How War in Ukraine Roiled Russia's 'Coolest Company' (nytimes.com) 66
The decline of Yandex, the Russian version of Google, is emblematic of the economic and cultural troubles spawned by the invasion. From a report: What a difference a war makes. Just a few months ago, Yandex stood out as a rare Russian business success story, having mushroomed from a small start-up into a tech colossus that not only dominated search and ride-hailing across Russia, but boasted a growing global reach. A Yandex app could hail a taxi in far-flung cities like Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Oslo, Norway; or Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and the company delivered groceries in London, Paris and Tel Aviv. Fifty experimental Yandex robots trundled across the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, bringing Grubhub food orders to students -- with plans to expand to some 250 American campuses.
Often called âoethe coolest company in Russia,â Yandex employed more than 18,000 people; its founders were billionaires; and at its peak last November, it was worth more than $31 billion. Then President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia invaded Ukraine. Almost overnight, as Western investors bolted from Russia and Western governments imposed harsh economic sanctions, its value dropped to less than $7 billion. The Nasdaq stock exchange suspended trading in its shares. The sudden distaste for most things Russian prompted the company to shutter various international businesses, including the delivery services in London, Paris and Columbus. Thousands of employees -- nearly a sixth of the total -- fled the country.
Its founder, Arkady Volozh, and his top deputy stepped aside after the European Union imposed sanctions on both, accusing them of abetting Kremlin disinformation. The company is not facing insolvency. But its sudden change of fortune serves not just as a cautionary tale for investors in an authoritarian country dependent on the whims of a single ruler. Yandex is emblematic, too, of the problems Russian companies face in a radically changed economic landscape and of the growing divisions over the war in society at large.
Often called âoethe coolest company in Russia,â Yandex employed more than 18,000 people; its founders were billionaires; and at its peak last November, it was worth more than $31 billion. Then President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia invaded Ukraine. Almost overnight, as Western investors bolted from Russia and Western governments imposed harsh economic sanctions, its value dropped to less than $7 billion. The Nasdaq stock exchange suspended trading in its shares. The sudden distaste for most things Russian prompted the company to shutter various international businesses, including the delivery services in London, Paris and Columbus. Thousands of employees -- nearly a sixth of the total -- fled the country.
Its founder, Arkady Volozh, and his top deputy stepped aside after the European Union imposed sanctions on both, accusing them of abetting Kremlin disinformation. The company is not facing insolvency. But its sudden change of fortune serves not just as a cautionary tale for investors in an authoritarian country dependent on the whims of a single ruler. Yandex is emblematic, too, of the problems Russian companies face in a radically changed economic landscape and of the growing divisions over the war in society at large.
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Not a bad FP, but I still don't understand why America didn't start pushing for more wheat (and other grains) in this year's harvest. Seems to be an extra good time to be helping the farmers. What with a war in Ukraine, embargoes on Russia, lots of hungry people around the world, and a little ol' election coming up, too.
(I hated to bring the politics into it, but it was already in. Why do you think Putin thought this was a good time to invade?)
As for the story, the only thing I've noticed about Yandex is th
Re:free ukraine! (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah poverty, lack of amenities and stable food supply leads to population decline except for notable exceptions of 20th century China, India, Sub-Saharan Africa etc etc etc
Industrialization and an increase in the standard of living is the largest driver of population decline. Most industrialized nations are below replacement rates right now and it's plain to see as countries become more modernized they also see population decline. That's why it's projected the human popluation of earth will eventually peak out, not grow forever.
Some guy writes a book in the 70's about population booms (of which it's predictions did not come true) and some rich libertarians put up some rocks in rural Georgia about their LARPy apocalypse world and you draw out an entire global conspiracy. Sounds about right.
Re: free ukraine! (Score:1)
I donâ(TM)t buy into the conspiracy theories, but China etc would have more than a few million more people if it didnâ(TM)t massacre millions in the 20th century.
What you say is true but doesnâ(TM)t happen instantly. You require a large stable population and a capitalist democracy in order to prosper and halt the growth of people. But the US continued to grow for another 50 years after it finished completely lifting people out of true poverty. To date it is still growing although mostly due t
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China etc would have more than a few million more people if it didnâ(TM)t massacre millions in the 20th century.
This is a point I can't argue with since we don't have an alternative history where China doesn't do all the horrendus shit in it's rapid rise of industrialization, that world could have endd up with even less people. I sure didn't like their methods but can't really argue with results in this case.
For sure the population will continue to grow but as we see now the major growth centers of humans are still in the poorest areas, or really the ones who will be last to modernize. All but a handful of countri
Georgia Guidestones (Score:1, Offtopic)
The Georgia Guidestones [medium.com] were commissioned by a right-wing white-supremacist nutjob. In addition to limiting population (I wonder what kinds of people they wanted to limit?) the stones contain gems of right-wing wisdom such as "Avoid petty laws and useless officials". It's hilarious to me that the current generation of right-wing nutsjobs is so wound up about these stones created by a previous generation of right-wing nutjobs.
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I read that link, and from what I got out of it, they still really do
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I don't think anything on it advocated reducing population. It seems to be intended for a post-apocolyptic world where the population would already be well far that number. So it was a warning to future recovering societies to avoid the problems of overpopulation; start using birth control instead encouraging as many children as possible. Much of the rest of it is somewhat a mixed bag of silliness with some good ideas. Getting rid of petty laws and useless officials is neither left nor right, but leanin
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You are a conspiracy theorist moron. But that's redundant, so let's just say moron.
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Overpopulation is a legitimate concern, though contrary to what you believe, progressives don't intend to do anything about it. If anything they seem intent on encouraging the opposite by asking the US government to subsidize the cost of raising children. We really shouldn't be doing that, instead what we should be doing is subsidizing birth control when people want it, including surgical options, and just leave the cost of raising kids alone (or better yet, stop funding kindergarten and pre-k schooling, an
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https://www.washingtonpost.com... [washingtonpost.com]
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I normally don't even peek at the paywalls, but you managed to tease me into it, and for incomprehensible reasons I was able to see the story. Given my confusion about the WP's angle these years, I didn't give it too much attention. Sort of a general idea that someone had called an actual problem to TFG's attention, and managed to hold TFG's childish attention long enough to get him to say something about the problem, but I was unable to detect any trace of TFG doing anything to help solve the problem. Buil
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one starving child at a time...
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/07... [npr.org]
You managed to hit a nerve with the trolls. Congratulations and the requote.
But I confess I don't really understand why this mass starvation thing seems to be such a touchy topic for Vlad the Inhaler. He loves Stalin, and Stalin loved starving people to death. Especially Ukrainian people. If it was good enough for Stalin, why flinch now? And yet, Putin seems to be flinching on that angle.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org] and if you have the time I recommend the book Red Famine by Anne Applebaum.
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Eh? If you're trying to divert the blame from Putin for the war crimes (including mass starvation), then I'd have to classify you as one of the trolls. Ukraine is not and never was an existential threat to Russia.
This was a purely elective war. The price tag turned out to be more than Putin had anticipated. But he does not care how many Ukrainians he kills. Nor how many Russians, for that matter.
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> Ukraine is not and never was an existential threat to Russia.
Correct. That's what America is.
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NAK^2
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NAK
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A couple more corpses on Putin's slate, you think he gives a fuck?
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Why would we negotiate a peace deal? We send cheap weapons to Ukraine and they kill Russians. Yes Ukrainians get killed too but it's not our problem, and there's plenty of them to go.
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I made that statement from the point of view of the American politics (predominantly Democrat + all Neocon), which is how they would frame it to the public if they weren't hypocrites. As it is, they stand with Ukraine.
And weapons are cheap compared to lives.
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What's that supposed to be? "But he hit back first?"
Who started the whole crap?
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You are a lying cunt. (Score:2)
Ukraine has killed 14,000 Russian speaking Ukrainians by shelling in the region since 2014
That is a lie. You are a cunt.
https://www.dw.com/en/fact-che... [dw.com]
No evidence of planned genocide
In her Facebook statement, Maria Zakharova also said that at least at least 13,000 people had been killed in the war in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
She also claimed that there was a "systematic extermination of the Donbas population." There is no evidence, however, that proves a "systematic extermination" of the civilian population is occurring.
An OSCE monitoring mission active in Ukraine since 2014 has found no evidence of mass targeted killings of civilians in the Donbas region.
So far, the Russian Foreign Ministry has not provided any proof to back up its claim that the people of eastern Ukraine are subject to "systematic extermination."
...
Conclusion: Maria Zakharova's claim that Ukraine started this war is false.
The Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, sparking broad international condemnation. On February 21, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine from the north, northeast, and from the Crimean Peninsula in the south, initiating a full-scale interstate war between Russia and Ukraine.
teaching Russian language in schools illegal last fall.
That is ALSO a lie. You are a cunt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
On September 25, 2017, a new law on education was signed by the President (draft approved by Rada on September 5, 2017) which said that the Ukrainian language is the language of education at all levels except for subjects that are allowed to be taught in two or more languages, namely English or one of the other official languages of the European Union.
The law stipulates a 3-year transitional period to come in full effect.[5][37] In February 2018, this period was extended until 2023.[38]
The law was condemned by PACE that called it "a major impediment to the teaching of national minorities".[39] The law also faced criticism from officials in Hungary, Romania and Russia.[40] (Hungarian and Romanian are official languages of the European Union, Russian is not.[41][42])
Ukrainian officials stressed that the new law complies fully with European norms on minority rights.[43]
The law does state that "Persons belonging to indigenous peoples of Ukraine are guaranteed the right to study in public facilities of preschool and primary education in the language of instruction of the respective indigenous people, along with the state language of instruction" in separate classes or groups.[37]
PACE describes this as a significant curtailing of the rights of indigenous peoples carried out without consultations with their representatives.[39]
On 27 June 2018 Ukrainian foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin stated that following the recommendation of the Venice Commission the language provision of the (September 2017) law on education will not apply to private schools and that every public school for national minorities "will have broad powers to independently determine which classes will be taught in Ukrainian or their native language."[44][45]
I.e. Neither is teaching Russian illegal - it is simply not used as a primary teaching language (i.e. a language used for teaching all subjects, not just teaching Russian) beyond "preschool and primary education".
Nor is it banned in any way - "private schools and every public school for national minorities "will have broad powers to independently determine which classes will b
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Why am I not surprised there isn't even a link to a Russian page in this drivel to back it up?
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Many tried. First deal went something like, "Ukraine gives up and joins Russia." Umm, no. Second deal went like, "Ukraine gives up and Russia keeps all lands with Russian soldiers." Right... Russia: "Peace deal mean you lose." And they wonder why they sit at the table alone.
Hey Russian Trolls (Score:5, Insightful)
Kiss the world's ass.
Cautionary Tale (Score:1, Interesting)
As opposed to an authoritarian country dependent on the whims of corporate lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats controlling the levers of the financial system.
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War is bad for business in general, except for the war profiteers. Right now the western world's economy is not tightly tied to the military like it was in the cold war or other times past, so no one significant is getting rich off of war. Even when the west has gone to war recently it's tried to avoid economic fallout (ie, exhortations to continue business as usual in the US, rather than making sacrifices to support the war effort). The general feeling in the west is to avoid war.
As for Russia, probably t
The owners did what they had to (Score:5, Interesting)
We're entering a period of history where countries are going to be making a lot of decisions that aren't driven be economics. Personally, I think we're in for a rough decade or two. World gets poorer, and an outbreak of wars, probably fairly widespread across the planet. I don't really understand why. Maybe it has something to do with all the WW2 vets aging out. There's nobody left around to say "hey dudes, a world war is a really bad idea, take it from me, I was there, it's hell like you can't possibly imagine". Rinse, repeat.
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Well, if you follow Peter Zeihan at all, he seems to think it's about 2/3 caused by the population declines in most nations, which is causing a stagnation in growth and that stagnation is just starting,
I think population booms are more likely to cause conflict simply because you have a bunch of aggressive young men influencing popular culture and competing for entry level positions. Japan has been stagnant for years and been doing fine.
and 1/3 a general pushback against globalization in western countries, particularly the US. He's saying in the last 10 or so presidential elections the US population has chosen the candidate seen as "less globalist" until the last election where neither Trump nor Biden ran on a globalist agenda.
I think this is a misreading. The US isn't anti-globalist, it's anti-elitist. It's just that elitists are usually "globalist" because free trade and immigration make sense.
Zeihan rose to prominence recently because he correctly predicted the Ukraine situation a few years ago.
Kinda, he predicted Russia invading Ukraine for economic/birthrate reasons. But the real reason is tha
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Zeehan is a smooth talker but I’ve seen a few debunking videos that tear apart his ‘facts’, especially about China.
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Am I suppose to be upset? (Score:5, Informative)
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As for the part about believing in fairy tales...who or what entity was this aimed at?
Well, anonymous coward... what a champ.
the FAIRY TALE is thinking that the USSR disappeared overnight and we are left with 2 generations of "we love the west!!!" people.
Keep eating the leaves I guess.
Re:Am I suppose to be upset? (Score:4, Insightful)
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You need to look up the definition of "roiled". All the headline is saying is that Yandex's business was "disturbed" by the war in the Ukraine. It is not claiming that *you* should be roiled over anything.
I think you are the one that has a faulty reading of the headline.
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Explain to me why we should give a shit about a propaganda arm of the FSB getting hit with the economic impact of their country leaders moronic choices based on a CONTINUING COLD WAR that America thinks doesn't exist anymore?
Yes, you are obtuse.
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Because you might come into some money, and might want to put it in some sort of financial vehicle for various purposes - perhaps to grow that money into more money, or to invest in something by providing capital, etc. And sometimes that might involve putting the money in an offshore investment.
As we've seen before, authoritarian governments might be somethi
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No, but I found it more interesting that a rising Russian star economically is now foundering because of Great Leader's War.
I'm not upset they're ruining their top company. I'm interested in seeing what the side effects of the war are having on Russia's basically now-destroyed economy.
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It isn't imploding -- the rouble is stronger than before the war, though that doesn't mean stronger economy. But their anuual trade sufficit has doubled to $250B and they have made aliances with India, China and the Arab world countries who didn't like being told who they can trade with.
Though how they plan to manage without Western high tech i don't know. Maybe they are hoping being cozy with China where all of it is made will help.
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Those countries aren't trading with Russia because they are being _asked_ not to. They are doing it because it is the cheapest source of oil in the world. C&I also bought Venezuela and Iran oil when they were embargoed and had to lower their pricing to find buyers. Didn't really work out for either parties because their purchase price spiked when those countries folded and both had gotten used to the consumption.
Banana republic with no banana (Score:3)
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And no republic, just .... whatever the hell this is.
Globalism (Score:2)
This is a great example of the theory of "fuck around and find out."
In a global marketplace, if you fuck around, you find out that the rest of the globe is willing to shitcan your ass and your valuation sinks.
â??? (Score:1)
Often called âoethe coolest company in Russia,â Yandex employed more than 18,000 people
â? âoethe? Huh? What am I reading?