Kommersant learned about plans to oblige retailers to install Russian software

The Ministry of Digital Development is developing measures that will make the pre-installation of the domestic operating system (OS) on imported laptops and computers mandatory. About it writes Kommersant, citing a source in the government.

The interlocutor specified that the Russian software will become additional on gadgets. According to him, the document may be submitted to the Cabinet this quarter. Another source close to the government noted that plans to oblige retailers to pre-install the domestic OS have been discussed in the Cabinet since 2022. The Ministry of Digital Development did not respond to the newspaper’s request.

The head of the directorate of the law firm Vegas Lex, Kirill Nikitin, pointed to government decree No. 1867 of 2020, according to which the pre-installation of Russian programs is the responsibility of the manufacturer. According to him, now any seller can evade pre-installation, since he does not have such powers under the law. After the change in regulation, the retailer will be required to pre-install domestic software under the threat of product withdrawal, Nikitin added.

According to Holodilnik.ru, in the first quarter of 2023, the share of non-OS laptops imported into the Russian Federation in monetary terms amounted to 21.2% of sales (8.3% a year earlier). At the same time, the share of Windows OS remained practically unchanged, amounting to 55.6%.

In July 2022, against the background of an increase in deliveries of non-OS laptops in Russia, the Ministry of Digital Transformation told Kommersant that the issue of mandatory pre-installation of Russian software was being worked out. Among domestic OS in department called Astra Linux and Viola OS.