Against the backdrop of growing sanctions, the Russian authorities are urgently preparing support measures, among which the abolition of criminal and administrative liability for the use of pirated software "from countries that supported the sanctions" is being discussed. Such a move could temporarily mitigate the departure of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and others from Russia, experts admit. H

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the table entitled “Plan of priority actions to ensure the development of the Russian economy in the face of external sanctions pressure”, which lists measures to support various sectors of the Russian economy dated March 2. According to a Kommersant source familiar with the situation, many departments participated in the development of the document, and the implementation of some of the measures has already begun.

According to the plan, to support Russian information technologies, a compulsory licensing mechanism is proposed for software, databases and topologies for integrated circuits. They may be subject to Art. 1360 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (according to it, the government of the Russian Federation has the right "in case of emergency" to decide on the use of an invention, utility model or industrial design without the consent of the patent owner). The authorities also propose to abolish criminal and administrative liability for the use of software unlicensed in the Russian Federation, "belonging to a copyright holder from countries that have supported the sanctions."

The American company - manufacturer of network and telecommunications equipment Cisco Systems has suspended work in Russia and Belarus.

“The company is ceasing business in Russia and Belarus, it will support employees, customers and partners in Ukraine and <...> will strengthen measures to protect Ukrainian organizations from cyber threats. We support Ukraine," Robbins' letter is quoted as saying.

According to a source close to the company, within 24 hours, it deactivates the accounts of communication equipment, which were used to update the device software. "This means that Russian companies will no longer be able to receive system updates from the cloud, while the equipment will not turn into a brick, but will continue to work",

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Roskomnadzor decided to block access to the Facebook network in the Russian Federation, the department said.

Microsoft has decided to suspend sales of new products and services in Russia in connection with a military special operation in Ukraine, the company said in a statement.

“We announce today that we are suspending all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia. In addition, we are in close coordination with the authorities of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom and stop many areas of our business in Russia in connection with the sanctions, ”said Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith.

He called Russia's actions unjustified and illegal.

Smith added that Microsoft is helping Ukraine in cyber warfare as well as in the fight against cyber attacks.