Russian Ministry of Communications and Mass Media, Mincifers, are set to unveil plans to legalize the use of foreign software by the end of April. This announcement was made by the Head of the Ministry, Maksut Shadaev, at the annual ARPP Assembly “Domestic Software”.
The proposed legislation aims to legalize the use of software services from unfriendly countries for which there are no domestic analogues yet. Currently, the Ministry is working with lawyers to draft the corresponding decree or law. According to Shadaev, the basic conditions have already been agreed upon, and the legal document will be issued soon.
Under the proposed model, companies that use foreign software can make payments to special accounts. Part of these funds would go towards ensuring the collateral mass for preferential loans for domestic developers, promoting the growth of competitive Russian analogues.
However, the Head of the Ministry stressed that the measures were forced and temporary, as it takes time for Russian companies to transition to domestic software. “We are not raising the habit of not paying for software,” said Shadaev.
As the proposed legislation is expected to provide a clear path towards achieving this, the technology industry in Russia is awaiting the final outcome, eager to broaden their software choices.