Russian programmers were excluded from Linux kernel development

Kroah-Hartman said the programmers were suspended due to “various compliance requirements.” He added that they will be able to return if they provide the necessary documentation.

According to Phoronix, the suspended developers are Russian citizens or have ties to Russia, and many used email addresses with the .ru domain. Among them are employees of SberDevices, Open Mobile Platform (developer of the Aurora operating system), NetUp (equipment for digital TV) and Metrotek (equipment for communication systems).

Open Mobile Platform told Kommersant that the decision to remove Russian programmers contradicts the principles of meritocracy on which the Linux community is based. The international community has lost the valuable experience that Russian specialists brought, the company stated. NetUp said it had asked Kroah-Hartman and Linux creator Linus Torvalds for clarification.

Torvalds said on October 23 that the decision was due to the need to comply with international sanctions against Russia. He added that the legal details of the decision will not be discussed publicly. “If you haven’t heard about Russian sanctions yet, you should try reading the news. And by “news” I don’t mean Russian state-sponsored spam,” the developer noted.

Alexey Khoroshilov, director of the technology center for Linux kernel security research at ISP RAS, noted in an interview with Kommersant that, despite being removed from the list of maintainers, Russian programmers will still be able to propose changes. to the Linux kernel like ordinary developers.

Cloud Networks CEO Yuri Telushkin added that similar situations have not yet occurred in other open source communities.

• In June, the US Treasury expanded sanctions against Russian companies. As of September 12, American IT companies are prohibited from providing services to clients in Russia. Including the sale of software for the design of IT systems and infrastructure, cloud services and solutions for business management, design and production (software covered) and the provision of consultations.

• On October 1, ABBYY fired almost all Russian developers in one day. Up to 300 people in the company’s offices around the world could be laid off. One of the employees, in conversation with RB.RU, confirmed his dismissal. The company explained this decision as a “global business transformation.”