Over the weekend, a video popped up on my YouTube recommended feed from a creator in Russia called NFKRZ (Roman Abalin) who was giving his take on the sanctions that were brought on by the invasion of Ukraine.
He said in his video that he was unable to withdraw any funds from crowdsourcing platforms like Patreon and payments facilitators like PayPal. Abalin likened the bank queues that he witnessed in St Petersburg to the pictures we all saw in O-Level history depicting life in the Soviet Union. The queue he was in, was for a bank called Tinkoff that was said to be offering USD ad EUR withdrawals but people were turned away after the establishment ran out of cash.
“We got screamed at by the guards, telling us that there is no money in the ATM and that we should leave immediately“
Being a creator and relying on a variety of income streams that are dwindling shows the effects of the sanctions on the people of Russia because of a decision made by their government. Alabin’s plight is probably not the worst case because there are people who are in far dire straits in Russia than he. This isn’t to excuse what the Russian government has done. There were going to be consequences for invading a sovereign nation.
The payments and financial sanctions aside, all of this made me curious about what other actions had been taken by tech companies as the Russian government invaded Ukraine.
The tech backlash to Putin’s war
Now, this list isn’t comprehensive because sanctions are coming in left right and centre as events unfold in Ukraine. However, what has been done is pretty substantial and from what I have seen online, measures have been targeting Russian government-affiliated media as well as access to payments and financial services
| Company | Action Taken |
| Apple | Pause product sales in Russia and limit access to Apple Pay in the country. State media apps (Sputnik and RT) were also restricted |
| Removed RT and other Russian state-funded media from monetisation through Google Ads as well as on YouTube | |
| Meta/Facebook | State media has been throttled and Facebook will continue to put a fact-checking label on their posts |
| Paused Russian state media channels’ ability to make money through ads on videos. | |
| TikTok | Restricted access to Russian state-controlled media accounts, including RT and Sputnik, in the EU. |
| The site banned users from posting links to Russian state-sponsored media outlets. | |
| Netflix | Refused to air Russian state TV channels like Channel One on its streaming service but will continue to operate in Russia. |
| TSMC | Halting chip sales to Russia, including Elbrus-branded chips designed in the country. |
| Intel | Sales stopped in Russia |
| AMD | Sales blocked in Russia |
| Dell | Suspended sales in Russia |
| Uber | Distancing itself from Russian ride-sharing service Yandex, and said it plans to speed up the sale of its shares in the service. |
| Microsoft | will remove Russian state-owned media apps from their Windows app store and not run ads on state-owned media websites. It is also suspending all new product sales in Russia, which include Xbox consoles. |
| PayPal | The online payments company has stopped accepting new users from Russia. It had previously blocked some users and some Russian banks. |
| Oracle | Suspended operations in Russia |
| SAP | Stopped sales of its products and services |
| Sony | Is not releasing its flagship PlayStation driving game, Gran Turismo 7, in Russia |
| Spotify | Closed its Russia office “indefinitely” and removed all content by RT and Sputnik in Europe and other regions. It has also restricted shows “owned or operated by Russian state media.” |
| Ericsson | Suspend its deliveries to Russia, according to an internal memo from the company’s CEO reviewed by Reuters. |
| Roku | Will ban Russia’s state-run news channel RT in Europe. |
| Snapchat | The social network said it will not display ads in Russia, Belarus, or Ukraine. The company also halted all ad sales in Russia and Belarus. |
| Electronic Arts | Removing the Russian national team and Russian club teams from the most recent FIFA games. It will also remove Russian and Belarusian national and club ice hockey teams from the latest NHL game |
| Bolt | Stopped operations in Belarus after Belarus supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its delivery app, Bolt Market, removed “all products produced in Russia or associated with Russian companies.” |
| Nokia | The Finnish network equipment maker announced it will stop deliveries to Russia, in order to comply with sanctions imposed on the country |
The raft of sanctions and withdrawals from international companies shows just how interconnected the world has become. All-out war was going to be met by action from the rest of the world and the few examples listed above go to show the knock-on effect on the people of a nation who by some reports are not all in favour of the invasion of Ukraine.
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16 comments
now these are what you call sanctions not for some people
This is all bullying at its worst, hope the Ukraine & Russia find a lasting solution soon. This just shows when the sh*t hits the fan, the west don’t give a s**t about other races. #White supremacy… Hopefully Africans wake up to have their own big tech, not yearn for them to come to Africa… Eventually they will f*** us one way or the other.
yes, i also hope the Ukraine & Russia find a lasting solution soon! we are also tired of being f***ED by z a n u here !
This is the sole reason china never allowed google or what’s app in their country
Probably also the fact that they are control freaks, and they want to keep an eye on each and every individual in the country.
I wonder why noone, including the UN, did nothing when the west invaded and plundered countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya etc. They also killed millions of civilians in the process and some of them stand accused of rape. The Russians have never done such. I think it’s now safe to say that in the eyes of white people, black lives will never matter. What’s sad in all off this is that you see black people, African countries, supporting this for what reason, I don’t know. People are quick to forget that the real reason we are under sanctions is that we repossessed our property (land) from white people. It’s not because of zanu of. White people could care less about our suffering no matter what propaganda they may spread. It’s painful really
From the Empire through to present day Russia, plenty of bloody sins have been committed. Google is your friend buddy. As for EU/G7/NATO etc, I won’t say those institutions are angels, but its their backyard that’s burning. It would have been stranger if they sat there doing nothing. And as for black lives not mattering, take a moment to reflect on why those black lives don’t matter enough to black nations for them to act as swiftly and decisively to our own backyard fires. To me, that’s the greater source of pain.
z a n u st in ks they sm e ll always ! za nu st i n ks !
z a n u smells like an unwashed a s s h o l e
Whatever reason we have sanctions the blatant outright theft of our resources by zanu pf is cumulativly worse than the sanctions…the same cry babies want the sanctions removed when they can use their own resources for the betterment of the ppl…why are they crying to the west…do something about it…you have the land now use it….in Russia case I would argue that the sanctions have actually helped the gvt….no there’s no access to outside media and they didn’t have to lift a finger…same here they using sanctions as an excuse to loot an limit freedoms
Why is Tik Tok in that list, arent they friends with Russian mafia
They have to show visibly that they against the war on Ukraine.
Otherwise the cancel culture people will find new target. People might start thinking Trump was right in wanting to ban Ticktock.
What is power?
Power is being able to make countries and companies sing the sanction song because you don’t like someone and felt like it. Even Zimbabwe that had declared undying friendship with Russia voted against them at the UN. The best China could do was abstain.
The west has shown that they have the power to cripple a billion $ economy overnight.
Everyone knew that they had the guns but now they have shown that this not the only weapon in their arsenal.
No wonder why even ZANU doesnt want to leave their position, power is more important than money.
Idk where you get your facts from, but Zimbabwe abstained fam.
True my bro Zim abstained, the west should be very weary because Putin still has a card in his pocket that if he plays that card right untold suffering for the west, i am for Putin and i wont lie i hate the states bullying attitude, may they suffer the wrath of a nuclear attack from North Korea( Putin is in good books with Kim kkk)…saka expect the unexpected from the destroyer of wkrlds, Europe is in a precarious position, death to the white supremist!
My apologies for the wrong information.
Apparently Zimbabwe didn’t vote against Russia but instead chose to abstain. The undying friendship is still strong.
I admit when I have the wrong information