Yandex rumbles with
the big dogs

Russian search engine Yandex has filed its anticipated $2 billion IPO on the NASDAQ, going public at a value of $5 billion.

"People abroad don't realize that there are many positive things happening in Russia. Yandex is one of them. It's the country's best high-tech company," boasted CEO and founder Arkady Volozh. "As for what the future holds – more growth, in Russia and abroad."

The eight-year-old website currently serves 55 percent of searches in Russia's growing online market, beating Google within the country. (Google still tops searches for all of Europe, with Yandex holding third place.)

There are 33 million Russians online, a figure forecast to hit 60 million by 2013. Its online ad market also doubled since 2006, totaling $369 million in 2007. Search and contextual advertising comprised $210 million of that figure.

Loath to be left behind on such promising soil, Google purchased Russian contextual ad firm ZAO Begun for $140 million last month. Search advertising in Russia is anticipated to be worth $1 billion in 2010.