Skolkovo Foundation Touts Growth as Innovation Rating Drops

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – January 31, 2014) Despite the fact that Russia went down 11 positions to 62nd place in the 2013 Global Innovation Index, Skolkovo Foundation executives said Thursday that the technology incubator plays an important role in buoying the country’s position in such ratings. The index, jointly prepared by Cornell University, INSEAD and the […]

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Excerpts from transcript of [Putin] meeting with National Research Nuclear University (MEPhI) students

Russian Nuclear Submarine file photo

(Kremlin.ru – January 22, 2014) PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Good afternoon, everyone, The main reason for this meeting is to congratulate you on the upcoming holiday. As one would write in official documents, I want to congratulate you and in your person all of Russia’s students. I wish you the very best in your studies and your future careers. […]

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Interfax: Putin: Future Research Fund should look over horizon, avoid rainbow chasing

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

TULA. Jan 21 (Interfax) – The Future Research Fund should not chase rainbows and have scientific and technological illusions in the selection of projects it will support, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. He added that the Fund “should be looking over the horizon.” “It is important to avoid straight repetition of even promising solutions in the selection of projects. As […]

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List of 1,000 Scientific Institutions to Be Managed by New Agency Confirmed

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – January 8, 2014) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday confirmed the list of 1,007 institutions that will be run by the Federal Agency of Scientific Organizations, which was created last year by a law on academic reforms. The list, initially published on the government’s website on Dec. 30, still includes all 20 of the institutions, […]

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Reform Will Lead to Death of Russian Science, Academicians Warn

Adaptions of Image from Livermore.gov of Element 118 Atoms

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Oleg Sukhov – December 24, 2013) Requesting money for a project that violates the laws of physics is something you would expect from an institution run by government officials, say critics of the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center, a government-owned company, is developing a gravitsapa […]

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Supercomputing Gap Seen as Threat to Economy

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – November 28, 2013) PERESLAVL-ZALESSKY, Yaroslavl Region ­ Russia is lagging five and a half years behind the U.S. in supercomputing technology and closing the gap is essential for the competitiveness of the Russian economy, an Academy of Sciences computing expert said. Supercomputers, which are ranked according to their speed of calculation measured […]

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Microsoft’s top ad man assesses Russia’s digital prospects

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow News – moscownews.com – Maria Stambler – November 28, 2013) Sharing, liking, posting, clicking, browsing – these actions are ubiquitous and have firmly cemented themselves into our existence with the rise of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. New forms of communication emerge every day, and there is fairly little doubt that our lives are affected by the way we use […]

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Russian Tech Sector Reliant on U.S. Investors and Expertise

Cash, Calculator, Pen

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – November 11, 2013) The only route to success for Russian technology firms is to launch an operation and find investors in U.S., an investment forum heard. The venture capital market in the U.S. is mature, and investors have experience that Russia, whose investment institutions are relatively young, does not have, speakers at […]

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Technology Expert Sees Fear of Failure Inhibiting Russian Innovation

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – November 5, 2013) Despite its extraordinary scientific capacity, a stated desire to be competitive and the availability of capital, it may take several generations before Russia’s investment in innovation will bear fruit, a report by MIT on the country’s role in global innovation shows. Russia has many of the necessary elements to […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Medvedev at] 2nd Moscow International Forum, Open Innovations

Map of Western CIS/FSU and European Environs

(Government.ru – October 31, 2013) Dmitry Medvedev’s address to the plenary meeting: Addressing the plenary meeting of the 2nd Moscow International Forum, Open Innovations Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, Mr Katainen (Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen of Finland), Mr Ayrault (Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault of France), the first thing I heard was: What can governments do to support innovation? I think the […]

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Geography and Humility to Fuel Open Innovation Forum

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – October 31, 2013) Russia’s straddling of Europe and Asia and its unpretentious approach to embracing all who strive to capitalize on new technology will make the Open Innovations Forum that starts Thursday in Moscow a success, the event’s chief executive said. World-famous innovators and visionaries will share their concepts and secrets of […]

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Skolkovo Warned Over Potential $4 Billion in Misspending

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – October 31, 2013) Fraudulent schemes used during the creation of state-owned innovation hub Skolkovo have created the potential for misspending almost $4 billion in state funds, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday. “A lack of proper control on the part of Skolkovo Fund management over implementation of the project has prompted uncontrolled […]

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Russian Telecoms Giant Slams New Surveillance Powers – Paper

Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, October 21, 2013) A Russian telecommunications giant has slammed government plans to give security services complete access to all Internet traffic by the middle of 2014, calling them unconstitutional, Kommersant newspaper reported Monday. The daily cited a letter submitted by mobile operator Vimpelcom to the Press and Communications Ministry as saying the proposed legislation violated fundamental […]

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No hope for Russia’s hi-tech sector?

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH –  October 9, 2013) Most Russians do not believe in Russia’s future as a leading hi-tech exporter, a Debate Night this week at Moscow’s Technopolis revealed. The fact that Russia currently accounts for 26 percent of the world’s high-tech exports was no deterrent to this week’s Debate Night at Moscow’s […]

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Business looks to tech to salvage U.S.-Russia relationship

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – September 17, 2013) The reset may be over, but business leaders hope that trade ties do not have to be completely dependent on the whims of Washington and Moscow. Russian Innovation Week, which has started today in Boston and would continue this week in Silicon Valley, is the latest […]

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Moscow has U.S. Internet surveillance server – Vedomosti quoting Snowden’s disclosures

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Interfax – August 12, 2013) One of the servers of U.S. global system of monitoring Internet users is located in Moscow, Vedomosti daily reported on Monday quoting information shared by former CIA employee Edward Snowden with The Guardian. Vedomosti says this follows from a 2008 presentation of the U.S. National Security Agency published on the Guardian’s website on July 31. […]

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Government Backs Skolkovo High-Tech Hub With Funding Pledge

Skolkovo File Photo

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 2. 2013) The Russian government appeared to renew its support for the Skolkovo innovation hub Thursday as Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told the Cabinet that the embattled project would be included in a state program and receive 502 billion rubles ($15.2 billion) of funding through 2020. The brainchild of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and […]

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Intel, IBM Feel Putin Pinch as Medvedev Tech Hub Falters

Skolkovo File Photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer, Irina Reznik & Jason Corcoran – July 17, 2013) When Russian agents stormed the downtown offices of the Skolkovo technology hub being built near Moscow on April 18, a startled Intel Corp (INTC). executive got caught up in the raid. Dusty Robbins, head of global programs for the world’s largest chipmaker, was forced to […]

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Russian Mobile Revolution Sparks Fight for Network Orders

iPad file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Adam Ewing, Ilya Khrennikov & Marie Mawad – July 15, 2013) Russian mobile carriers are gearing up for about $13 billion in spending to boost data speeds, creating the next major battleground for network suppliers. Russia is, by land mass, the largest country in the world, making it potentially tremendously lucrative for makers of equipment such […]

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Russian Professor Blasts Nature Magazine’s New Rating

Adaptions of Image from Livermore.gov of Element 118 Atoms

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 25, 2013) ­ A member of the Russian Academy of Sciences has dismissed as “nonsense” a new global rating of academic research by Nature magazine, in which his academy ranked 193rd among 200 institutions. “I’m absolutely convinced it’s nonsense, since Russian science is a world leader in many spheres [of research],” geologist Nikolai Lavyorov told […]

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Russian Start-ups Face Visa Hurdles to Compete in U.S. Business Contest

United States Map

(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, June 19, 2013) ­ Russian technology start-ups that were selected as finalists in a prestigious US business development competition might not be able to take part in the months-long contest because of visa problems, the head of an investment company that is co-sponsoring the event said Thursday. Four teams of two Russians from start-ups developing apps […]

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Skolkovo Reality Becoming Less Virtual

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – June 20, 2013) Hovercraft, bionic arms, space tourism and nuclear laptop batteries may all be products of the future to be created and brought to market by Skolkovo, the business education and technology center taking shape on the outskirts of Moscow. Despite a bumpy start that has included typical Russian corruption scandals, […]

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PRISM and SORM: Big Brother is watching

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Kristen Blyth – June 17, 2013) George Orwell’s “1984” was, when it was published, purely a work of fiction. “There was, of course, no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment,” Orwell wrote. “You had to live in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in […]

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Almost 90 Percent of Russians Play Computer Games – Survey

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 10, 2013) A total of 87 percent of Russian Internet users are playing computer games monthly, most of them are women and the average age of a gamer is 34 years, a survey conducted by Mail.Ru Group said. According to the survey, computers remain the most popular device to play games with 87 percent of […]

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Medvedev Learns Geology at Skolkovo as Startups Seek Their Niche

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – May 29, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited the Startup Village conference at Skolkovo on Tuesday, reaffirmed his commitment to the Skolkovo innovation hub following a recent embezzlement scandal surrounding the project he conceived during his presidency, and learned a bit of geology. “I never knew that Kaliningrad had commercial geo-thermal sources,” […]

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Russian deputy PM hints at political pressure on innovation centre graft probe

Skolkovo File Photo

(Interfax – April 18, 2013) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov said on 18 April that “certain forces” are trying to undermine the country’s budding innovation centre, Skolkovo, which is being investigated for embezzlement, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported. Surkov, who is a member of the Skolkovo Foundation’s board of trustees, was speaking following a raid by Federal Security […]

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Skolkovo Office Searched in Corruption Probe

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – April 19, 2013) The downtown office of the Skolkovo Foundation was searched Thursday as part of an ongoing corruption scandal involving two former executives whom the Investigative Committee accused of using a fraudulent tender to steal 23.8 million rubles ($789,000). A spokesman for Skolkovo ­ Russia’s high profile project to diversify its […]

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Skolkovo Executive Linked to Payments to Opposition Lawmaker

Skolkovo File Photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jonathan Earle – April 19, 2013) A prominent Kremlin critic in the largely rubber-stamp parliament, Ponomaryov suggested that ulterior motives lay behind Friday’s news. Investigators have accused a top manager at the government’s flagship Skolkovo Foundation of making $750,000 in improper payments to a State Duma deputy with close links to the street protest movement, […]

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Police Raid Medvedev’s Innovation Hub Over Fraud Inquiry

Skolkovo File Photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov & Henry Meyer – April 18, 2013) Russian police raided the Skolkovo innovation hub, a project championed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a day after his speech to parliament was overshadowed by a leaked video. Investigators talked today to the foundation’s head, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, and other top officials, Skolkovo spokesman Roman Shcherbakov said […]

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Russian science park project to continue despite doubts in viability – deputy PM

Skolkovo File Photo

(Interfax – Zelenograd, April 5, 2013) The Skolkovo (science park) project will be carried out despite the doubts in its viability circulating in society, the deputy PM and government Chief of Staff, Vladislav Surkov, has said. “Despite various opinions and discussions in society we will have our own way and will still continue building Skolkovo,” he said at the meeting […]

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Russian innovation now saddled up, and riding fast

Skolkovo File Photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – March 25, 2013 – Conor Lenihan, special to RBTH) Russia has been climbing rapidly up the innovation rankings over the last five years. Conor Lenihan is Skolkovo Foundation Vice President for External Economic Relations. He previously served as Ireland’s Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation. German statesman Otto von Bismarck once famously observed […]

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Now That The Thaw Is Over

File Photo of Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin with Heads Bowed Over Microphone

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – February 14, 2013) Does anybody remember Skolkovo? What seems like eons ago, back when iPads were still must-have gadgets for the Russian elite, the scientific and technological center was the showcase project in Dmitry Medvedev’s efforts to modernize the country’s economy to make it less dependent on oil and gas. Well Skolkovo is back […]

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Q&A: Venture Fund Chief Investing in Human Capital

File Photo of Cash, Coins, Line Graph

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Rachel Nielsen – Februry 14, 2013) He has had long discussions with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, sits on the Skolkovo Foundation’s board of trustees with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and presidential aide Elvira Nabiullina and heads a company investing $1 billion of federal money into next-generation technology startups. These weighty responsibilities are the most recent […]

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Putin Vetoes Proposed Breaks for Medvedev Innovation Hub

Skolkovo File Photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Scott Rose & Ilya Arkhipov – Dec. 12, 2012) Russian President Vladimir Putin vetoed legislation passed by parliament on changes to the Skolkovo innovation hub, a project championed by Premier Dmitry Medvedev, threatening to widen a rift between the two men. The bill, which proposed delaying mandatory residency requirements for Skolkovo, needs additional work to determine […]

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Russian Premier Says Computer Illiterate Officials Should Be Dismissed

File Photo Dmitry Medvedev at Desk with Laptop Computer

(RIA Novosti – November 19, 2012) Civil servants who are not computer literate should be dismissed, Russian Prime Minister has said, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 19 November. “A civil servant who is unable to create a document in electronic form, who is afraid to turn on a computer, should be dismissed from state service,” Medvedev said at […]

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Medvedev Sends Innovation Spending Plan Back to the Drawing Board

Artist's Conception of Nanotechnology Components

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – November 2, 2012) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday rejected a government plan to develop science and technology after describing its reliance on a surge in private funding as “absolutely unrealistic.” The proposal, reviewed at a Cabinet meeting, envisioned that private companies would increase spending on research tenfold by 2020, compared to […]

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Smartphone App Lets Russians Call Out Bribes

File Photo of Two Persons Shaking Hands and Exchanging Cash

RFE/RL – Tom Balmforth – October 11, 2012 MOSCOW — Ever wanted to see an interactive map of all the bribes that change hands in Russia? Well, soon you may be able to, thanks to a new smartphone application released for free download by a group of entrepreneur activists. “Bribr,” a smartphone app designed by a team of 20 volunteer […]

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Teachers Reveling in Growing Technology

File Photo of Little Girl at Computer Next to Globe

Lena Smirnova – Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 5, 2012 Thousands of kilometers from the capital, a lone interactive whiteboard sits in a customs warehouse on Russia’s southern border. The device’s Turkish manufacturer, Vestel, is rushing to get the unit to its Moscow showroom and start selling the product to schools. But more than two months is expected to […]

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Foreign Ministry Plays Down U.S. Smuggling Arrests

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – October 5, 2012 The Foreign Ministry on Thursday complained that it had not been properly informed by United States authorities that a group of Russian citizens had been arrested on charges of smuggling microelectronics, raising “serious concerns” for Russia. “A lot is unclear in this story. It raises serious concerns, and we […]

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Zuckerberg Visit Sparks Brain-Drain Debate in Russia

File Photo of Mark Zuckerberg Gesturing

Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – October 3, 2012 – Leonid Bershidsky, an editor and novelist, is Moscow and Kiev correspondent for World View. For Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Moscow was a great photo opportunity. Some of Russia’s technology entrepreneurs, though, saw it as the latest salvo in a global battle for the […]

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The Tao of Mark Zuckerberg

File Photo of Mark Zuckerberg Gesturing

RIA Novosti – Natalia Antonova – October 1, 2012 Natalia Antonova is the deputy editor of The Moscow News. I never thought that there would come a day when I would unabashedly cheer on Mark Zuckerberg. After all, even among hardcore Facebook users such as myself, it is much more fashionable to poke fun at the guy, gently or otherwise. […]

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NEWSLINK: Facebook’s Zuckerberg to meet Russian PM

Facebook’s Zuckerberg to meet Russian PM – AFP – September 28, 2012 click here to read original article AFP covers plans for Facebook social network founder Mark Zuckerberg to visit Russia and meet with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.  Facebook is holding an event in Moscow, and already has ties to Russian IT. “Zuckerberg will be visiting Russia at a […]

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