Yandex in Belarus

History

2020

Evacuation of employees of "Yandex" from Belarus

On August 25, 2020 it became known that "Yandex" exported employees from Belarus after searches at office in Minsk. As told The Bell  informed sources, a part of employees of the company is evacuated.

Some of those who refused to leave the country exported to  "dachas", one of  interlocutors of the edition noted. How many employees are "at dachas", is not specified.

"Yandex" exported employees from Belarus after searches at office

Other source of The Bell  told that in  the company the operational staff which helps to resolve security issues of workers in  Belarus and  renders them  legal aid works.

The press service of "Yandex" confirmed to TASS that a part of employees of the company left Minsk and also added the following:

At the Minsk office about 300 people work. The office, as well as other offices of "Yandex", already several months is closed for visit therefore all employees of "Yandex" work at the remote mode.

It is known that searches at office of "Yandex" were carried out by the staff of Head department on fight against the organized crime and corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  Searches passed against the background of mass protests of presidential elections, discordant with results. 

By August 25, 2020 it is officially unknown what interested security officers, however sources  of The Bell say that  data on trips of service of " Yandex.taxi " were necessary for field investigators. Both interlocutors claim that law enforcement agencies did not manage to obtain this information. As well as in Russia, in Belarus there are laws allowing to obtain such data, but the situation was absolutely other, approves one of sources. The press service of the company confirmed to the edition that during a search  no documents, data or the equipment were transferred to field investigators.^[1] 

In addition to "Yandex", searches passed also in the Belarusian office Uber (belongs to "Yandex" in Belarus).

Blocking of office in Minsk armed men

On August 13, 2020 armed men blocked offices "Yandex" century Minsk. Editions reported about it The Bell and TASS with reference to the sources, and the representative of the company Ilya Grabovsky confirmed information RBC. Grabovsky added that "Yandex" finds out incident parts.

Unknown people in black clothes with weapon came to offices of "Yandex" in Minsk. Offices are blocked, including several employees who are inside, – TASS cites words of a source in the company.[2]

Armed men blocked offices of "Yandex" in Minsk

According to The Bell, in the blocked office there could be only few employees as all  offices of "Yandex" "are technically closed" because of a situation with  a coronavirus since  spring. The main part of personnel works far off.

The representative  of "Yandex" Vladimir Isaev in a conversation reported to the Daily Storm edition that there is no communication with the employees blocked at office. According to preliminary data, security officers came to office, but this information is not confirmed, he reported.

We have an office of "Yandex" at which actually development, services and the main development. Also there is a so-called "driver's hub" where work with taxi drivers. Here two offices also came to both — Isaev told, having added that before any claims to the company were not shown, and the incident — "it as a snowball on the head".

The office of "Yandex" in Belarus is located on Dzerzhinsky Avenue in Minsk, it was founded in 2011. On the page of the Minsk office of "Yandex" it is said that his employees are engaged in development of a key product of the company  — search engine and also services "Pochta", "Kartinki" and advertizing service.

At the Minsk office there is a special group which monitors quality of search and other products of the company in Belarus  — i.e. that services well solved the problems connected with local specifics  — it is reported on the website of the company.[3]

Notes