Starting 2025 Russia state-owned companies must use Russian software only | Hacker News Reader

Starting 2025 Russia state-owned companies must use Russian software only

interfax.ru

34 pointsKETpXDDzR24 comments

It's easy to predict that this will drive privatization in Russia. Things that can't be done efficiently under the byzantine government rulebook will be farmed out to private entities. Americans should be well familiar with the dynamic.

By the way, we see the same security paranoia cropping up in the West about the use of software of Russian origin. Some of the mockery here seems un-self-aware.

it's much easier to live without Russian software than to live without non-Russian software. I'm not criticizing their paranoia - the West can and will infiltrate their systems - but it's so much easier for America to blacklist Kaspersky Antivirus and 7-zip than for Russia to blacklist Windows, OS X, all major Linux distros (can they even use the Linux kernel at all?), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OracleDB, Mysql, Photoshop, Autocad, Visual Studio (Code), Chrome, Firefox, etc. not to mention all the embedded controller firmware on all the devices they import.

Like, if they actually went so far as to require fully Russian source code for anything running on a government machine, they'd be starting back from the 70s. Good luck.

No, likely they'll farm out contracts to cronies who will slap their logo on pirated or open-source projects and sell it to the Russian government for a hefty markup.

The security problem here is software without support.

Another step to isolation. I wonder if this includes OSS. I personally welcome abandoning property software on government computers (M$ et al). However, not allowing foreign OSS will be a huge disadvantage.

I would expect you'll see some sophistry like "Linux was created by a Finn, and since Finland is really part of Mother Russia, it's perfectly patriotic to use it". But really, do you actually think they aren't going to use whatever they think they need, regardless of where it came from?

I hope they don't. They should stick to their principles and eliminate all usage of Windows, MacOS, and especially Linux, along with all open-source (or proprietary of course) software not made by Russians, in Russia. Personally, I think this policy is excellent and I hope they pursue it wholeheartedly with no exceptions.

Then they need to adopt a new policy of only using computers made in Russia, using Russian-made components, including CPUs, memory, and displays.

russian linux distributions considered to be russian software. you should look at it more like "we not going to use software that we need to pay licensing fees for"

Yeah, that's probably what will really happen, but I'll find it disappointing if this happens. I think they should follow their ultra-nationalistic principles and refuse to use any software (or computer equipment!) not made in Russia. If Russia is so great, this should work out just fine for them...

they don't have any ultra-nationalistic principles specifically or any principles in general.

russian linux distributions and russian postgresql distributions are paid software.

i should have been more explicit: "licensing fees and support for foreign companies"

"russian software" in this case means "whatever we don't have to pay license fees for". russian linux distribution have there certifications by fsb, etc. postgresql approved as replacement for oracle. etc...

While the subject matter is quite serious, the decision can't help but raise a jaded techies wry grimace, as an epitome of the whole management making hasty tech decisions from a non-tech standpoint headaches, where the consequences get passed down as Our Industry's Problem.

And don't get me wrong - management can and does sometimes make well informed, guided tech decisions. But in circumstances like this, where the numerous issues are plain to conceptualise, if not entirely specify in advance - well, many of us have been there, I guess.

How is it 'quite serious'. Russian governments have made outrageous dictates like this since the before the Soviet era. I would scratch my head more if they didn't announce some nationalistic, chest-pounding, laughably impractical 'initiatives' on a regular basis.

Nonetheless, discussion of specific policies is valid.

Apparently the waiting list for BESM-6 computers is already 19 years long.

Reminds me of this old Soviet joke, as told by Reagan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLW7r4o2_Ow

I see great growth for Linux here. I see something like Red Star OS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Star_OS) for Russia.

Russian mathematics and software is extremely high quality. I'm sure they will do well.

Ethiopian food is delicious, yet a quarter of the country is starving. Russia's problem has never been talent - I know many brilliant Russian programmers - it's corruption and mismanagement making those talented people starve and flee.

It will take decades to patch all their new security holes.

Putin sees a need to go full Juche Thought, huh? I don't like his chances.

The use of Linux is apparently permissible under Juche ideology. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Star_OS

Lol

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