OwlEye
Owl-shaped necklace jewelry that helps visually impaired people navigate closed spaces. During COVID-19 also helps maintain social distance.
💻 IT Projects & Development
Anton Lenev is CTO and Frontend Developer at Viewst Inc and has been working in IT since 2011. More about his career and education →
Pet Projects
Where is the local officer?
App for finding local police officers by address.
Rybinsk City Day Poster
Design project — poster for Rybinsk City Day.
Rybinsk Secrets (Рыбинские секретики)
A non-commercial city project: 3D-printed mascot figurines representing different Rybinsk districts (Vasilisa the Duck, Fyodor the Bear, Skomorokh the Fox, Engineer the Dog) with QR codes linking to a VK Mini App that "brings them to life," lets users collect them, and tells each district's story. First test launch in 2025.
js-url-downloader
JavaScript utility for batch-downloading files from a list of URLs.
content-to-markdown-extension
Chrome/Edge extension that converts web pages and selected content into Markdown.
Flight search app
Windows Store app (legacy project).
VK Mini Apps
Mini-apps for VKontakte — entertainment and educational projects.
Yandex Alice Skills
Bylina o Svyatogor
A voice skill for the Yandex Alice smart speaker, narrating an ancient Russian bylina (epic tale) about the hero Svyatogor. Interactive storytelling with plot choice elements.
Talks/Presentations
"Strange Browser APIs" — Drinkup
Features of mobile app development for Windows Phone and Windows 8
Will algorithms replace designers in advertising?
EyeLens — Nokia Create Contest
SIA Russia 2015 Finalist: EyeLens
IT Hobbyist — Tproger interview (video)
"We need to go deeper: the road to WYSIWYG" — SPB Frontend Drinkup
Anton Lenev's talk at SPB Frontend Drinkup on the road to building an in-house WYSIWYG editor — the problems faced, how they were solved, and where it all led.
"Where is the local officer?" — Windows Phone / Windows 8 app
Talk about the "Where is the local officer?" project — a Windows Phone and Windows 8 app built on openpolice.ru data.
VK Fresh Code 2023 — vlog by Vladilen Minin
Blogger Vladilen Minin shot a vlog covering the VK Fresh Code 2023 awards ceremony — a test-drive of the winners' mini-apps (including Anton's projects) and a behind-the-scenes look at the contest.
Stream: Obsidian plugin and "React is not needed"
A stream featuring Anton Lenev on building an Obsidian plugin and the discussion around whether React is always the right frontend choice.
VK Mini Apps podcast: a developer's path and mini-apps without a technical background
Podcast by the VK Mini Apps team with Anton Lenev — VK Fresh Code 2023 winner, creator of four VK services and CTO at Viewst. Topics: building quality mini-apps without a technical background, the CTO role in a startup, and juggling projects without slipping into perfectionism. Bonus: a prediction for VK Fresh Code 2024.
Behind the scenes: VK Mini Apps podcast shoot
A short BTS clip from the VK Mini Apps podcast shoot with Anton Lenev.
Hackathons, Contests & Grants
Confirmed participations and wins across developer hackathons, app contests, and grant programs.
🏆 VK Dev Grants 2025 — winner with "Otredach"
The AI-powered VK Mini App "Otredach" won the VK Dev Grants 2025 grant program for mini-app developers.
🏆 VK Fresh Code 2023 — winner (and the awards ceremony)
Anton Lenev was one of the winners of the VK Fresh Code 2023 grant competition for new VK Mini App developers. Unlike the usual business-suits-and-serious-faces ceremony, this one followed VK's signature style — see the video below.
🏆 VK Fresh Code 2024 — winner with "Coffee Grounds"
The "Coffee Grounds" app won the VK Fresh Code 2024 grant competition for new VK Mini App developers.
🏆 VK Mini Apps article contest — winner
"VK Mini Apps: Signature Verification and Node.js" won the platform's article contest.
🏆 BudgetApps 2015 — winner in the Yandex category
"Where is a Good Place to Live?" took 1st place in the Yandex category of the Russian Ministry of Finance BudgetApps open financial data contest. The web service estimated how attractive a district was for living based on social infrastructure and open public procurement data.
🏅 Social Impact Award Russia 2015 — finalist with EyeLens
EyeLens, an app for visually impaired users and people with color vision deficiency, reached the finals of Social Impact Award Russia 2015.
🏅 Nokia Create Contest — finalist with EyeLens
EyeLens participated in Nokia Create as a Windows Phone project helping visually impaired and color-blind users.
🏅 Junction 2020 — OwlEye prototype
The first OwlEye prototype was built for Junction 2020: a "parking sensor for humans" shaped as an owl necklace, using an ultrasonic distance sensor, vibration, and sound alerts to warn about nearby obstacles.
🏅 Moscow Government Hackathon 2014 — "Where is a Good Place to Live?"
Anton presented "Where is a Good Place to Live?" at a two-day hackathon for mobile apps and web services based on Moscow open data.
🏆 PayPal Battle Hack Moscow 2013 — Ecwid special prize
Profit Button received Ecwid's special prize at PayPal Battle Hack 2013 in Moscow for a solution that let mobile apps embed an e-commerce widget without changing the app's design or code.
🥈 HackPoint 2.0 — 2nd place at the regional hackathon in Cherepovets (2013)
Second place at the HackPoint 2.0 regional hackathon in Cherepovets (November 22–24, 2013). Second edition of the HackPoint series — "the point where an idea turns into a prototype".
🏅 HackPoint 3.0 — regional hackathon in Cherepovets (2014)
Participation in the HackPoint 3.0 regional hackathon in Cherepovets (October 17–19, 2014). 48 hours to build prototypes — mobile apps and web services. Recap video published by the organizers in December 2014.
🏆 OpenPolice 2013 — 2nd place with "Where is the local officer?"
"Where is the local officer?", a Windows Phone app, took 2nd place in the Mobile App category of the OpenPolice contest. According to Polit.ru, the project also grew out of a two-day hackathon where it became one of the laureates.
🏆 Tinkoff Competition (3rd place, 2013) — Windows Phone app
Award ceremony for a Windows Phone app at the Tinkoff Bank competition.
Experience
CTO/Frontend Developer at Viewst Inc
Education: Rybinsk State Aviation Technology Academy (RGATA named after P.A. Solovyov), 2006-2011