Russia bans purchase of foreign non-niche software in Russian state agencies

[Zenaan Harkness]

Import substitution applied to software...

http://fortruss.blogspot.ru/2015/11/medvedev-bans-use-of-foreign-made.html

Medvedev bans the use of foreign-made software in Russian state agencies
Translated by Ollie Richardson for Fort Russ
20th November, 2015
novayagazeta.ru

The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medevdev, has signed a decree
prohibiting from 1 January 2016 the purchase of foreign-made software
for state needs, reports the press service of the Cabinet.

According to the document, customers will now be obliged to buy
Russian-produced software. It notes that the initiative is a method of
import substitution.

The exception is when software has the necessary functional, technical
or operational characteristics absent in Russia. To place an order on,
for example Microsoft Windows, officials will have to justify the need
for this operating system.

As reported to "Kommersant" earlier, the official, who asked to remain
anonymous,  said that a German IT company began to discuss with the
Ministry of economic development the possibility of  a partial
transfer of software production to Russia, in order thus to be able to
sell it on government orders.

A draft resolution was prepared and submitted by the Ministry of
communications and mass communications of the Russian Federation. It
was presented to Medvedev earlier in April.