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Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

nytimes.com

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Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#141

Post by jgome »

andybak wrote: post #140
jgome wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is normal (be it "lefty" democratic, or republican US presidents) for the US government to use its power to destroy other countries and steal its resources... And yet here you are discussing "cynicism and [...] deliberate single mindedness". As a lefty, you fail to put things in perspective... But I guess it's just not convenient, sometimes, is it?

You might have to reword that - I'm honestly having difficulty parsing it.

What I mean is exactly what I said: start by looking at the dirt your own country may have BEFORE looking at someone else's dirt. You may learn a thing or two about your government, the upper classes in your country, the racism and xenophobia they use as a way to get more power elsewhere, the reasons the other governments have to do what they do, etc.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#142

Post by owebmaster »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #8

Holy crap. DST Global and its affiliates have (or had in formative years) significant stakes in Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, ZocDoc, Planet Lab, Xiaomi, Stripe, Alibaba, WhatsApp and Airbnb [1]. Milner has close ties to Y Combinator [2]. It's been a deal-terms setting, behind-the-kimono peeking major investor for a decade. This is immensely scary. We've utterly failed, as an industry, to self regulate. [1] https://en.…

This might burst the second dotcom bubble as others SV resources have similar background.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#143

Post by andybak »

jgome wrote: post #141
andybak wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might have to reword that - I'm honestly having difficulty parsing it.

What I mean is exactly what I said: start by looking at the dirt your own country may have BEFORE looking at someone else's dirt. You may learn a thing or two about your government, the upper classes in your country, the racism and xenophobia they use as a way to get more power elsewhere, the reasons the other governments have to do what they do, etc.

I'm pretty conversant in the shitty things "my" country has done. How does that relate to the matter at hand?

PS - I'm from the UK - not US if that changes things.

I think you may be arguing with an imaginary straw man version of me. I'm not sure I stand for the things you're railing against.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#144

Post by creaghpatr »

andybak wrote: post #121
throw2016 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't make sense. What makes money 'dirty'? What about banks like Goldman Sachs? Is their money 'clean'? What about the Saudi and UAE investment funds? How does one decide what is 'dirty' and 'clean' money and identify it?

I'm conflicted on this. The good old-fashioned lefty in me wants to agree and say "yes - follow the money. Power has tendrils everywhere and they are annoyingly predictable and persistent". However I do have the feeling that Russia's current behaviour is quantitatively if not qualitatively different. In it's scale, it's cynicism and in it's deliberate single mindedness. I'm not a great believer in good vs evil on the…

I wonder if they are just being opportunistic post ‘Russian Reset’. Seems like most Americans didn’t take issue at the time. Many US companies take large investments from Saudi Arabia too and we could make similar arguements about the potential risks/rewards.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#145

Post by creaghpatr »

conistonwater wrote: post #104
killjoywashere wrote: post #5

If you haven't read Bill Browder's Red Notice, read it now. Wow. Wow. Just wow. YCombinator is in the Kremlin's pocket. Wow. I fully expect this to be downvoted to oblivion. But wow. In essence, Putin used Browder's investigations of Gazprom and other oligarch-controlled Russian businesses (huge national orgs that were privatized after the collapse of the Soviet Union) to jail the richest man in Russia, effectively m…

To add to this, if you want something shorter to read, there is this prepared statement by Browder to the Senate Judiciary Committee: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/bill-br... Also, being a prepared statement to a senate committee, it has more meat to it than the average news interview.

To be fair, Browder has his own patrons and political interests to represent, particularly in this situation.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#146

Post by paganel »

pinewurst wrote: post #9
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #8

Holy crap. DST Global and its affiliates have (or had in formative years) significant stakes in Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, ZocDoc, Planet Lab, Xiaomi, Stripe, Alibaba, WhatsApp and Airbnb [1]. Milner has close ties to Y Combinator [2]. It's been a deal-terms setting, behind-the-kimono peeking major investor for a decade. This is immensely scary. We've utterly failed, as an industry, to self regulate. [1] https://en.…

Why is this surprising? When Milner came virtually out of the blue (or red, as the case may be) a few years ago, it seemed obvious that he was a conduit/laundry for oligarch cash at least. I even remember telling someone at the time that if we were chosen for YC, we didn't want Milner's dirty money. The additional Kremlin state ties seem only an additional technicality. (I mean the formalized acknowledgement of what…

> it seemed obvious that he was a conduit/laundry for oligarch cash at least

For what it's worth said oligarch, Alisher Usmanov, is also a major shareholder of Arsenal Football Club, one of the English Premier League's top clubs. Most of the club supporters don't care one bit from where the transfers money comes.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#147

Post by malvosenior »

davesque wrote: post #135
malvosenior wrote: post #36

I’m having a very hard time understanding why anyone would be upset by the Russian government making technology positive investments. Especially technologists! I wish more money was deployed into software development. Russia seems to be a positive influence here.

The problem with it is unfolding right before your eyes. Russia is actively using the platform that we now know it funded to sow chaos in the United States. Have you read the summaries of the ads they posted during the election cycle? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/us/politics/russia-2016-e... The played each side off of the other and, in some cases, even encouraged each side to violently engage the other: http:/…

As someone who values free speech I can’t say I’m concerned with the content of advertising. Just don’t pay attention to it if it bothers you.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#148

Post by creaghpatr »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #55
johnrichardson wrote: post #52

Another day, another mainstream media publication shilling hysterical articles about Russia. My pet theory is that it's a big collective act of psychological sublimation to compensate for the shock of Hillary losing. I also find it ironic that the Chinese Communist Party, an institution which is at least on par with Russia in terms of shadiness and social repression, receives barely an iota of the flak that Russia re…

> another mainstream media publication shilling hysterical articles about Russia Imagine if Germany found out that Rocket Internet, a large European venture capital firm, was actually CIA backed. It would be a scandal and a lot of people would need to, rightly, question whether they had been compromised. The problem isn't solely the identity of the backer. It's the surreptitious deployment of state power deep into an…

It came out fairly recently that the US was bugging German politicians communication, and while there was mild outrage at the time it seems to have blown over without much consequence.

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#149

Post by Asparagirl »

mankash666 wrote: post #3

Worthy noting that Yuri Milner automatically invented ~$150K in YC companies till 2013 [1]. Russian money might be making this very site possible. [1]: http://bit.ly/2y4cIU6

What YC companies tell everyone else: Milner wants to invest in us because he recognizes that we're we're awesome!

What YC companies tell themselves: Milner wants to invest in us because he wants to make money, and if he has enough fingers in enough pies, one or more of his investments will pay out nicely.

What the rest of the world is telling YC companies: Milner wanted to invest in you because Russian oligarchs and the successors of the mf'in KGB wanted to get root at your tools, your data, your users, your insights, your ability to spread their crooked point of view...

Re: Kremlin Cash Behind Yuri Milner’s Twitter and Facebook Investments

#150

Post by Asparagirl »

Asparagirl wrote: post #149
mankash666 wrote: post #3

Worthy noting that Yuri Milner automatically invented ~$150K in YC companies till 2013 [1]. Russian money might be making this very site possible. [1]: http://bit.ly/2y4cIU6

What YC companies tell everyone else: Milner wants to invest in us because he recognizes that we're we're awesome! What YC companies tell themselves: Milner wants to invest in us because he wants to make money, and if he has enough fingers in enough pies, one or more of his investments will pay out nicely. What the rest of the world is telling YC companies: Milner wanted to invest in you because Russian oligarchs and…

...and possibly pick up some kompromat on you, your co-workers, and your users along the way, which could come in useful for them down the road...

Yeah, your company is an investment for them. But not the way you think.

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