Technology Linus Torvalds affirms expulsion of Russian maintainers

[JoeN]

Content source

https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/23/linus_torvalds_affirms_expulsion_of/

Removal of kernel maintainers linked to Russia attributed to sanctions

Linux creator Linus Torvalds on Wednesday affirmed the removal last week of about a dozen kernel maintainers associated with Russia.

On October 18, Linux kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman published a message to the Linux kernel mailing list showing that a handful of Linux developers in the MAINTAINERS file had been removed.

His explanation was vague. "Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements," Kroah-Hartman wrote. "They can come back in the future if sufficient documentation is provided."

Mailing list participants pushed back, asking for further explanation about the removed names, all of which appear to be Russian and most of which are associated with a Russian (.ru) email address. Russia is currently subject to US government sanctions related to its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and other concerns.

Those dropped from the maintainer list oversee various Linux drivers that provide interoperability with hardware from vendors like Acer and Cirrus Logic.

...
Torvalds responded to the mailing list challenges in the style for which he's become famous by attributing the blowback to Russian trolls.

Ok, lots of Russian trolls out and about.

It's entirely clear why the change was done, it's not getting reverted, and using multiple random anonymous accounts to try to "grass root" it by Russian troll factories isn't going to change anything.

And FYI for the actual innocent bystanders who aren't troll farm accounts - the "various compliance requirements" are not just a US thing.

If you haven't heard of Russian sanctions yet, you should try to read the news some day. And by "news", I don't mean Russian state-sponsored spam.

As to sending me a revert patch - please use whatever mush you call brains. I'm Finnish. Did you think I'd be *supporting* Russian aggression? Apparently it's not just lack of real news, it's lack of history knowledge too.

The driver code to which the dropped maintainers contributed remains in place.

Linus Torvalds affirms expulsion of Russian maintainers

Removal of kernel maintainers linked to Russia attributed to sanctions

ground.news

 

[brambedkar59]

Sad day for OSS. Did not expect that from Linus.

 

[zidong]

This is the official list. You can't find a more reputable source than this.
[PATCH] MAINTAINERS: Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements. - Greg Kroah-Hartman
Now let's see:

-BAIKAL-T1 PVT HARDWARE MONITOR DRIVER
-M: Serge Semin
Baikal CPUs are the "replacement" for western CPUs that they are making to be used state-owned companies, military and government. Interestingly, they are unable to produce Baikal on their own and Taiwan refused to do so after 2022.

-LIBATA PATA DRIVERS
-R: Sergey Shtylyov (address at OMP)
OMP is a front for Aurora OS, which they make to use on the phones of government officials, military, and also the citizens - but it has nothing to offer to regular citizens so far. It's based on Finnish Sailfish OS, which cut ties with them in 2022.

-MEMSENSING MICROSYSTEMS MSA311 DRIVER
-M: Dmitry Rokosov - address at sberdevices
SBER is as kremlin-affiliated as it gets. It's the biggest bank and the one that government officials, military, citizens use. It's more than a bank, they have a tech department as well, a big one. It's very closely affiliated with the state.

 

[TairikuOkami]

This will be known as the day that linux died, by it's own hand. Then again, not surprising, considering the suicide is the new trend.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/medically-assisted-death-could-save-millions-1.3947481

Arrests after Sarco 'suicide pod' used in Switzerland

Swiss police arrest several people after the controversial pod is used for the first time.

www.bbc.com

 

[oldschool]

This will be known as the day that linux died, by it's own hand. Then again, not surprising, considering the suicide is the new trend.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/medically-assisted-death-could-save-millions-1.3947481

Arrests after Sarco 'suicide pod' used in Switzerland

Swiss police arrest several people after the controversial pod is used for the first time.

www.bbc.com

A bit extreme maybe? There's no connection between the two links you posted.

 

[TuxTalk]

This will be known as the day that linux died, by it's own hand. Then again, not surprising, considering the suicide is the new trend.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/medically-assisted-death-could-save-millions-1.3947481

Arrests after Sarco 'suicide pod' used in Switzerland

Swiss police arrest several people after the controversial pod is used for the first time.

www.bbc.com

Take it easy, breathe..... maybe take a pill ?

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Linus Torvalds kicked the Russians out of Linux, now they're creating a sovereign Linux community in Russia — Ministry of Digital Development steps in

The Russian Ministry of Digital Development has sprung into action with plans to create its own Linux community. Admitting that the decision was precipitated by the recent expelling of 11 Russian developers involved in the development of the Linux kernel, the Ministry slammed the “act of discrimination” against Russians and underlined the need to “build our own alternative structure,” in a statement given to RBC.ru.

Linus Torvalds was very forthright in his explanation for the dismissal of the dozen or so Russian kernel driver maintainers last month. In brief, the creator and lead developer of the Linux kernel stated that the dismissals were simply made in line with the policy of sanctions on the Russian aggressors in the Ukraine war.

Moreover, Torvalds didn’t pull any punches when he said “lots of Russian trolls” were working to make the recent decision look unpopular. Torvalds directly accused Russia of wielding its army of social media bots in an attempt to fake a grassroots campaign and reverse the Russian maintainer cull.

The Russian Ministry of Digital Development's decision may look like a knee-jerk reaction, as it has come so quickly in the wake of the maintainer expulsion, and specific details and implementation plans are thin on the ground. However, some think the new community of Linux developers in Russia could take cues from the recently established alliance of RISC-V developers in the country.

Linus Torvalds kicked the Russians out of Linux, now they're creating a sovereign Linux community in Russia — Ministry of Digital Development steps in

Kneejerk announcement or a serious plan, time will tell.

www.tomshardware.com