read more

Zuckerberg meets with Russia's PM Medvedev

Last update: 9:55 a.m. PT.

Facebook's co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev have a lot in common. They are both elite tech enthusiasts with large populations who they serve. The two met in Moscow Monday to discuss their mutual interest in tech innovation and Facebook's presence in the region.

Medvedev is hoping to create the equivalent of Silicon Valley in his country, and Zuckerberg would like to see Facebook compete better against the Russian language incumbent social network, VKontakte. Facebook has fewer than 10 million of its nearly 1 billion … Read more

'From Facebook With Love': Zuckerberg heads to Russia

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is headed to Russia next week to meet with a billionaire who is developing a Silicon Valley-like business park near Moscow, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

In addition to visiting "billionaire industrialist" Viktor Vekselberg and the Skolkovo Innovation Center just outside Moscow, Zuckerberg will meet with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a Skolkovo Innovation Center representative told the Journal. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNET that Zuckerberg is indeed planning to visit Russia.

Vekselberg heads the Skolkovo Foundation, which aims to develop a high-tech complex that will draw top tech talent to Russia, and … Read more

Apple said to set up direct sales and a retail store in Russia

Russians are some of the world's biggest consumers of Apple goods. However, one of the main places they buy iPads, iPhones, and Macs is on eBay. That's because Apple doesn't directly sell its devices to Russia or have any retail stores there.

This may all change in the near future, however.

According to the Moscow News, Apple recently registered a company called Apple Rus and assigned it to the tech giant's local legal adviser -- Vitaly Morozko. Apparently, direct sales could begin as soon as 2013, yet it's still unclear when an Apple Store may … Read more

Russia's parliament approves Internet blacklist law

The Russian parliament has voted to approve a controversial bill that would see "illegal" websites blacklisted from the Web.

The bill proposed that websites that incited suicide or drug use, or offered 'extremist' material -- or any content deemed 'illegal' under Russian law -- could be added to a government-operated blacklist that would see the sites blocked to Russia's 145 million citizens.

Websites found breaching the law would have 24 hours to remove offending material, after which they would face blacklisting.

The bill was amended before today's parliamentary hearing to limit the threat of immediate blacklisting … Read more

Wikipedia blackout in Russia to protest censorship

Wikipedia shut down for 24 hours, just six months ago, joining a massive Web protest in the U.S. over the proposed anti-piracy laws SOPA and PIPA. Now, it's stepping up again in a major Internet revolt against online censorship in Russia.

According to The Next Web, the Russian government is looking to amend a law called the "Act for Information." The proposed changes to the law could lead to sweeping censorship of the Internet, including the complete closure of Wikipedia in Russia.

Wikipedia posted a statement in Russian on its Web site, which The Next Web … Read more

Russia's Internet blacklist looms in freedom crackdown

The United States had SOPA, and Britain has the Digital Economy Act. China is -- well, in a league of its own.

Russia is next on the list of developed nations pushing for widespread Web site blocking and censorship capabilities in the wake of an online uprising prior to the inauguration of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Thousands of protesters took to the streets, set up blogs, and disseminated demands for a fresh ballot over social networks following claims of a rigged votes and electoral corruption in the recent presidential elections.

Under the draft bill, all Web sites that contain pornography … Read more

Amendments to U.N. treaty could censor the Internet

While individual countries grapple with their own laws over limitations on the Internet, the United Nations is also looking at possible amendments to a telecommunications treaty that could amount to worldwide Internet censorship.

The World Conference on International Telecommunications is to be held in Dubai this December and more than 190 countries are expected to attend. One of the matters to be discussed at the conference is changes to a 24-year-old telecommunications treaty called the International Telecommunications Regulations, according to the Associated Press.

In preparation for the meeting, dozens of countries have been debating possible changes behind closed doors, according … Read more

'Russia's Zuckerberg' throws money out the window

Perhaps this was his version of a reverse IPO. You know, instead of taking money from the people, giving it back to the people.

True, that's not a very Russian concept, but something must explain the actions of Pavel Durov, the 27-year-old sometimes referred to as Russia's Mark Zuckerberg.

For here he was, together with his company's vice president, tossing paper planes out of his St. Petersburg office window. Oh, nothing more than juvenile behavior, you might imagine. But how juvenile.

For the planes were made out of 5,000-ruble notes. That's about $160 per identified … Read more