Yandex founder Arkady Volozh denounces ‘Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine’

Arkady Volozh, founder of Russia’s IT and Internet giant Yandex, has spoken out against the Ukraine war, saying that he “categorically opposes Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine” in a statement published by The Bell.

“I categorically oppose Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine where I have friends and family, just like many others. I am horrified by the fact that bombs fly towards Ukrainian homes every day. Despite the fact that I haven’t lived in Russia since 2014,

The Bell notes that the business mogul spoke out publicly about the Russian invasion of Ukraine for the first time since February 2022.

According to Volozh, when creating Yandex, he and his colleagues “believed that they were building a new Russia — an open, progressive one, which is integrated into the global economy, and famous around the world not just for its natural resources”.

“As time went on, it became clear that Russia is not rushing to become a part of the global world. At the same time, the pressure on the company was growing. But we did not surrender, we were trying to do everything possible despite the outside influences. Did we always manage to strike the right balance? Looking back now, it is clear that some things could have been done differently,” he wrote.

Volozh specified that he had not lived in Russia since 2014: he moved to Israel, where he was developing Yandex’s international projects. However, he noted that “the world changed” in February 2022, and he realised that the Yandex story “was over”.

The Yandex founder also said that he has been focusing efforts on supporting “talented Russian engineers, who decided to leave the country and start a new life” after the war broke out.

“There were many reasons why I had to stay silent.

On 7 June, media outlets discovered that Volozh described himself as a “Kazakhstan-born, Israeli tech entrepreneur” in the biography section of his personal website. Following the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Volozh was blacklisted by the EU.

Volozh announced his departure from Yandex on 30 December 2022. He said that the company’s board of directors and management are crafting a restructuring plan. “I am still interested in advising the four international startups that can develop outside of the Yandex holding,” he added.