Russian President Vladimir Putin this week signed new regulations banning the use of foreign-made software in Russia. This was done as a response or "backlash" by Russia regarding the number of technology companies blocking access to the country, as part of the international sanctions imposed for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, this newly announced regulation by Vladimir Putin did not take effect today. According to various reports, one of which is the Eastern Europe-based media Nexta, the use of foreign software will be effectively blocked completely in Russia from January 1, 2025. Thus, Russian companies still have approximately three years to switch to local software. However, Vladimir Putin emphasized that starting March 31, 2022 local time, various parties who buy foreign-made software will go through an approval process first. This means that all users or companies that buy foreign-made software freely without government approval can be subject to penalties that apply in Russia. In addition, Vladimir Putin also instructed his staff to make strict requirements regarding the use of foreign software for the benefit of important government infrastructure. Then, Vladimir Putin also ordered his subordinates to make strict rules regarding the approval of the use of foreign-made software, in a number of public places or public infrastructure that are considered less important.
Russia is blocked by other countries
As mentioned above, this step of blocking software is a response to the many foreign companies that have previously blocked access to Russia, and forced them to become an "independent" country, isolated, and far from the help of other countries. The blocking carried out by various global companies was carried out in order to "punish" Russia for their invasion and military action against Ukraine. In the field of technology itself, many companies have blocked access to the sale of their products and services to Russia, including Meta, Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, and many more. Meanwhile, Google prohibits Russian people from buying various services and applications through Google accounts, as well as prohibits mobile phone manufacturers from Russia from using the Android operating system (OS). In the future, it is not impossible that the number of companies blocking access to Russia will increase and increase, at least until the country stops their military action against Ukraine.
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