Russian Debian-Derivative Linux Vendor Plans IPO
upstart writes:
Russian Linux distributor - aka RPA RusBITech - is thriving and plans to IPO:
A few months ago, The Reg FOSS desk took a quick look at Russian distro ROSA Linux, which is derived from Mandriva. It's not the only distribution from the land of Putin. Another, Astra Linux, is one of Debian's recognized derivatives.
[...] Astra Linux is produced by "research production association" RusBITech, and the distro was specially designed for use in the Russian military. As we mentioned when reporting on the government of India seeking to reduce its dependence on Western tech, Russia has been actively been doing it, since at least 2018.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft has blocked the use of Windows in Russia, as have IBM and many others. This seems to be significantly helping drive adoption of replacement operating systems: Reuters reports that RosBITech Astra, the subsidiary dedicated to Astra Linux, is planning to float on the Moscow stock exchange. A Russian estimation of the company values it at around 17 billion roubles ($260 million, ish).
[...] Such large-scale deployments are bound to uncover new issues. It may be unrealistic of us to hope for it, but it's possible that improvements and refinements to Astra Linux get transferred back upstream to Debian, so something positive could come out of this unjustified invasion of Ukraine, which is happening less than 500 miles (700km) from where your vulture is typing.
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