Russian Internet pioneer Anton Nosik dies at 51

Moscow

ANTON NOSIK, one of the key figures in developing the Russian-language Internet into a vibrant platform for news and debate, whose outspoken views saw him slapped with an extremism conviction, has died at age 51, his friends and family said on Sunday.

Mr Nosik in 1999 was one of the founders of Russia's first Internet news publication, called Gazeta.ru, and went on to launch other hugely popular news sites including Lenta.ru and Newsru.com, working as a startup manager and editor, and later becoming one of the country's most read bloggers.