The European Union included Arkady Volozh in its latest package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, citing his company’s role in “promoting state media and stories in search results “and removing” content related to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Volozh (58), according to the Moscow Times, resigns as executive director and CEO, and also steps down the company’s Board of directors. In a statement, Volozh called the sanctions ‘misleading and ultimately counterproductive.”
The company itself – also called the ‘Russian Google’ – is not subject to Western sanctions. Last month, the tech giant announced that it plans to sell its digital news and blogging products to VK, the Russian Facebook clone.
Deputy CEO Tigran Khudaverdyan resigned in March already after being sanctioned by the EU, along with Yandex top woman Elena Bunina.
Yandex, which has its registered office in the Netherlands, is the largest Russian search engine and, according to the company, represents more than 60 percent of internet searches in the country in the fourth quarter of 2021.