Short answers, pulled from the story.
Yandex launched its search engine on the 23rd of September 1997 at the Softool exhibition in Moscow. The venture originally operated under the name Arcadia before adopting the name Yandex in 1993.
Arkady Volozh contacted Ilya Segalovich in 1990 to build search software for Russian texts. Yandex became profitable by 2003 after incorporating as a standalone entity in Cyprus during 2000.
Yandex closed its Kyiv and Odesa offices on the 1st of June 2017 following Ukrainian security raids. A presidential decree banned the service in Ukraine during May 2017 due to accusations regarding user data collection.
Nebius Group sold Russian assets to local investors for $5.3 billion in July 2024 due to sanctions. The buyer group includes Alexander Chachava holding 25% and Pavel Prass with 15%, while Lukoil owns another 15% and senior management holds 35%.
CEO Elena Bunina resigned and moved to Israel in April 2022. Arkady Volozh stepped down as CEO and board member in June 2022 before resigning completely that December.