Russia’s Yandex has decided to sell its Media unit to VKontakte. Yandex is usually considered Russia’s Google, while VKontakte is referred to as Russia’s Facebook. Yandex’s blogging platform Zen and its news sending service Yandex news are being disposed of for undisclosed fees. The reason for this is due to Russia invading Ukraine. Besides, multiple sources have accused both platforms of blocking actual reporting of the Russia-Ukraine war and spreading Russian propaganda.
The allegations already put Yandex in a position to be sanctioned. Moreover, the sale of the unit was predicted in March when its deputy CEO Tigran Khudaverdyan was sanctioned by the EU. The sanction led to his resignation as he was no longer eligible to work at the company. In addition, Yandex was delisted from the NY Stock Exchange. Not only that, but the company warned that it might not be able to pay its debts due to sanctions.
