#Mikhail Lobanov

[russianreader]

Azat Miftakhov: "It's Like They're Telling Us, 'It's No Trouble for Us to Put Anyone Away'"

Azat Miftakhov in court. Photo: OVD Info Anarchist and mathematician Azat Miftakhov has been sentenced to four years in a maximum security facility on criminal charges of “condoning terrorism.” The young man will spend the first two and a half years of his sentence in a closed prison. Miftakhov was detained in September 2023 as he was leaving the penal colony from which he had been released…

[fewstoryfrommybook]

Lawsuit claims VC firm Target Global ‘concealed’ company’s links to Russia

The firm also confirmed to Sifted that sanctioned oligarch Alexander Abramov was previously an LP

A lawsuit brought against VC firm Target Global claims it concealed the Russian citizenship of the directors of an associated company as western sanctions against Kremlin-linked individuals began to bite. 

The case comes after the VC industry was scrutinised in the wake of UK sanctions against some Russian individuals, and as more startups are beginning to ask questions about their investors amid heightened geopolitical tensions. 

Target Global told Sifted that it had implemented controls to ensure compliance with sanctions and that none of its directors were Russian citizens. It also stressed to Sifted that none of its employees had ever met the lawsuit’s claimant, Iryna Gordiy, and that it was never party to an agreement with her. 

Target Global was founded in 2015 and has backed companies including Revolut, Auto1 and Delivery Hero. It’s one of the biggest pan-European funds and its website lists over 100 portfolio companies. Its last fund was announced in 2020 and brought assets under management to over €1bn. 

The firm was started by the son of a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch, Alexander Frolov Sr. For the first time, Target Global confirmed to Sifted that another sanctioned oligarch, Alexander Abramov, was also historically an LP, but is no longer one. 

The lawsuit

In November 2022, a company called Finadvant, a cross-border payments company based in London, was acquired by a Dutch cross-border payments company called Finom. Target Global had invested in both companies. 

The lawsuit was filed to the Commercial Court in London in July by Gordiy — who claims she had a sales purchase agreement with Finadvant. Gordiy is a Ukrainian entrepreneur and founder of Remeeta, also a cross-border payments company. 

The legal case claims that the founder of Finadvant, Jekaterina Dorofejeva, delayed reporting the change in ownership once the company was acquired and thereby “committed fraud by providing inaccurate information” to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

It alleges that Finadvant’s founder told the FCA that she and Target Global were still minority shareholders in the company when, it is alleged, the company was allegedly owned in its entirety by PNL Fintech B.V. — the trading name for Finom.

A lawyer for the founder of Finadvant, Dorofejeva, said she had not committed any fraud, made any misrepresentation or participated in any wrongdoing. The lawyer also said the FCA had never indicated that it had received inaccurate information. 

Why is PNL Fintech/Finom significant?

The lawsuit alleges that PNL Fintech/Finom’s directors are Russian citizens and that it is primarily owned by Target Global. 

It claims that the delay in declaring PNL Fintech/Finom as the ultimate beneficial owner meant Target Global and Dorofejeva could bypass the enhanced checks required for Russian citizens.

Target Global, in an email to Sifted, said it is not, and has never been, the primary owner of PNL Fintech/Finom. It said it is a minority investor and is not in a position to control information the company passed to the FCA. 

Mikhail Lobanov, a cofounder of Target Global, is listed as a supervisory director of PNL Fintech/Finom in financial filings. Target Global confirmed he is a non-executive director of PNL. An SEC filing from March 2022 describes Lobanov as a Russian citizen. Target Global told Sifted last week that he is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.

The lawsuit alleges that the delay could have been for legitimate reasons, or that “there may be other factors at play that are related to money laundering”.

Target Global said it was not in a position to answer the claims due to a lack of information, that it was never party to an agreement with the claimant and that none of its employees had ever met her.

Dorofejeva’s lawyer told Sifted that she had not committed any fraud, made any representation or participated in any wrongdoing, alleged or otherwise. He said that there were no money laundering issues at play and that the claims did not specify the allegations. 

Who owns Target Global?

Target Global was cofounded in 2015 by Yaron Valler, Shmuel Chafets, Mike Lobanov and Alexander Frolov, the son of Russian oligarch Alexander Frolov Sr. 

Frolov stood down from Target Global in November 2022, after his father was sanctioned by the UK government. Frolov Jr was never himself on a sanctions list but sold all his shares in Target Global to other shareholders, the firm told Sifted last week.

Target also told Sifted that Alexander Frolov Sr sold his investments in Target Global “many months prior to any sanctions” — as did, a spokesperson said, Alexander Abramov, the chairman of Russian steel producer Evraz. 

Both Frolov and Abramov were sanctioned by the UK government in November 2022. Target had not previously confirmed that Abramov had invested in the fund. 

Many VCs and startups have sought to examine their relationship with Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent sanctions put on Russian individuals and entities. VCs with known links to Russia include DST Global, Redline Capital and RTP Global.  

DST's founder renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022 and its funds have not received any investment from Russian LPs since 2011. RTP told Sifted that the majority of its capital derives from its founder, Leonid Boguslavsky, who was born in Russia but no longer lives in the country. Asked if RTP has any other Russian individuals as LPs, it said it could not disclose details regarding its LPs but said it complies with all restrictions. It does not invest in Russian companies.

Clarity over investor identities and LPs is important for startups, especially in regulated sectors like financial services. 

[jessicaauthor332]

Lawsuit claims VC firm Target Global ‘concealed’ company’s links to Russia The firm also confirmed to Sifted that sanctioned oligarch Alexander Abramov was previously an LP

Update on December 7 2023: On the 29 November, the Commercial Court said it would not proceed with the case as it had not been properly served, and that the claimant did not have an arguable case against Target Global or Jekaterina Dorofejeva.

A lawsuit brought against VC firm Target Global claims it concealed the Russian citizenship of the directors of an associated company as western sanctions against Kremlin-linked individuals began to bite. 

The case comes after the VC industry was scrutinised in the wake of UK sanctions against some Russian individuals, and as more startups are beginning to ask questions about their investors amid heightened geopolitical tensions. 

Target Global told Sifted that it had implemented controls to ensure compliance with sanctions and that none of its directors were Russian citizens. It also stressed to Sifted that none of its employees had ever met the lawsuit’s claimant, Iryna Gordiy, and that it was never party to an agreement with her. 

Target Global was founded in 2015 and has backed companies including Revolut, Auto1 and Delivery Hero. It’s one of the biggest pan-European funds and its website lists over 100 portfolio companies. Its last fund was announced in 2020 and brought assets under management to over €1bn. 

The firm was started by the son of a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch, Alexander Frolov Sr. For the first time, Target Global confirmed to Sifted that another sanctioned oligarch, Alexander Abramov, was also historically an LP, but is no longer one. 

The lawsuit

In November 2022, a company called Finadvant, a cross-border payments company based in London, was acquired by a Dutch cross-border payments company called Finom. Target Global had invested in both companies. 

The lawsuit was filed to the Commercial Court in London in July by Gordiy — who claims she had a sales purchase agreement with Finadvant. Gordiy is a Ukrainian entrepreneur and founder of Remeeta, also a cross-border payments company. 

The legal case claims that the founder of Finadvant, Jekaterina Dorofejeva, delayed reporting the change in ownership once the company was acquired and thereby “committed fraud by providing inaccurate information” to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

It alleges that Finadvant’s founder told the FCA that she and Target Global were still minority shareholders in the company when, it is alleged, the company was allegedly owned in its entirety by PNL Fintech B.V. — the trading name for Finom.

A lawyer for the founder of Finadvant, Dorofejeva, said she had not committed any fraud, made any misrepresentation or participated in any wrongdoing. The lawyer also said the FCA had never indicated that it had received inaccurate information. 

Why is PNL Fintech/Finom significant?

The lawsuit alleges that PNL Fintech/Finom’s directors are Russian citizens and that it is primarily owned by Target Global. 

It claims that the delay in declaring PNL Fintech/Finom as the ultimate beneficial owner meant Target Global and Dorofejeva could bypass the enhanced checks required for Russian citizens.

Target Global, in an email to Sifted, said it is not, and has never been, the primary owner of PNL Fintech/Finom. It said it is a minority investor and is not in a position to control information the company passed to the FCA. 

Mikhail Lobanov, a cofounder of Target Global, is listed as a supervisory director of PNL Fintech/Finom in financial filings. Target Global confirmed he is a non-executive director of PNL. An SEC filing from March 2022 describes Lobanov as a Russian citizen. Target Global told Sifted last week that he is a citizen of Kyrgyzstan.

The lawsuit alleges that the delay could have been for legitimate reasons, or that “there may be other factors at play that are related to money laundering”.

Target Global said it was not in a position to answer the claims due to a lack of information, that it was never party to an agreement with the claimant and that none of its employees had ever met her.

Dorofejeva’s lawyer told Sifted that she had not committed any fraud, made any representation or participated in any wrongdoing, alleged or otherwise. He said that there were no money laundering issues at play and that the claims did not specify the allegations. 

Who owns Target Global?

Target Global was cofounded in 2015 by Yaron Valler, Shmuel Chafets, Mike Lobanov and Alexander Frolov, the son of Russian oligarch Alexander Frolov Sr. 

Frolov stood down from Target Global in November 2022, after his father was sanctioned by the UK government. Frolov Jr was never himself on a sanctions list but sold all his shares in Target Global to other shareholders, the firm told Sifted last week.

Target also told Sifted that Alexander Frolov Sr sold his investments in Target Global “many months prior to any sanctions” — as did, a spokesperson said, Alexander Abramov, the chairman of Russian steel producer Evraz. 

Both Frolov and Abramov were sanctioned by the UK government in November 2022. Target had not previously confirmed that Abramov had invested in the fund. 

Many VCs and startups have sought to examine their relationship with Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent sanctions put on Russian individuals and entities. VCs with known links to Russia include DST Global, Redline Capital and RTP Global.  

DST's founder renounced his Russian citizenship in 2022 and its funds have not received any investment from Russian LPs since 2011. RTP told Sifted that the majority of its capital derives from its founder, Leonid Boguslavsky, who was born in Russia but no longer lives in the country. Asked if RTP has any other Russian individuals as LPs, it said it could not disclose details regarding its LPs but said it complies with all restrictions. It does not invest in Russian companies.

Clarity over investor identities and LPs is important for startups, especially in regulated sectors like financial services. 

[alternativassi]

Revista de Prensa ALTERNATIVAS- ☀- N°. 756

☀    Uruguay_: Homenaje al compañero Jorge Zabalza  ☀�� Rusia–Mikhail Lobanov, cómo terminar la guerra  ☀  Perú. «La falta de un liderazgo dificulta la evolución de las protestas»   ☀☀☀☀☀☀☀   Uruguay_23.02.2023: Homenaje al compañero Jorge Zabalza   . Uruguay Mural y Recordatoria de Zabalza en Santa…

[jrljohnsonsrussialist]

JRL NEWSWATCH: "In Russia, critiquing the Ukraine war could land you in prison" - Christian Science Monitor

JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Russia, critiquing the Ukraine war could land you in prison” – Christian Science Monitor

“The Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent has gone from being focused on particular targets to broadly criminalizing any criticism of the government or its war – and it is casting a pall over Russian society.” “… Mikhail Lobanov, a local political activist in the Moscow suburb of Ramenki, put a little sign on his balcony that said ‘No War.’ … one day police arrived at his door to arrest him. []…

[neo-aristocrats]

OLDEST KNOWN WOODEN SCULPTURE IN THE WORLDThe Shigir Idol is the oldest known wooden sculpture in the world made during the Mesolithic period, shortly after the end of the last Ice Age. The wood it was carved from is approximately 12,000 years old.It is displayed in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore in Yekaterinburg, Russia.The sculpture was discovered on January 24, 1890 at a depth of 4 m (13 ft) in the peat bog of Shigir, on the eastern slope of the Middle Urals, near the village of Kalata (modern Kirovgrad) and approximately 100 km (62 mi) from Yekaterinburg. Investigations in this area had begun 40 years earlier, after the discovery of a variety of prehistoric objects in an open-cast gold mine.It was extracted in ten parts. Professor D. I. Lobanov combined the main fragments to reconstitute a sculpture 2.8 m (9.2 ft) high.In 1914, archaeologist Vladimir Tolmachev proposed a variant of this reconstruction by integrating the unused fragments. His reconstruction suggested that the original height of the statue was 5.3 m (17.4 ft).The sculpture is carved from larch. As identified from the annual rings, the tree was at least 159 years old. Stone tools were used for carving the markings. The top portion is a head with a face with eyes, nose, and mouth. The body is flat and rectangular. Geometrical motifs decorate its surface, including zigzag lines and depictions of human faces and hands. Horizontal lines at the level of the thorax may represent ribs, and lines broken in chevrons cover the rest of what often is described as the body; however, along with the face at the top, several faces are visible at various points along the sculpture. The arrangement resembles a totem pole.Scholars have proposed various theories about the carvings' meaning. Svetlana Savchenko, a researcher at the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum, suggested that the decoration tells the creation myth those who carved it believed in. Other researchers at the museum have suggested that the markings could have served as a navigational aid or map. Professor Mikhail Zhilin, an archaeologist at the Institute of Archaeology in Moscow, guessed that the statue could depict mythological creatures such as forest spirits. Archeologist Peter Vang Peterson, of the National Museum of Denmark, speculated that the idol could serve as a warning not to enter a dangerous area.

[dostoyevsky-official]

“Lists Will Go to the Ministry”

Russian universities are threatening students with expulsion for attending unsanctioned protests organized by Navalny’s supporters. A few days before the rallies, students received emails from university administrations in which it was hinted they would face troubles with their studies or the possibility of expulsion in case they nonetheless went out to protest.

[...] Professor Mikhail Lobanov at the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics at Moscow State University said that such threats, because they were not yet widespread, can be attributed to the initiative of individual employees in the administration: “It cannot be ruled out that this is some order from the top, but so far there are too few threats to speak about this confidently. So far, in theory, everything can be attributed to the initiative of FSB officers embedded into the university staff and the administration.”

The Smell of Fear in School Hallways

Two teachers in Kransodarsk Krai yelled at students who refused to go to a military-patriotic exercise: “We won’t let you ruin our country, because we are patriots... Navalny is fooling your minds... [Putin is not leaving] becausethe people want him, and i am for putin, and i will vote ten more times for him, and you are an idiot.” The schoolchildren were eventually forced to write explanatory notes about why they skipped the exercise.

[...] An 8th grader hung a portrait of Navalny in a Chelyabinsk classroom. She was summoned for a conversation with a policeman, who, in the absence of her parents, told her to sign a warning about the inadmissibility of antisocial behavior and warned that next time she would be put on record.

In a school in the St. Petersburg suburbs, students were told to write their views on the 23 January protests and discuss Western provocations, and in Min-Vody parents were required to keep their children at home during the time of the protest, and to provide photographic evidence under the threat of fines. On 30 January students were locked in a Petersburg school until 4pm, with the explanation that the city was in a state of disorder, and the day before, 7th to 11th graders were told of the consequences of attending unauthorized demonstrations.

[...] In Pskov, teachers demanded that the students following Navalny's VKontakte page [FB equivalent] unsubscribe, otherwise information about them would be passed on to the police.

[...] On the days that meetings are planned, schools across the country are organising mandatory extracurricular meetings, exercises, and unplanned exams. Educational discussions are carried out by prosecutors and police officers.

[...] In fact, one shouldn’t overestimate the revolutionary zeal or politicisation of older school students. According to statistics, about 4% of participants on 23 January were minors, 1.7% on 31 January in Moscow and 1.5% in SPB. This is far from a students’ revolt. But if you continue to pressure students, arrange unscheduled tests on weekends, demand signatures and renunciation of beliefs, no matter what they are, there is every chance of getting the opposite return on your investment.

[yuriplisetsky-rp]

I WON BITCHES!!!! SECOND NATIONAL TITLE! I’m happy, can you tell? Yeah, I can skate better, but still - it was great, I won. Signed and sealed. Europeans here I come.

Free Program Results

Yuri Altin - 211.58

Sergei Ivanov - 197.90

Alexei Yevtushenko - 194.75

Maxim Ivanov - 179.94

Mikhail Kalashnik - 177.70

Vadim Orlov - 160.66

Simeon Chernov - 159.31

Konstantin Baranov - 159.27

Vladimir Lobanov - 156.64

Valery Ulyanov - 154.55

Dmitrii Andreyev - 152.21

Andrei Egorov - 149.99

Denis Zoltov - 147.94

Nikolai Gusev - 147.66

Ilya Fedorov - 146.94

Boris Sobakin - 144.23

Valentin Salkov - 137.56

Overall Scores

Yuri Altin (1, 1) - 319.12

Alexei Yevtushenko (2, 3) - 291.61

Sergei Ivanov (3, 2) - 291.00

Maxim Ivanov (8, 4) - 262.25

Mikhail Kalashnik (15, 5) - 253.43

Vadim Orlov (4, 6) - 249.53

Dmitrii Andreyev (5, 11) - 240.55

Konstantin Baranov (10, 8) - 240.25

Andrei Egorov (6, 12) - 237.99

Vladimir Lobanov (9, 9) - 237.87

Valery Ulyanov (11, 10) - 234.26

Nikolai Gusev (13, 14) - 225.80

Denis Zoltov (14, 13) - 223.84

Valentin Salkov (7, 17) - 223.13

Boris Sobatin (12, 16) - 222.74

Ilya Fedorov (16, 15) - 221.83

Simeon Chernov (17. 7) - 220.73

Great competition. Can’t wait for the next one.

[newstfionline]

Thursday, October 7, 2021

UN report warns of global water crisis amid climate change (AP) Much of the world is unprepared for the floods, hurricanes and droughts expected to worsen with climate change and urgently needs better warning systems to avert water-related disasters, according to a report by the United Nations’ weather agency. Global water management is “fragmented and inadequate,” the report published Tuesday found, with nearly 60% of 101 countries surveyed needing improved forecasting systems that can help prevent devastation from severe weather. As populations grow, the number of people with inadequate access to water is also expected to rise to more than 5 billion by 2050, up from 3.6 billion in 2018, the report said. Among the actions recommended by the report were better warning systems for flood- and drought-prone areas that can identify, for example, when a river is expected to swell.

Canada to put federal workers who refuse COVID-19 vaccination on unpaid leave (Reuters) Canada’s federal employees who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are not exempt from getting the shots will be put on administrative leave without pay, officials said on Wednesday, while domestic air, train and cruise ship travelers and workers will soon have to show proof of vaccination. Federal employees will be required to show proof of vaccination through an online portal by Oct 29. Workers and travelers on trains, planes and cruise ships operating domestically must show they have been inoculated by Oct. 30. Canada's vaccine policy will be one of the strictest here in the world. Later this month, Italy will require proof of vaccination, a negative test or recent recovery from infection for all the country’s workers.

Fall on hold: Forecasters predict long-lasting warm temperatures in eastern U.S. (Washington Post) For about a week after the fall equinox, much of the eastern two-thirds of the Lower 48 states enjoyed crisp, refreshing autumn weather. But now Mother Nature has changed course. Warm, humid conditions more typical of late summer have returned and show little sign of retreating. Forecasts now call for above-average temperatures lasting at least 10 days, with high temperatures in some areas nearly 30 degrees above normal at times. The core of the anomalous warmth is predicted to focus in the north-central United States, but above normal temperatures are anticipated to prevail in most places east of the Rockies. The weather pattern may trigger heavy rainfall and severe storms in the central United States and could eventually support new tropical storm activity near the Gulf of Mexico. It’s not clear when this warm pattern will break down, and October is almost certain to end up warmer than normal over a large part of the nation.

South Dakota tax haven (Guardian) Newly revealed documents from the cache of financial revelations called the Pandora papers has shown South Dakota now stands alongside Switzerland, Panama and the Cayman Islands as a beloved tax haven for the global rich. South Dakota’s trust industry rose from $75.5 billion in 2011 to $367 billion in 2020, and the state’s become desirable to the mega-rich owing to its ability to shield money from governments, taxes and spouses. Over 200 U.S. trusts appear in the Panama papers, and 81 of them are in South Dakota.

US, France edge closer to rapprochement after AUKUS spat (AP) France and the United States edged closer Tuesday toward rapprochement after the Biden administration’s exclusion of Washington’s oldest ally from a new Indo-Pacific security initiative ignited French anger. French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Paris to explore ways to overcome the rift over the deal, which scuttled a multibillion-dollar French submarine contract with Australia and led Macron’s government to take the unprecedented step of recalling its ambassador to the U.S. In a French television interview after the meeting with Macron, Blinken accepted a U.S. share of responsibility for the disagreement. “We could and we should have communicated better,” Blinken said, speaking in French. “We sometimes tend to take for granted a relationship as important and deep as the one that links France and the United States.”

Bataclan survivors relive ordeal in Paris court (Reuters) “They were shooting us down like animals. As soon as a mobile phone rang, as soon as someone screamed, they fired,” Cedric Bouhour, 43, a survivor of the 2015 attack on the Bataclan concert hall, testified in a Paris court on Wednesday. Six years after Islamist gunmen killed 130 people—90 of them in the Bataclan—and wounded hundreds in coordinated attacks in Paris, survivors from the concert hall told the court of the fear they experienced, the deaths and injuries they lived through, and their lingering trauma. Wednesday was the first day of testimony on the Bataclan attack. The trial started last month and a verdict is expected in late May. There are around 1,800 plaintiffs and more than 330 lawyers in France’s biggest-ever trial.

Russia's rising young Communists pose an unexpected new threat to Putin’s grip (Washington Post) A candidate for the Communist Party in Russia's parliamentary elections, Mikhail Lobanov, went overnight from being an obscure university math lecturer to being the new face of a rising threat to the Kremlin. He nearly derailed a high-profile, pro-Putin candidate in southwest Moscow in last month’s voting. Then Lobanov claimed his victory was stolen by authorities via an opaque new system of online voting. Russia’s Communist Party has long been known for its compliance, never threatening the Kremlin, in return for state funding and perks. But some young communists and leftist allies did not get that memo. They are starting to behave like a genuine opposition. With a generation of elders fading, a new cohort of outspoken, social-media savvy communists is rising. They don’t wave red flags or speak in stale ideological jargon; they take issue with Putin’s regime over corruption and poverty. “This is one of the really powerful tectonic plates in Russian politics that is beginning to shift,” said London-based analyst Mark Galeotti, an honorary professor at the School of Slavonic and Eastern European Studies at University College London.

Russian film crew in orbit to make first movie in space (AP) A Russian actor and a film director rocketed to space Tuesday on a mission to make the world’s first movie in orbit, a project the Kremlin said will help burnish the nation’s space glory. Actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko blasted off for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft together with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, a veteran of three space missions. Their Soyuz MS-19 arrived at the station after about 3½ hours. Peresild and Klimenko are to film segments of a new movie titled “Challenge,” in which a surgeon played by Peresild rushes to the space station to save a crew member who needs an urgent operation in orbit. After 12 days on the space outpost, they are set to return to Earth with another Russian cosmonaut.

Philippines: Son of Ferdinand Marcos to run for president (BBC) The son of the Philippines’ former dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, has announced that he will run for president in next year’s election. Ferdinand Marcos Jr, popularly known as Bongbong, announced his candidacy in a video post on Facebook. The 64-year-old, who is an ally of current President Rodrigo Duterte, pledged to bring “unifying leadership” to the country. His father ruled the Philippines for 20 years until he was overthrown in 1986.

For Sale Now: U.S.-Supplied Weapons in Afghan Gun Shops (NYT) In the chaos of the American military withdrawal and the Taliban takeover this summer, thousands of American-made weapons and tons of military equipment were seized by the militants as government military bases surrendered or were overrun. With the Taliban in power, more American weapons and military accessories are now being openly sold in shops by Afghan gun dealers who paid government soldiers and Taliban fighters for guns, ammunition and other matériel, according to weapons dealers in Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan. In interviews, three weapons dealers in Kandahar said that dozens of Afghans have set up weapons shops in Afghanistan’s south, selling American-made pistols, rifles, grenades, binoculars and night-vision goggles. The equipment was originally provided to the Afghan security forces under a U.S. training and assistance program that cost American taxpayers more than $83 billion through two decades of war. The gun merchants say that many gun dealers have smuggled the weapons to Pakistan, where demand for American-made weapons is strong.

As Lebanese got poorer, politicians stowed wealth abroad (AP) A trove of leaked documents confirmed that for years, Lebanon’s politicians and bankers have stowed wealth in offshore tax havens and used it to buy expensive properties—a galling revelation for masses of newly impoverished Lebanese caught in one of the world’s worst economic meltdowns in decades. Some of the newly outed holders of offshore accounts belong to the same ruling elite that is being blamed for the collapse and for derailing the lives of ordinary Lebanese who have lost access to savings and now struggle to get fuel, electricity and medicine. Bold-faced names in the leaked documents include the longtime central bank governor, a pivotal figure in the failed policies that helped trigger the financial crisis, as well as Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his predecessor. The papers show how members of the political class were sending wealth abroad for years, even as they urged people to deposit money in Lebanon’s banks, assuring them that it was safe, said Alia Ibrahim, a Lebanese journalist.

In brazen attack by settlers, Palestinians see larger threat (AP) Dozens of Jewish settlers swept down from the dusty hills, hurling rocks at a small Palestinian village in broad daylight, smashing windows, cars and water cisterns as families hid inside their homes and Israeli soldiers looked on. Palestinians in this rural part of the occupied West Bank say last week’s attack was especially violent but not unusual. They view it as part of a much larger effort by Israel to force them off their land, including by cutting off vital water resources in a parched region. Days after the attack—in which a 4-year-old boy was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a stone as his family hid inside their home—residents of the village of Al-Mufagara surveyed the damage. It included the smashed water cisterns on which the Bedouin community and its livestock rely. The hardscrabble region is in what’s known as Area C, the 60% of the West Bank that is under full Israeli military control. Palestinians say it’s nearly impossible to secure building permits, even for basic infrastructure like water and electricity. The military has designated an area that includes Al-Mufagara as a firing range, making it even harder for residents to remain on the land. Israeli authorities have meanwhile tolerated the construction of two nearby settlement outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law, where those who took part in last Wednesday’s attack are believed to have come from.

[russianreader]

Mikhail Lobanov: Why the Police Raided My Home

Mikhail Lobanov: Why the Police Raided My Home

Mikhail Lobanov in August 2021. Photo by Kirill Medvedev Why did the police raid my home? The formal reason — as follows from the court ruling and what people from pro-Kremlin media have heard — is a fictitious “connection” between me and ex-State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev. This is a product of the meager imagination of the security forces. I have not interacted with Ponomarev in any way,…

[biographiesofactors]

https://biographiesofactors.com/45010-mikhail-lobanov-biography-date-of-birth-place-of-birth-filmography.html

[un-enfant-immature]

Russia’s BestDoctor attracts international investors for its $4.5M round

The private medical insurance market is expanding year on year by over 5%, and that includes in Russia where the insurance market – which grew by 4% in 2019 – has reached a value of almost $22 billion.

So it’s not that surprising that Russian insurtech startup BestDoctor has now closed its third round of financing for $4.5 million. Lead investors AddVenture, based out of Moscow, and Target Global, based out of Berlin, were joined by the London-based LVL1 fund, which had previously invested in the company.

BestDoctor is an online medical insurance platform offering private medical insurance for companies and their employees. As well as insurance, its also delivers 24/7 health support and medical consultations via its mobile app. Users can also get access to recommendations on preventive care and online support from BestDoctor physicians. The idea is that users save up to 23% on their annual medical expenses, and up to 95% of users renew the contract after a year.   Its clients largely consist of Russian corporates including Voximplant, Faberlic, Ivideon, Prisma Labs and Rambler Group, which add up to over 30,000 people. It also collaborates with 11,000 clinics across Russia.

Mark Sanevich, BestDoctor’s CEO and co-founder says the need for online medical services was amplified during the pandemic: “Our business received a strong boost. Now we are going to focus on establishing a comprehensive platform on the basis of medical insurance.”

Target Global Managing Partner Mikhail Lobanov said: “BestDoctor is a rare example of a company that combines medicine and high-tech, while directly connecting employers with medical clinics. High-tech private medical insurance, with the ability to consult a doctor 24/7 ensures transparency of all expenses.”

AddVenture managing partner Maxim Medvedev said: “By summer 2019, BestDoctor had a good head start: it had large enterprise clients, the company figured out the market’s problems and needs, and dozens of product ideas were tested.”

BestDoctor plans to spend the newly raised funds on developing its software and also plans to expand its sales activity, concentrating on new product segments.

[welovedreadlocks]

Mikhail Hvostenko

📷 Gleb Lobanov

[endenogatai]

Russia’s BestDoctor attracts international investors for its $4.5M round

The private medical insurance market is expanding year on year by over 5%, and that includes in Russia where the insurance market – which grew by 4% in 2019 – has reached a value of almost $22 billion.

So it’s not that surprising that Russian insurtech startup BestDoctor has now closed its third round of financing for $4.5 million. Lead investors AddVenture, based out of Moscow, and Target Global, based out of Berlin, were joined by the London-based LVL1 fund, which had previously invested in the company.

BestDoctor is an online medical insurance platform offering private medical insurance for companies and their employees. As well as insurance, its also delivers 24/7 health support and medical consultations via its mobile app. Users can also get access to recommendations on preventive care and online support from BestDoctor physicians. The idea is that users save up to 23% on their annual medical expenses, and up to 95% of users renew the contract after a year.   Its clients largely consist of Russian corporates including Voximplant, Faberlic, Ivideon, Prisma Labs and Rambler Group, which add up to over 30,000 people. It also collaborates with 11,000 clinics across Russia.

Mark Sanevich, BestDoctor’s CEO and co-founder says the need for online medical services was amplified during the pandemic: “Our business received a strong boost. Now we are going to focus on establishing a comprehensive platform on the basis of medical insurance.”

Target Global Managing Partner Mikhail Lobanov said: “BestDoctor is a rare example of a company that combines medicine and high-tech, while directly connecting employers with medical clinics. High-tech private medical insurance, with the ability to consult a doctor 24/7 ensures transparency of all expenses.”

AddVenture managing partner Maxim Medvedev said: “By summer 2019, BestDoctor had a good head start: it had large enterprise clients, the company figured out the market’s problems and needs, and dozens of product ideas were tested.”

BestDoctor plans to spend the newly raised funds on developing its software and also plans to expand its sales activity, concentrating on new product segments.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8204425 https://ift.tt/30vjlOV via IFTTT

[sneaksite]

MOSCOW—The crackdown on political opposition took a sinister twist during two months of coronavirus quarantines in the Russian capital. Marches and rallies were banned, so protests were reduced to what were called “solo pickets,” as in a picket line with only one person. The protester would stand all alone, a surgical mask on his or her face and gloves on the hands that bore aloft a banner or placard in the last form of street expression allowed without a permit. And then police started arresting the single pickets, too, claiming they were breaking the lockdown rules. Last Thursday, Alisa Ganiyeva unrolled a banner demanding freedom for her friend, Novaya Gazeta journalist Ilya Azar, who had been arrested for a solo picket demo late last month. Ganiyeva stood outside the Moscow city police headquarters for just a few seconds, she said, before the cops grabbed her. “It was so absurd to hear them talk about COVID-19 distancing after two policemen came very close to me—and then shoved me into a crowded vehicle with other people in it,” Ganiyeva told The Daily Beast. “As they walked me away, I saw a crowd of soldiers celebrating Border Service Day in that very street.” She also saw policemen detain two girls who had the word “freedom” written on their masks.The contrast with the mass protests taking place around the world right now, with many people consciously braving the coronavirus threat in order to march against racism and injustice, could not be more striking.Under Russian law, a single-person protester must stand at least 15 meters, or almost 50 feet, from any other person with a sign. And that’s what they do.But the Kremlin has an obvious conflict of priorities: 67-year old Vladimir Putin is eager to see Russians vote in a postponed referendum on constitutional amendments,  now rescheduled for July 1,  that would allow him to stay in power until 2036. For such an event, social distancing be damned. And Putin’s opponents, meanwhile, are left with the single picket protests as their last chance to say no to police violations and political repression. “By law I have a right to stand in a single picket and I will continue to exercise my right,” Azar told The Daily Beast following his release on Sunday after 10 days in jail. “Because tomorrow they might ban us from walking in the streets. If we do not defend our right to this very last form of protesting, we’ll all end up behind bars tomorrow.”   A Moscow court had sentenced Azar for violating “requirements of the Moscow mayor’s decree that bans any public events.” But when Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ended the lockdown regime on Tuesday, people immediately flooded the streets and parks of the capital and traffic jams returned and, then,  the detentions and arrests of single-man picket protesters continued. On Wednesday police detained five solo pickets outside the Presidential Administration and 18 opposition activists were picked up for earlier political actions. Many people had to pay fines.“The bigger the scale of repression, the braver we are—I am sure that people will find new forms to protest,” Mikhail Lobanov, a math professor at Moscow State University told The Daily Beast. On March 21, a few days before the COVID-19 official lockdown, Lobanov demonstrated against the arrest of a graduate student; the court fined him $145 on Wednesday.Single-person pickets have become a popular movement in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and other Russian cities in the past few months as authorities grew more reluctant to approve street protests. In the past two weeks police have detained dozens of journalists, university professors, and students for single-person pickets. Many were sentenced to 15 days in jail. Why is the Kremlin so afraid of a few individual people who were by definition socially distancing?  “The last ounce of their patience must have been exhausted by the line of more than 200 people waiting to stand in a single picket outside the Federal Security Service [FSB] in February,” Azar said.The few remaining elected deputies from the opposition, both in Moscow and St. Petersburg, say the current development shows rules are tightening. A deputy in the St. Petersburg’s Legislative Assembly, Boris Vishnevsky, has been trying to offer legal help to detained protesters since late March. He makes the point that according to the Russian constitution the only time authorities can ban public protests, now limited to one-person protests in any case, is during curfew.  But in Moscow and St. Petersburg authorities have been using the pandemic to terminate even the single pickets. “This is the Kremlin’s tightest grip, the final bolt has been screwed," Vishnevsky told The Daily Beast. "After the first citation a detainee pays a $58 fine, after the second detention the punishment can be up to 15 days of jail and after the third single picket, you can go to prison for up to four years. The only place for protest left in Russia is the internet.”A journalist at the independent radio station Echo of Moscow, Tania Felgenghauer, went to a solo protest in spite of police arrests.  “A single picket is is not a crime,” her banner said. Two policemen grabbed her less than five seconds later, she said. ”It amazes me to see people in the United States consolidating in defense of dignity, defending law and human lives, while here only a few harmless protesters tried to exercise their legal rights and even they were shut up,” Felgenghauer said, then added, “My lawyer tells me I have used my limit for protesting this year.” Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://news.yahoo.com/even-one-person-protests-too-083502240.html

[thetopiciscool]

PayMeInBitcoin.Com: Blackmoon Crypto Advisors: Mikhail Lobanov (Target Global) http://www.paymeinbitcoin.com/2017/09/blackmoon-crypto-advisors-mikhail.html