Arkady Volozh, one of the founders of Yandex — Russia’s version of Google — is “categorically against” the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the entrepreneur said Thursday in a rare public admission from a leading Russian business figure.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a written statement shared with POLITICO, adding he was “horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine.”
Volozh, who co-founded Yandex in 1997 and has been living in Israel since 2014, stepped down as Yandex’s CEO in June 2022 after he was sanctioned by the EU for “materially or financially” supporting Russia’s war.
He said he realized that his “role in the Yandex story had come to an end” after the Kremlin’s aggression ramped up in February 2022, but had chosen to “stay silent” since then to focus on “support[ing] the talented Russian engineers who took a decision to leave the country.”
“These people are now out, and in a position to start something new, continuing to drive technological innovation,” said Volozh, adding they would be “a tremendous asset to the countries in which they land.”
The largest tech company in Russia, Yandex has come under increased scrutiny from Moscow, as the Kremlin seeks to tighten its grip on Russia’s internet.
In April 2022, the state-controlled company VK took over Yandex’s news aggregator, its popular yandex.ru homepage and Zen infotainment service.