Meduza is a Russian- and English-language independent news website, headquartered in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 2014 by a group of former employees of the then-independent Lenta.ru news website. Free mobile applications for iOS, Windows Phone, and Android became the basis of the media. A semi-official motto of the portal is "Make the Kremlin sad".
Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin is a Russian liberal politician and economist. Previously he served as the Chairman of the Accounts Chamber from 2018 to 2022 and as Minister of Finance from 2000 to 2011. Since December 9, 2022 Corporate Development Advisor at Yandex.
Yandex LLC is a Russian multinational technology company providing Internet-related products and services, including an Internet search engine called Yandex Search, cloud computing, information services, e-commerce, transportation, maps and navigation, mobile applications, and online advertising. It primarily serves audiences in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey and countries with a significant Russian-speaking population.
The current government of Russia maintains laws and practices that make it difficult for directors of mass-media outlets to carry out independent policies. These laws and practices also hinder the ability of journalists to access sources of information and to work without outside pressure. Media inside Russia includes television and radio channels, periodicals, and Internet media, which according to the laws of the Russian Federation may be either state or private property.
Lenta.ru is a Russian-language online newspaper. Based in Moscow, it is owned by Rambler Media Group. In 2013, the Alexander Mamut-owned companies "SUP Media" and "Rambler-Afisha" merged to form "Afisha.Rambler.SUP", which owns Lenta.ru. The online newspaper is one of the most popular Russian language online resources with over 600 thousand visitors daily.
VK is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predominantly used by Russian speakers. VK users can message each other publicly or privately, edit these messages, create groups, public pages, and events; share and tag images, audio, and video; and play browser-based games.
The Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated as Roskomnadzor (RKN), is the Russian federal executive agency responsible for monitoring, controlling and censoring Russian mass media. Its areas of responsibility include electronic media, mass communications, information technology and telecommunications, supervising compliance with the law, protecting the confidentiality of personal data being processed, and organizing the work of the radio-frequency service.
Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov is a Russian journalist, television presenter and the former editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. He was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Maria Ressa for "their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace."
Arkady Yuryevich Volozh is a Russian billionaire oligarch and businessman, technology entrepreneur, computer scientist, investor and philanthropist. He pioneered the development of search and navigation technology as well as intelligent products and services powered by machine learning. Volozh co-founded several IT enterprises, including CompTek, Arkadia, InfiNet and Yandex. Yandex is one of Europe's largest Internet companies, operating Russia's most popular search engine. Yandex is listed in NASDAQ, and was traded at over 30 billion dollars in November 2021.
Yandex Search is a search engine owned by the company Yandex, based in Russia. In January 2015, Yandex Search generated 51.2% of all of the search traffic in Russia according to LiveInternet.
Yandex Browser is a freeware web browser developed by the Russian technology corporation Yandex that uses the Blink web browser engine and is based on the Chromium open source project. The browser checks webpage security with the Yandex security system and checks downloaded files with Kaspersky Anti-Virus. The browser also uses Opera Software's Turbo technology to speed web browsing on slow connections.
In Russia, internet censorship is enforced on the basis of several laws and through several mechanisms. Since 2012, Russia maintains a centralized internet blacklist maintained by the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor).
Zen is a personal recommendations service created by Yandex that uses machine learning technology.
Konstantin Yuryevich Nikolaev is a Russian billionaire and businessman who is a financial supporter of Maria Butina, a co-owner of the Tula Cartridge Plant that supplies very large amounts of ammunition to Russian forces during Russia-Ukraine War, American Ethane, N-Trans and Globaltrans, the largest private rail operator in Russia, CIS, and the Baltic states. He is only under sanctions by Ukraine. According to the Forbes, in 2019 Nikolaev's net worth was estimated at $1.2 billion.
Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova, also referred to as Maria Faassen, is a Russian pediatric endocrinologist. She is the eldest child of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Danila Alexeyevich Poperechny is a Russian stand-up comedian, YouTuber, actor and podcaster.
Jorrit Joost Faassen is a Dutch businessman. He was allegedly the husband of Maria Vorontsova and the son-in-law of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
iStories or Important Stories is an independent Russian website specialising in investigative journalism. The website was founded in 2020 by Russian journalists Roman Anin and Olesya Shmagun. IStories published a number of high-profile investigations. The office of the website is located in Latvia.
On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Articles 31 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation is a group of federal laws promulgated by the Russian government during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These laws establish administrative and criminal punishments for "discrediting" or dissemination of "unreliable information" about the Russian Armed Forces, other Russian state bodies and their operations, and the activity of volunteers aiding the Russian Armed Forces, and for calls to impose sanctions against Russia, Russian organizations and citizens. These laws are an extension of Russian fake news laws and are sometimes referred to as the fakes laws.
Vossiusstraat 16 is a squatted building in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is owned by the Russian billionaire Arkady Volozh, co-founder of Yandex Search and formerly head of Yandex, who was sanctioned as part of international reactions to the Russo-Ukrainian War. It was occupied in October 2022 to protest both Volozh's ownership and the housing crisis in Amsterdam. Volozh quickly took the squatters to court and lost his claim for possession since he cannot live in the property or enter the Netherlands; he appealed the decision and lost again. The squatters live in the building and have organised events there.
