A long-time ally of President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Kudrin, said Monday he will be joining Yandex, Russia's most prominent independent tech company that has in recent years succumbed to the Kremlin's tightening grip.

The former finance minister's appointment comes after months of instability at the once-promising internet giant, with employees fleeing due to the conflict in Ukraine and its founder hit by Western sanctions.

It also comes shortly after Kudrin announced he was stepping down as head of Russia's audit chamber to focus on private initiatives with "significant impact on people".

"I accepted an offer from Yandex to become a corporate development adviser. Together with the management, I will develop the corporate structures of the new holding, which will ensure the long-term and sustainable development of the company on all markets, including international ones," Kudrin said on his social media.

He added that "one of his main tasks is to help preserve Yandex's unique management and technology culture so that it remains independent and Russia's best IT company, where the most talented people aspire to work".

The company is being divided into Russian and international businesses because of Western penalties, a move analysts say will cement government control over what was once seen as one of Russia's success stories.

The move follows a trend in which the Kremlin has shrunk space for private companies to grow independently.

All major media organisations are either state-owned or closely toe the Kremlin line and freedoms on the internet in Russia -- once considered the last bastion of free speech -- are dwindling, observers warn.

Kudrin served as finance minister between 2000 and 2011 and was famously fired by then-president Dmitry Medvedev for insubordination in 2011 and later appointed chairman of the Audit Chamber.

bur/lth

YANDEX

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