Facebook is the biggest social network in the world, as it dominates the market in a majority of social-media active countries across the globe. Russia is not one of those countries. In an effort to boost Facebook’s presence in this corner of the world, Mark Zuckerberg traveled to Moscow to meet with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
While in Russia, Zuckerberg met with PM Medvedev – as well as various government officials tasked with innovation. According to the AFP, Russian officials have confirmed that Zuckerberg and Medvedev discussed “cooperation in IT technology and start-ups in Skolkovo – the tech-focused area out side Moscow that Zuckerberg will also visit during his trip.
It looks like Zuckerberg and Medvedev have concluded their conversation, as Zuckerberg just posted this photo to his Facebook page a couple of hours ago (note: no hoodie):
“Good conversation with Prime Minister Medvedev,” he says.
According to reports, Zuckerberg spent some time sightseeing before his meeting with the Prime Minister, walking around Red Square in a hoodie. It appears as though he cleaned up before the big meeting. Keeping it true American, Zuck also stopped and had a bite at a McDonalds.
Zuckerberg posted a pic of this, captioned “Hello, Moscow.”
Although the trip is being marketed as an “innovation discussion,” there are some on the Russian end that feel like Zuckerberg may be trying to recruit some top talent.
Facebook is fighting an uphill battle in Russia, as local social network Vkontakte dominates the market. Its founder, 27-year-old Pavel Durov, is a St.Petersburg-based entrepreneur that has been called the Russian Mark Zuckerburg.