Nebius Group CEO Severs Final Legal Tie to Russia

Arkady Volozh, CEO of Nebius Group, formally ends Russian citizenship, finalizing the company's strategic pivot to a global AI and cloud infrastructure provider.

Arkady Volozh, the Chief Executive Officer of Nebius Group and a co-founder of Yandex, has formally renounced his Russian citizenship. This move represents the culmination of a strategic pivot for the company, which is now positioning itself as an international provider of artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure services.

Volozh, who has reportedly resided in Israel for a number of years, received official confirmation this week that the process to terminate his Russian citizenship is complete. A request for comment on the procedure was declined by Nebius.

Strategic Rebranding Follows Sanctions and Divestment

The decision follows a series of corporate transformations. Volozh stepped down from his role as CEO of Yandex in June 2022 after being placed on EU sanctions lists. A major restructuring occurred in 2024 when the Dutch holding company Yandex N.V. sold its Russian operations to a consortium of investors. Subsequently, the entity was rebranded as Nebius Group N.V., signaling a clear strategic reset.

For Nebius, the CEO's citizenship renunciation provides a definitive legal conclusion to its separation from Russia. This formal step comes after the company had already divested its core operational assets within the country.

Building a Global AI Infrastructure Business

The company's focus has now shifted entirely to the development and management of international data centers dedicated to artificial intelligence workloads. Its business model centers on offering cloud platform services tailored for AI applications.

With this action, Volozh joins a notable list of entrepreneurs who have publicly relinquished their Russian citizenship since 2022. The move marks the final legal component in a transition that began with his departure from Yandex's leadership two years ago and was operationally executed through the 2024 sale of the Russia-based business units.