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Context: JetBrains' founders are Russian. They have offices in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Free speech isn't really a thing in Russia. To openly condemn the actions of the Russian government could have serious repercussions for them, but they did it anyway. Спаси́бо, JetBrains. - Dylan Beattie
Their head office is in Prague, Czech Republic and they're technically a Czech company... But point still stands, they're Russian and speaking against the war.
Companies should not involve in politics
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I actually agree. (I say this as a person who is 100% against this invasion). However the circumstances is that the IntelliJ founders are Russian, and it’s important to point out that it is not the will of the Russian people to invade Ukraine. It is Putin.
It is the will of _some_ of the Russian people. It has to be. It's people doing the invading. If no Russian wanted to invade Ukraine, there would be nobody in uniform invading Ukraine.
That people follow the government does not mean they agree.
And anyway there’s been a steady stream of propaganda fed to the Russian population, it’s folly to say this isn’t Putins will being projected onto his people.
The same way that the nazis got power with 30% approval and managed to use that power to go to war with the rest of Europe.
I’m not saying it’s not dangerous, I’m saying it’s not all Russia. And IntelliJ are saying as such.
Will they leave Russia too like Telegram?
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Nope. In some cases not fighting against something is the same as supporting it. And the people behind those companies are human too, they have their own thoughts, passions, fears. I'd condemn my employer if they stood idly by a war crime literally impacting employees and their families.
Kind of off topic, but Russia hasn't comitted a war crime. They've committed an act of war. Not really the same thing.
> https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docindex/v1...
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Using that logic, we don't have free speech in the US either. Ask the Dixie Chicks, phil donahue, etc. > To openly condemn the actions of the Russian government could have serious repercussions for them, but they did it anyway. Considering most of jetbrains business is in the West, to support the russian government would have had serious repercussions. Condemning the russian government is actually a smart business de…
The band [formerly known as “Dixie Chicks”] said they had picked "that stupid name" as teenagers, and had wanted to change it for years; they said they were moved to change it when they saw the Confederate flag described as "the Dixie Swastika" on social media in June 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chicks
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It's going to be increasingly difficult to do business there over the coming few years. I can't see this situation becoming easier any time soon. What steps can founders in Russia seek to reduce the risks that they're facing?
In terms of business risks, I believe Jetbrains are based in Czechia, so while there is risk for their founders, I'm not sure there's any business risk (whether Russian retribution or international sanctions) for JetBrains itself.
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Using that logic, we don't have free speech in the US either. Ask the Dixie Chicks, phil donahue, etc. > To openly condemn the actions of the Russian government could have serious repercussions for them, but they did it anyway. Considering most of jetbrains business is in the West, to support the russian government would have had serious repercussions. Condemning the russian government is actually a smart business de…
The dixie chicks were never poisoned, imprisoned, and tortured.
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Nope. In some cases not fighting against something is the same as supporting it. And the people behind those companies are human too, they have their own thoughts, passions, fears. I'd condemn my employer if they stood idly by a war crime literally impacting employees and their families.
Kind of off topic, but Russia hasn't comitted a war crime. They've committed an act of war. Not really the same thing.
That all said, they have been conducting mass detention of civilians in Ukraine so I think we've probably got some borderline war-crime actions. It'll take a long time to sort out exactly everything that's happened today and the last week - but I'd be surprised if war crimes weren't occurring.
That all said, war crimes are defined by the victor and their declaration and potential repercussions for them is an entirely political process. Countries exist at a scale where the "immutable definition of the law" isn't a thing that actually exists - unless we had a sole disinterested super-power that far surpassed every other power on earth and was able to serve as an impartial judge we can't really have the same concept of a legal system at the international level - this is why The Hague is usually focused on regional conflicts where China, the US, and everyone else has a little enough of a vested interest that they're happy to just score some PR points.
Yes the world is depressing, but it is the way it is.