Page 178 - RusRPTJun24

Russian assets and could not name the location of a monument to Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist that Russia admonishes for his far-right links. Moscow has baselessly branded the current Kyiv government as Banderites who pursue a fascist ideology.
According to Medvedev, the bot replied: “I'm still just learning and I don't want to look stupid,” when he posed the questions. “And then it got absurd. We asked: ‘how far is it as the crow flies from Kyiv to Belgorod?’ [the southern Russian city most frequently hit by Ukrainian shelling during the war]. It answered: ‘429 km.’ We asked the same thing again, and it started playing the fool. Even though it measures all other distances perfectly well,” he said in a Telegram post.
The failure to answer the basic questions “seriously undermines our faith” in Yandex, Medvedev said, adding that it suggested a “very incomplete” service and “gives grounds ... to regard its current management as foreign agents.” Currently in Russia, any person or organization can be branded a foreign agent for criticism of the Kremlin, the war in Ukraine or for going against Moscow’s policies, such as through public support for the LGBT+ community. Although the Russian authorities insist the status is not discriminatory, foreign agents encounter many restrictions, including being banned from running for election or publishing advertising.
Medvedev’s threats against Yandex come just a few days after the company officially changed ownership. Co-founder Arkady Volozh and his management team — who previously controlled the company via trusts held by the Dutch-based Yandex N.V — handed ownership to a consortium of Russian investors, half of whom have ties to major Russian oil-and-gas companies.
● Other
May 24 Cian published 1Q24 results. Revenue grew by 31% to RUB 3.2
billion, adjusted. EBITDA increased by 172% to RUB 960 million. (profitability 30.5%), and net profit amounted to 743 million rubles. Revenue growth slowed from 37% in 4Q23, while the dynamics of the core business remained virtually unchanged (+28% in 1Q). Operating expenses increased by only 5% YoY, and positive operating leverage led to a 15.8 p.p. increase in profitability. At the end of the 1st quarter, Tsian had no financial debts, and cash was 7.4 billion rubles. Overall, the results look good, although we see the risk of a more significant revenue slowdown in the coming quarters amid softening demand in the real estate market. Qian plans to redomicile in the Russian Federation, and the company intends to make a public exchange offer to shareholders.
9.2.8 Telecoms corporate news
VEON Нoldings BV published operating results for 1Q24, which
178 RUSSIA Country Report June 2024 www.intellinews.com